The Bees Knees (Rebroadcast) - 5 March 2012

<p>Let's put the moose on the table: You have questions, and Grant and Martha have answers. For example, why would someone have an albatross around his neck? And what's so cool about bees' knees, anyway? Plus, jockey boxes, bailiwicks, and cute names for loved ones, from snookums to bubula. If a bartender ever serves you a mat shot, don't try to beast it. You'll regret it in the morning. <br /><br />FULL DETAILS    <br /><br />What pet names do you have for your loved ones? In The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten shares the name his Mother used to call him--Bubala, a term of endearment grandmothers might use in addressing children. We have all kinds of substitutes for the names of those we care about: sweetie, honey buns, snookums, etc. Martha opts for the Portuguese fofinha, meaning "fat, cuddly baby." <br /><br />http://wywd.us/yiddishjoy<br /><br />What's so cool about bees' knees, anyway? The bee's knees, a phrase meaning "cool" or "great," dates back to the flapper era of the 1920s. It relates to an old definition of the word "cute," referring to something "small and nicely formed." The knees of a bee are just that, after all. <br /><br />http://wywd.us/bees-knees<br /><br />A bartender wonders about the origin of the term jockey box. In his world, a jockey box is a "metal container for ice." However, in some parts of the western U.S., jockey box means "the glove compartment of a car," and much earlier, the term referred to boxes attached to the side of chuck wagon for holding feed or water. <br /><br />The caller also shares another bit of bartending slang, the so-called mat shot or Matt Dillon. It's a glass of whatever liquor collects on the rubber mat behind the bar, which some enterprising patrons order as a prank or a test of a strong stomach.<br /><br />The hosts discuss an email from a listener in Romania. His problem is that he learned English in the Southern U.S., but after going back home to where a British English is taught, people are having a hard time understanding his accent. Where we learn a langu