Why do department stores label their infants’ section “Baby” instead of “Babies’” à la “Men’s” or “Women’s”? For one, the Baby department includes more than just clothes;...
So, can a sentence begin with the word so? Which ones? So is oftentimes used in place of therefore to conclude an explanation, but more people are using it as a general sentence-starter, in the same vein as well. Grant notes that while it may be...
If you’ve accomplished something, go ahead and rest on your laurels. Martha traces this idiom back to Ancient Greece, where victors were crowned with a wreath of bay leaves from the bay laurel tree. In the 16th Century, to retire on...
Greetings! Over the weekend, we played an archive episode featuring a special holiday quiz by John Chaneski. We also talked about “enormity,” “doorknob-hanging,” “cut to the chase,” and oddly phrased headlines. As...
When comparing one item with the rest of the items in a group, which is better: more or most? This is part of a complete episode.
two Cs in a K n.— «If all this sounds like the ad industry is still rooted in a sexist world that the rest of us have left behind, then remember that not that long ago there was a standard adland shorthand for an entire genre of...