What’s the difference between a geek and a nerd? An Ohio professor of popular culture wants to talk about it. Here’s the a MetaFilter thread and a Venn diagram about the differences. This is part of a complete episode.
Something that’s repaired in a makeshift, haphazard fashion, is said to be jury-rigged. Martha discusses the expression’s likely nautical origin and Grant tells how a different term, jerry-built, led to the variation jerry-rigged. This...
The English language has no shortage of words that mean nonsensical talk, including one that’s piqued a listener’s curiosity: How did flannel come to mean “empty chatter” or “hot air,” as in “Don’t...
It’s been called the ape drape, the Kentucky waterfall, the Tennessee top hat, hockey hair, and the 90-10. We’re talking about that haircut called the mullet, otherwise known as “business in the front, and party in the back.”...
juice de jeans n.— «Two new studies by reproductive-health providers suggest that improper use of such drugs is one of myriad methods, including questionable homemade potions, frequently employed in attempts to end pregnancies by women...
The story goes that hemlines rise and fall with the stock market. If that’s the case, then we hope it’s not long before we’re all hearing people exclaim, “Why, that skirt is almost up to possible!” An Iowa listener...