The Hawaiian word “aloha” is both a greeting and a goodbye, as well as a profound acknowledgement of the oneness with all living things. Plus, what’s a “lemur ball”? That’s the cute little cuddle formed when several of these ring-tailed primates cozy up to each other. A new book will leave you marveling over the mysteries of lemurs, wombats, and other creatures. And: If you’re exhausted after a long day, and you get tired of saying you’re tired, you can always say you’re “forswunk.” Also, sweating buckets, sudar como un pollo, a game featuring imaginary national anthems, fair to middling, sirop de poteau, Se cree la mamá de Tarzán, dilly-dally, cackermander, jassum, swink, skunked, and a 5-year-old’s hilarious misunderstanding. http://waywordradio.org

Big as a Breadbox (#1667)

In some British dialects, the word cackemander means “friend.” http://waywordradio.org

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Dale from Huntsville, Alabama, recalls a colleague in Quebec dissing imitation maple syrup as lamppost syrup. Indeed, the phrase sirop de poteau, or “pole syrup,” is a disdainful reference used by French-speaking Canadians referring to the weak, artificial version of the real thing, suggesting that the so-called syrup was obtained by tapping a telephone pole, not a living, growing tree. http://waywordradio.org

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Don from San Mateo, Florida, recalls that when he asked his mother what he was getting for Christmas, she’d reply with: I got you a fastareus. It’s bigger than a breadbox and smaller than an elephant. His father also used fastareus as a placeholder word like doohickey or thingamajig. The word may be related to the Irish words fooster, foostering, and foosterins, all of which have to do with idling about. The expression bigger than a breadbox has a much clearer origin. The idea first popped on national television on January 18, 1953, spoken by panelist Steve Allen on the game show “What’s My Line?” http://waywordradio.org

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A Havertown, Pennsylvania, listener wonders why her mother used to answer queries about how she was doing with phrase that sounded like either Fair to midland or Fair to middling. Middling has long meant “just OK” or “right in the middle,” and the expression fair to middling is among the categories used to grade agricultural products such as cotton, grain, and livestock depending on their quality. http://waywordradio.org

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Jeff in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is looking for a specific word for “exhaustion after extreme physical activity, such as running a marathon.” Synonyms for exhausted include knackered and forswunk, from swink, meaning “to toil” or “to work hard.” In extreme sports, people use the term bonking to mean “being depleted,” or metaphorically hitting the wall. There’s also dog-tired, plum tired, running on fumes, and out of gas. In French, the expression coup de pompe is aviators’ slang for “the sudden drop passengers feel during turbulence” and can refer to such sudden depletion. Speaking of aviation, exhausted flight crews talk about the desire to slam-click once they’re on the ground—that is, to check into a hotel, slam the door behind them, lock it shut, and keep to themselves until checkout time. http://waywordradio.org

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The English language has a variety of expressions referring to the excretion of moisture from the skin due to heat. There’s the verb perspire and the Yiddish borrowing schvitz. If you perspire profusely, you may sweat buckets, or be sweating like a sinner in church. The Spanish idiom  sudar como un pollo means “to sweat like a chicken,” a reference to juices exuding from a bird as it roasts. One Dutch idiom translates as “sweating like an otter,” and another as “I’m sweating little carrots,” possibly because the Dutch word for “little carrots,” peentjes, sounds a lot like Dutch for “pints.” http://waywordradio.org

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A Way with Words is a fun and funny public radio program about language examined through history, culture, and family. Its mission is to change the way you think about language. The program is heard by broadcast and podcast across the United States and around the world by more than a quarter-million listeners each week. It's produced by Wayword, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to promote lifelong learning, better human communication, and the value of a thing well-said or well-written. Call or write with your language questions at any time: (877) 929-9673 (toll-free in the US and Canada) or just email us: words@waywordradio.org.