Today's Daily Dispatch

“Says Sprew!”

Posted July 11, 2010

Last week you gave a word that was defined as the empty parking space in front of your parking space that you can pull forward through as opposed to backing up.  We want to help you establish it in the American lexicon but it may be an uphill battle since we can’t remember what it is.  Maybe we need to get out more…

Juju Cooper of Santa Cruz, CA

The Gang says:  We look forward to your efforts on behalf of ‘sprew’ and hope you can galvanize a nation.  And while you’re at it, put in a plug for ‘bolly’ (a now obsolete word which means covered with bubbles).

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‘RAMP’ PARSE

Posted December 12, 2011

I listened to today’s show and the question about ‘ramp up.’ But the correct answer isn’t the one anyone gave: The word ‘ramp’ comes from the French verb ‘ramper’--to crawl. When you see a lion ‘rampant’, he is ‘crawling’ in the air with his feet. A ramp for someone who crawls rather than walks. A ramp rises gradually and gave us the word for raising or ‘stepping up’ an effort.

Deborah Warren of Andover, MA

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WE RUE OUR ANSWER

Posted November 15, 2011

I love “Says You,” so it pains me to say that you got an answer slightly wrong on the November 13 broadcast. The murderer in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is not a gorilla, as you would have it, but an orangutan, or “Ourang-Outang” Poe refers to the animal. The species of the offending creature is essential to the story, so I hope you will revisit and correct this question in a future show.

Thanks for your wonderful show!

Deborah Robbins of San Francisco, CA

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