Which are the words that refer to the genital organs in Swedish? I've been told that Swedish has a "neutral" sexual/anatomic terminology that is neither vulgar, nor childish, nor medical/technical. "They call it like we call a nose a nose, and a leg a leg". [more inside]
posted by megob on Sep 13, 2009 - 12 answers

What are the five impressive words? Does anybody know the other two impressive words? My mum caught the end of a radio show, yesterday, where they mentioned five words that, when included in your active vocabulary, make a huge difference to how learned you sound. She only heard the last three... [more inside]
posted by surenoproblem on Sep 16, 2008 - 22 answers

DiscourseAnalysisFilter: That I know something you don't know sing-song voice... how universal is that? Is it specific to North America? Do non-North American English-speaking kids know the tune for that phrase or others like "Iiiiii'm better than yoooouuuuu are" or "nyah nyah nyah nyah boo boo"? If not, is there another sing-song phrase they use for teasing? And how would one go about publishing their findings on such a question?
posted by heatherann on Nov 22, 2004 - 18 answers

Now that the election is over, I'd like to ask a question about preparing for the next one. I'm still struggling with being (or not being) a political person. My problem is that I can't stand us-vs-them mentality. If a political discussion veers into "those insane democrats" or "those horrible republicans," by brain turns off. I know some will disagree, but I think there are very few complex issues that are black & white. So it's hard for me to believe that one party is right and the other is wrong. But most commentators seem to be "liberals" or "conservatives." I know I'm supposed to listen to them both and then make my own informed decision. But I'd love to find some writers (or speakers) who are deeply independent. I want to read columns by someone who regularly says, "the democrats are right about X and wrong about Y, whereas the republicans are right about A but wrong about B." And it would help if this person (people?) is a good writer, smart and knowlegeable about history. Where do you find the writers who are interested in facts -- not sides?
posted by grumblebee on Nov 3, 2004 - 21 answers