melange \may-LAHNZH\ (noun) - A mixture; a medley.

"So, we already have melange concerts and melange theater," the scholar intervened. "Melange language will soon follow, you'll see." -- Albert Robida, 'The Twentieth ...Read More

callow \KAL-oh\ (adjective) - Immature; lacking adult perception, experience, or judgment.

"If anybody thinks that I am callow they ought to see het -- she's so callow it makes me laugh. It even makes het laugh, too, to ...Read More

lucre \LOO-kuhr\ (noun) - Monetary gain; profit; riches; money; -- often in a bad sense.

"The need of lucre never looms so large
As when 'tis gotten in some devious way;
It mitigates the blackness of the ...Read More

Today, we interview the coiners of two of our most overused cliches. Our first guest is Polly Anna Doubtful, creator of the expression "cautiously optimistic."

Q: How did this semi-oxymoronic phrase start?

A: Back in ...Read More

imbue \im-BYOO\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To tinge or dye deeply; to cause to absorb thoroughly; as, "clothes thoroughly imbued with black." 2 : To instill profoundly; to cause to become impressed or penetrated.

"...I ...Read More

And now the renowned linguistic paleontologist Professor U. Stew Mean examines verbal fossils to discover the former meanings of words...

Hmmm... Here's the expression "walk tall," meaning walk proudly, bravely. True, "...Read More