Frida in Marquette, Michigan, shares a proverb from her Finnish heritage that translates as “Until the food is ready, feed your guests with words.” She also asks about pank, a term she often hears there in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...
What do you call the dirty frozen solid pack of brown snow that gets jammed in the wheel of a car in certain parts of the world during winter? Try crud, fenderbergs, carnacles, snow goblins, tire turds, or chunkers. This is part of a complete...
Pangrams, or statements that include every letter of the alphabet, are collected on Twitter at @PangramTweets, and include such colorful lines as, “I always feel like the clerk at the liquor store is judging me when she has to get a moving box...
Is there a word that describes someone who’s good at visualizing how best to pack a suitcase or car? A Michigan woman is sure she heard such a term for someone who can visualize 3-D arrangements in advance, but darned if she can recall what it...
bro-in-lo n.—Gloss: Brother-in-law. «No, your crazy bro-in-lo cannot pack heat in our ICU.» —“I can’t believe I’m having to go over this again” by Jo (Johanne Bertha) Head Nurse Mar. 28, 2009. (source: Double...
When it comes to books, some people are pack rats; others make a point of periodically culling from the word herd. In a recent New York Times essay, Laura Miller describes her own mixed feelings about getting rid of unwanted books. A full shelf of...