Following our conversation about the expression Excuse the pig, the hog’s out walking, and other phrases used an apology or mild reprimand for eructations, Robert in Jacksonville, Florida, emailed to say that when he lived in England, the...
Edward in Fargo, North Dakota, wonders about the expression of exasperation, If that doesn’t take the cake, meaning “Well, doesn’t that beat all!” or “Isn’t that a shame!” The origins of this phrase go back...
Mike in Ukiah, California, grew up in the UK, where he often heard the expression to know your onions, meaning “to be knowledgeable about something.” He suspects the phrase is rhyming slang, but It’s most likely one of many...
Commonly heard in Australia, fair dinkum is used to describe something “authentic” or “legitimate.” This phrase is also used as an intensifier. Less common versions: square dinkum and straight dinkum. The expression fair...
Vince from Brooklyn, New York, remembers growing up there and using the expression cut a chogi! to mean “beat it!” or “get away from here!” He’d assumed it was simply Brooklynese until years later in Alabama, when he...
A retired astronomer in Tucson, Arizona, is curious about the expression What are the odds? The idea of odds meaning “the likelihood of something occurring,” goes back to the idea of odds and evens and something odd being the thing...