What the fox says may be a mystery, but we do know that dogs bark differently around the world. In China, for example, they say not bow-wow but wang wang.  Also, the story behind the British tradition of scrumping. It's not a middle school dance craze, and it has nothing to do with beer -- or does it? Plus, recipe vs. receipt, mash vs. press, housing a beer, all bollixed up, and empty heads make weary bones. FULL DETAILSWhat's an appropriate response when someone knocks on your bathroom stall? How about You can come in, but you can't sit down!Scrumping is a Britishism for "stealing apples off your neighbors' trees." Father Dominic from Chicago wonders when It's a thing became, well, a thing. The word receipt is occasionally used a synonym for recipe, as in "a list of ingredients in a dish and instructions on how to make it." Both words come from the same Latin root, recipere, meaning "to receive." The use of receipt for recipe is old-fashioned and probably won't be around that much longer.Listen closely for the phatic replacements in our Quiz Guy John Chaneski's game of idle chitchat.Ballocks!, an exclamation of frustration or skepticism, is cognate with the word balls, and literally means "testicles." Its use is considered far more racy in Great Britain than in the United States.How do you decide when to use a comma? One strategy is to read your writing aloud and decide what sounds best.A new servant can catch a running deer is a proverb from Afghanistan that aptly describes those zealous recent hires.Few things are slicker than snot on a doorknob. Even one hair has a shadow. This translation of the Latin proverb Etiam capillus unus habet umbram is a reminder that even the smallest thing can have large consequences.If someone's standing between you and the TV, you might ask them Have you been drinking muddy water?To house something, as in to house a beer or to house a pizza, is slang for "consuming something really fast."The Western Folklore Journal of 1976 gives us such romantic phrases as kisses like a cold fish, kisses like your brother through a screen, and kisses like a wet brick.In China, dogs say Wang wang instead of woof woof. Wikipedia has a great list of such cross-linguistic onomatopoeias. Of course, we all know what the fox says.Ever find yourself stuck behind someone who walks like he's behind a plow? Empty heads make weary bones, so don't forget what you went looking for or you'll wind up exhausted for no reason! To mash the brake or mash the elevator button comes from a Southern instance of mash meaning "to press something hard." This episode was hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett.--A Way with Words is funded by its listeners: http://waywordradio.org/donateGet your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:Email: words@waywordradio.orgPhone: United States and Canada toll-free (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673London +44 20 7193 2113Mexico City +52 55 8421 9771Donate: http://waywordradio.org/donateSite: http://waywordradio.org/Podcast: http://waywordradio.org/podcast/Forums: http://waywordradio.org/discussion/Newsletter: http://waywordradio.org/newsletter/Twitter: http://twitter.com/wayword/Skype: skype://waywordradio Copyright 2015, Wayword LLC.