German Archives – A Way with Words

Little Pitchers

Posted by Grant Barrett on July 19, 2014 · 1 Comment

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Can of Worms

Posted by Grant Barrett on April 19, 2014 · Add Comment

What do you call a guy with a bald pate? A chrome dome? Maybe the lucky fellow is sporting a solar panel for a sex machine. Also, which would you rather open: a can of worms or Pandora’s box? Plus, ordinary vs. ornery, versing vs. versus, dishwater vs. ditchwater, the copyediting term stet, still hunts, [...]
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Clean as a Whistle

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 24, 2012 · Add Comment

Finding that special bottle of wine can be tough, and even tougher if you’re not fluent in winespeak. “Strawberries, rhubarb, and hints of leather are present in the nose.” Say what? Plus, many folks wish each other “Merry Christmas.” But why don’t we use the word merry with anything else? Anyone ever wished you a [...]
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Stuck His Spoon in the Wall

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 22, 2012 · Add Comment

If you say, “He stuck his spoon in the wall,” you mean that he died. In German, the person who’s deceased has passed along his spoon, and in Afrikaans, he’s jabbed his spoon into the ceiling. These expressions reflect the idea that eating is an essential part of life. An article in the British Medical [...]
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Kirchenfenster

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 18, 2012 · Add Comment

When wine drinkers swirl their glass and watch those streaks coming down, they say they’re looking at the legs. But the German term kirchenfenster, meaning “church windows,” makes a great substitute because of the arches of church windows. Do you have another term for that wine streaming down the side of a glass? This is [...]
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Pie in the Sky

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 17, 2012 · 2 Comments

Looking for a book to read with the kids, or maybe a guide to becoming a better writer? Why are leg cramps called charley horses? And where’d we get a phrase like pie in the sky? If you happen to be tall, you’ve no doubt heard plenty of clueless comments from strangers. A listener who’s [...]
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