A Tallahassee, Florida, mother who texted her daughter in a hurry accidentally asked about the “baby woes,” meaning “baby wipes,” and came to the conclusion that we need a new phrase: “read between the autocorrect...
A recent study found that some names crop up more frequently than others in certain professions. The name William is especially common among attorneys–and graphic designers include a higher-than-average number of Jessicas. Plus, picturesque...
“Do you think I came in on the noon balloon?” is a colorful alternative to “Do you think I was born yesterday?” The phrase pops up both in the columns of the late sportswriter Frank Finch and the 1967 novelty song...
What does a piggyback ride have to do with pigs? Not much. In the 16th century, the word was pickaback, meaning to pitch or throw on one’s back. It’s had dozens of spellings over the past few centuries, but perhaps the word piggy has...
In what profession would you deal with clams, footballs, hairpins, and axes? They’re all slang terms used by classical musicians. This is part of a complete episode.
If someone’s balloon has lost its string, it means “they’ve come unmoored”. Something unusual or odd has come about in their character. Patrice Evans used the illustration in his description of Tracy Morgan in an article for...