Brian in Dallas, Texas, wants to know the origin of the skinny as in “all the details and information.” This expression may go all the way back to slang used at the U.S. Naval Academy in the early 1900s. This is part of a complete...
We were invited by Huntsville, Alabama, public radio station WLRH to do a live appearance at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. During the Q&A, a listener shared a version of the phrase If I tell you a hen dips snuff, you can look under its...
What sort of language is worthy of being inscribed in stone? A frieze on the James A. Farley Building in New York City is inscribed with Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their...
Janet calls from Aiken, South Carolina, to say that her father used to ask Have you dressed your bed? meaning “Have you made your bed?” The word dress likely derives from Latin dirigere, meaning “to straighten” or “to...
Kristin, a college professor in Dubuque, Iowa, teaches a class in the U.S. history of sexuality. She’s intrigued by the way her students increasingly use the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Perhaps the word monogamy sounds more...
What famous U.S. poet has a bat named in her honor? Hint: it’s Micronycteris giovanniae. This leaf-nosed bat was named by Texas Tech biologist Rober Baker, who happens to be a big fan of the work of Nikki Giovanni. The renowned poet has said...