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Episode 1613

Blessing Box

Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article...

Hoopla, a Dip in the Road

After our conversation about whoopsy-daisy and other terms for a sudden dip in the road, Jane in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, reports that she’s heard people in Wisconsin and Minnesota refer to such a dip as a hoopla. This is part of a complete...

To Be Beside Onself

Peter in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, asks how the expression I’m beside myself came to mean “upset” or “unsettled.” The phrase suggests an out-of-body experience and came into English in the 14th century via a French...

Thirty Purple Birds

A woman in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, remembers a ditty she learned from her mother about “thirty purple birds,” but with a distinctive pronunciation that sounds more like “Toidy poipel blackbirds / Sittin’ on a coibstone /...

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