Clementine, a young caller from Omaha, Nebraska, wonders why we use the term run-of-the-mill to describe something ordinary. The expression originates world of manufacturing, where a run of the mill is the entire run of things being produced...
Broken pieces of pottery, commonly known as shards, are also referred to as sherds by professional archaeologists. This is part of a complete episode.
The Spanish equivalent of our “bull in a china shop” analogy translates to “like an elephant in a pottery store.” This is part of a complete episode.
How did the term bisque come to mean “an unglazed piece of ceramic work”? Does it have anything to do with the kind of bisque that might be served in a ceramic bowl? This is part of a complete episode.