Why do we vote at a polling place? Pol in Middle English simply meant head, and polls are the place where heads are counted. The Middle English word for head also gives us get polliwog, a young frog with a wiggly head, and tadpole, those toads and...
How do you manage your time? Perhaps by eating the frog, which means “to do the most distasteful task first.” This is also known as “carrying guts to a bear.” This is part of a complete episode.
Do you start each day by "eating the frog"? Don't answer too quickly -- maybe you do and don't know it. "Eat the frog" means to do the most distasteful thing first. Imagine you were lost in the jungle and all...
Martha explains how experiments with dead frogs and live wires led to the invention of the battery, and inspired a couple of familiar English words.
tapirage n.— «Macaws and other parrots supplied most of the plumage, but that of other species—Muscovy ducks, flamingos, egrets and the petite paradise tanager—was also prized. Some colors were produced artificially in a process known as...
brainswitching n.— «What can you do when depression attacks? One thing that can help is a cognitive behavioral technique called “brainswitching.” Choose a word or phrase, such as “green frog,” a nonsense song like...
