In anatomical nomenclature, a bursa is a fluid-filled sac that helps cushion a joint. Bursa is the Latin word for “purse,” the source of English purse itself, as well as the bursar who controls the purse strings in a college, plus...
The Greek word for the cuckoo bird, kokkux, is related to our word coccyx, the tailbone, because the bone looks like the bill of a cuckoo. This is part of a complete episode.
The title Winter’s Bone, an acclaimed film based on Daniel Woodrell’s country noir novel, is an idiom the author created by personifying the season, which throws the main character a bone. This is part of a complete episode.
A prison employee wants to know about the term shank, that name for sharp weapons made with toothbrushes and pieces of metal. It derives from shank in the sense of the type of animal bone historically used in weapon making. This is part of a...
Do you still take your leftovers in a doggy bag? The term used to refer to a bone or shank the chef would give a guest to take home to their dog. Nowadays, there’s no shame in keeping your leftovers, and that parcel goes by other names, like...
What’s the difference between a lawyer and an attorney? None, really, for most of us. In the past, though, the word attorney could also refer more generally to a person you “turned to” to represent you, regardless of whether that...