[This episode first aired January 19th, 2008.]Does your family use a special word you've never heard anywhere else? A
funny name for 'the heel of a loaf of bread,' perhaps, or for 'visiting
relatives who won't leave.' In this week's episode, Martha and Grant
discuss 'family words,' and Martha reveals the story behind her own
family's secret word, 'fubby.'Why do we say that someone who's
pregnant is 'knocked up'? The hit movie starring Katherine Heigl and
Seth Rogen has a caller wondering about this term.A man whose
last name is McCoy wants a definitive answer about the origin of the
expression 'the real McCoy.' He's been told it comes from the name of
turn-of-the-century boxing champ Kid McCoy. Is that really the case?A
Michigander wants to know about the difference between 'titled' and
'entitled.' She'd assumed that a book is 'titled' Gone with The Wind
and a person is 'entitled' to compensation for something. Grant and
Martha explain it's a little more complicated than that.Quiz
Guy Greg Pliska presents a quiz about 'False Plurals,' based on the old
riddle: What plural word becomes singular when you put the letter 's'
at the end of it? (Hint: Think of a brand of tennis racket, as well as
the former name of a musical artist before he changed it back again.)Quick,
which is faster? Something that happens 'instantly' or that happens
'instantaneously'? A caller wants to know if there's any difference
between the two. A Brazilian has been researching why actors
use the unlikely expression 'break a leg' to wish each other well
before going on stage. He suspects it's a borrowing of a German phrase
that means, 'May you break your neck and your leg,' but he's not sure.A
caller who lived in the Bay Area during the 1960s remembers using the
word 'loosecap' to describe someone who's 'not playing with a full
deck.' He wonders if he and his friends are the only ones to use it, as
in, 'Don't be such a loosecap!'This week's 'Slang This!'
contestant tries to decipher the slang phrases 'dance at two weddings'
and 'put the big pot in the little pot.' She also shares her own
favorite slang terms for 'crumb crusher,' 'rug rat' and 'ankle biter.'
By the way, you can read Grant's essay about slang terms for small
children, 'Sprogs in a Poop Factory,' here. His column about language
appears every two weeks in The Malaysia Star newspaper.A caller fears that the term 'Indian giver' is politically incorrect, and wants an alternative to teach her children. A
Princeton University student wonders if his school can lay claim to
being the first to apply the Latin word 'campus' to the grounds of an
institution of higher learning.By the way, if you want to read
about more family words, check out Paul Dickson's book, 'Family Words:
A Dictionary of the Secret Language of Families.'Here's hoping all of you are happy fubbies!--Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC.