Tag: language

• Pound Sand

  October 31, 2010

  hobby

  I was almost supernaturally compelled to write to Grant and Martha, the hosts of A Way With Words, after I heard a listener who spoke Swahili call in to ask why people say “slept like a log” because, obviously, logs don’t sleep much. He was calling as much to find out the origin of the Read.

• Go Hone

  July 26, 2010

  current events

  Is it just me? Or is “hone in” a phrase that makes you wince and look away, same as you would if you were watching a kid get a sound spanking while you were waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store? “Hone in” is one of those English-language mashups that I don’t think Read.