Aquatic animals Archives – A Way with Words

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Currently viewing the tag: "Aquatic animals"

How the Guppy Got its Name

Posted by Grant Barrett on March 9, 2019 · Add Comment

The tiny guppy, also called the millionfish or the rainbow fish, is named for amateur naturalist and Trinidad school superintendent Robert John Letchmere Guppy. This is part of a complete episode.

Xiphoid Process

Posted by Grant Barrett on January 26, 2018 · Add Comment

Kim from Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada, is studying anatomy and wonders why the lower end of one’s sternum is called the xiphoid process. The word process in this case means projection, and xiphoid comes from the Greek word for sword. Early anatomists likened the sternum to a sword or dagger: the top part is called [...]

Sorry, Charlie

Posted by Grant Barrett on July 17, 2017 · Add Comment

A Vermont family used to tease one of its members with the phrase “sorry, Charlie!” She’s surprised to learn that this catchphrase comes from a long-running series of TV commercials for canned tuna. This is part of a complete episode.

Looking Out for Number One

Posted by grantbarrett on May 15, 2015 · Add Comment

The Spanish idiom, arrimar el ascua a su sardina, literally means “to bring an ember to one’s own sardine.” It means “to look out for number one,” the idea being that if a group is cooking sardines over a fire, and each person pulls out a coal to cook his own fish, then the whole [...]

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How the Guppy Got its Name

Xiphoid Process

Sorry, Charlie

Looking Out for Number One