Melissa in Charlotte, North Carolina, remembers her grandfather would describe something excellent as  better than snuff, but not near as dusty. The snuff in this case refers to finely ground smokeless tobacco. Variants include finer than snuff, not near as dusty and better than snuff, gooder than taters, as well as gooder than taters, better than snuff, and gooder than snuff, sweeter than a Sunday hymn. All of these arose at a time when snuff was regarded as a healthy, fashionable stimulant, an idea echoed in phrases like up to snuff. http://waywordradio.org

1672-Caller-Melissa-Gooder-Than-Snuff

Miley in The Dalles, Oregon, asks about going gunny bags meaning to “break down” or “go haywire.” Her mother uses this expression, but has no idea where she picked it up. The term gunny sack, referring to a bag made of coarse material such as jute, comes from an East Indian term meaning “sack,” so gunny sack is a pleonasm that means “sack sack.” The Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles includes an entry for gunny-bag meaning to “beat out a fire with gunny sacks,” suggesting frantic improvisation. The mystery writer Judith Jance uses the term go gunnybags quite frequently in her work, and since Miley’s mother is a big fan of Jance’s novels, it’s quite possible that’s where she picked up the phrase. http://waywordradio.org

1672-Caller-Miley-Going-Gunny-Bags

Stefan Fatsis has made a career out of participatory journalism. For his book Word Freak (Bookshop|Amazon) about the world of competitive Scrabble, he became an expert player. For A Few Seconds of Panic. : A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL (Bookshop|Amazon), he trained for a season as a placekicker for the Denver Broncos. So it’s perhaps not surprising that, given his passion for dictionaries, he embedded himself as a lexicographer-in-training at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, writing or revising definitions for such words as microaggression, alt-right, and burkini. He writes about this in UNABRIDGED: The Thrill of (and Threat to) The Modern Dictionary (Bookshop|Amazon). http://waywordradio.org

1672-Lex-Bag-UNABRIDGED-Stefan-Fatsis

Headlines for December 22, 2025; “Who Are They Protecting?”: Rep. Ro Khanna Urges Contempt Charges over AG Bondi’s Epstein Redactions; Rep. Ro Khanna on Venezuela Strikes, Zohran Mamdani, Trump-Kennedy Center & More; Israel Approves 19 New West Bank Settlements as State-Sponsored Violence Escalates; “Destroying Knowledge”: Michael Mann on Trump’s Dismantling of Key Climate Center in Colorado

Democracy Now! is a daily independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Visit democracynow.org to watch and listen to the latest interviews, read through show transcripts, search the vast news archive or to make a donation to support our nonprofit news program. Livestream weekdays 8 a.m. ET.

Democracy Now! Monday, December 22, 2025

Headlines for December 23, 2025; CBS Censorship: Bari Weiss Pulls “60 Minutes” Exposé on Torture of Migrants U.S. Sent to El Salvador; “Out for Blood”: Writer Jasper Nathaniel on Surviving Israeli Settler Attack on W. Bank Olive Farmers

Democracy Now! is a daily independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Visit democracynow.org to watch and listen to the latest interviews, read through show transcripts, search the vast news archive or to make a donation to support our nonprofit news program. Livestream weekdays 8 a.m. ET.

Democracy Now! Tuesday, December 23, 2025

This week's short podcast talks about what to do if your pets gets into trouble this Christmas, and how to avoid the most common problems.

10 min podcast: Christmas tips for pets from a vet

Headlines for December 24, 2025; “Heartbreaking”: Journalist Vicky Ward on New Epstein Files & Survivors’ Fight for Accountability; “Never Stop”: Freed After 9 Months in ICE Jail, Immigrant Activist Jeanette Vizguerra Keeps Fighting; Free Leqaa Kordia: Palestinian Woman Who Joined Columbia U. Protest Has Been Detained Since March

Democracy Now! is a daily independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Visit democracynow.org to watch and listen to the latest interviews, read through show transcripts, search the vast news archive or to make a donation to support our nonprofit news program. Livestream weekdays 8 a.m. ET.

Democracy Now! Wednesday, December 24, 2025

By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan
News organizations cannot function under corrupt corporate control, answering to billionaire bosses and  politicians. When that happens, democracy dies, and dictators rise.

Column — CBS 60 Minutes Censorship Rings Another Alarm, Warning of Corporate Media’s Threat to Democracy

A Tribute to Blacklisted Lyricist Yip Harburg: The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz

Democracy Now! is a daily independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Visit democracynow.org to watch and listen to the latest interviews, read through show transcripts, search the vast news archive or to make a donation to support our nonprofit news program. Livestream weekdays 8 a.m. ET.

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