A caller during last Tuesday’s show asked about the word excoriate. These days, it is used metaphorically to mean to upbraid or to revile; the word tongue-lashing is a natural companion. Originally, to excoriate was to pull the skin or the hide off...

Rodney (Butte, Montana) wrote that he’s been seeing TV programs tracking some of the stimulus money to house retrofitting. In particular, many companies have been hiring and training workers to insulate older houses, particularly for senior citizens....

Leonard asked where the adjective plug-ugly came from. It has come to mean unspeakably ugly in the physical sense. The original Plug Uglies were street thugs in Baltimore, Maryland, in the mid-nineteenth century. They acted as enforcers for...

Lloyd from Boyne City called in about words that once were quite distinct, but are now beginning to blend. In particular, he mentioned eager/anxious and persuade/convince. Eager has positive connotations. It conjures up excited anticipation and...

A listener asked about a term that his grandmother used decades ago: apple davy. It sounded vaguely familiar, perhaps a dessert mentioned in some 19th century British novel, but it has turned out to be devilishly difficult to track down. In fact, I...