Patrick in Jacksonville, Florida, is curious about an expression his family uses: just like downtown, meaning, “done really well,” or “performed to perfection.” This phrase, along with just like New York, originated in the...
The word conversation anagrams to voices rant on. This is part of a complete episode.
Rearranging letters as anagrams can be an entertaining aged worm (or word game). For example, you can switch around the letters in listen to make the word silent. Dormitory can be rearranged to form dirty room, and Morse codemakes here come dots. An...
Nate in Winterville, North Carolina, remembers an older relative asking Are you going to get outside of that? meaning “Are you going to finish that meal?” To get outside of a meal or to climb outside of a meal suggests that you’re...
Edward in Atlanta, Georgia, wonders how and why English speakers came to use the phrase blah, blah, blah as a placeholder or filler. These repeated syllables are likely intended to mirror the sound of English, if not the meaning of specific words...
Christine in Charleston, South Carolina, recounts a funny story about someone who was planning to go commando, meaning “to go without underwear.” What’s the origin of that phrase? This is part of a complete episode.