Barbecue Stoppers and Marmalade Droppers - 7 July 2008

[This episode originally aired March 15, 2008.]

Unless you've been hiding out in a galaxy far, far away, you know that this is an election year. Grant and Martha talk about current political slang. Ever hear of 'glass pockets'? Or 'horseracism'? Is there an etymological connection between 'caucus' and 'Caucasian'?

A caller wants to settle a friendly argument: Is something not worth debating called a 'moot point' or a 'mute point'?

A listener calls from in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to say that in her native Spanish, she can use several different words for 'love' to denote a whole range of feelings, depending on how close she is to the other person. She's frustrated that English seems to lack that same spectrum of words meaning various degrees of love.

What's a 'barbecue stopper,' and how does it differ from a 'marmalade dropper'?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water--Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents a quiz about punny taglines from famous movies. For example, which Johnny Depp film's tagline is 'His story will touch you, even though he can't'?

Back to political talk: Is there an etymological connection between the words 'caucus' and 'Caucasian'? A caller wants to know. Grant explains what politicians and watchdog groups mean by the term 'glass pockets.'
 
A California man complains that the expression 'grow your business' grates on his nerves.

A San Diego woman who's homeschooling her children wonders if there's a formula that explains why nouns like 'teacher' and 'writer' end in '-er,' while others, like 'professor' and 'conductor,' end in '-or.' She suspects it has to do with whether the words come from Latin roots or Anglo-Saxon roots.

This week's 'Slang This!' contestant shares his favorite slang term, 'teho,' (To Each His Own), then tries to puzzle out the meaning of the terms 'karzy' and 'low-bush moose.'

An upstate New York listener of Italian descent is curious about two favorite expressions: 'fuggeddabouddit' and 'bada-bing, bada-boom.'

A Texan says his grandmother used to refer to the thigh of a chicken as the 'second joint.' Martha and Grant discuss whether it's a regional term. By the way, if you want to know the French term Martha mentions that roughly translates as 'only a silly person won't eat it,' (literally, 'the idiot leaves it') it's 'le sot-l'y-laisse.'

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