Larry in Irvington, New York, is curious about local names for what’s sometimes called a submarine sandwich, which consists of a long bread roll split lengthwise and stuffed with meats, cheese, and other condiments. Larry grew up calling it a...
When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blankets a pallet. This word comes from an old term for “straw.” And: What’s the story...
Dave in Council Bluffs, Iowa, has fond memories of Hough Bakeries in Cleveland, Ohio, which made a treat called lady locks. Sometimes called lady locks, foam rollers, and clothespin cookies, they featured puff pastry rolled around a small cylinder —...
Would you rather live in a world with no adjectives … or no verbs — and why? Also, who in the world is that director Alan Smithee [SMITH-ee] who made decades’ of crummy films? Turns out that if a movie director has his work wrested away...