Does the thought of going without your cellphone fill you with separation anxiety? Grant and Martha coin some monikers for this modern-day phobia. Also, what's the best way to win at the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors? Where might you fry eggs in a spider, and where would you refer to a Band-Aid as a plaster? Could sending your child to a language immersion school help the whole family learn a new language? Where'd we get the expression When in Rome, do as the Romans do? Also, Yiddish proverbs and slang from the streets to Capitol Hill.FULL DETAILSHow would you feel if someone took away your smartphone? Nomophobia, the suggested moniker for that anxiety produced by the separation between one and their phone, has been circulating on the internet for a few years after being cooked up by a market research firm. Is there a better term for that awful feeling?What exactly is gobbledygook, and where does the word come from? Texas Congressman Maury Maverick coined the word gob1.htm">http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-gob1.htm in 1944 to describe the frustrating jargon used by policymakers in Washington, which reminded him of the sound of turkeys gobbling away. Incidentally, his grandfather Samuel August Maverick, also inspired a term that became popular during the 2008 U.S. elections. http://www.waywordradio.org/maverick-and-gobbledygook-minicast/What's the best way to win at Rock, Paper, Scissors? Grant delves into the game's various monikers http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/23932, its roots going back centuries in Europe and Asia, and the role it plays among children learning about fairness. Studies have even been done to figure the most advantageous moves in competition http://www.worldrps.com/: statistically, scissors is your best bet http://www.worldrps.com/advanced.html.Our Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game called Words of the Year, based on phrases containing each month's three letter abbreviation. So, an ancient demonym would be TroJAN, for January, and a Derby Day cocktail would be a Mint JULep, for July. What does it mean to redd up the home? This phrase is most common in Pennsylvania, and reflects the presence of early Scots-Irish settlers there. The expression means to "pick up" or "tidy up." What's the difference between a plaster and a Band-Aid? One's a term used in England for "adhesive bandage," and the other is an American brand name that's almost completely generalized. The use of plaster for this type of bandage in Britain is allusion to the traditional use of sticky pastes to ensure the bandage stayed in place.The Yiddish Project https://twitter.com/#!/YiddishProject on Twitter translates Yiddish proverbs into English, such as, "Ask advice from everyone but act with your own mind." It's not far from Martha's favorite advice from her North Carolina-born father: "Milk all the cows you can and then churn your own butter."Should route be pronounced to rhyme with root or stout? There's no evidence to suggest that it can't, or shouldn't, rhyme with stout -- although anyone who's traveled Route 66 might beg to differ.A collection of Bethlehem, Pa., slang from The Chatauquan http://books.google.com/books?id=qsVZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA561&dq=chautauqua+%22coffee+soup%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CoFmT5ieBoaRsAKziuW2Dw&ved=0CEUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=chautauqua%20%22coffee%20soup%22&f=false, published in 1888, contains such gems as first, meant to be used interchangeably with just, as in "She is first eight years old," and coffee soup, bread with coffee poured over it.We've received plenty of feedback about language immersion schools, and many who've attended say that not only did they learn both English and another language fluently by 3rd or 4th grade, but often the whole family picked up some of the new language, too.Where does the phrase jonesing for come from? Heroin addicts first introduced the phrase in the early 1960s, but like many bits of slang, it soon left its original subculture and entered the mainstream vernacular. The Southern idiom don't that tear the rag off the bush? detective.com/2010/03/04/rag-off-the-bush-to-take-the/">http://www.word-detective.com/2010/03/04/rag-off-the-bush-to-take-the/ has been used when scandalous relationships are revealed, but it's also applicable to anything surprising. It's similar to "Don't that beat all?" and "Doesn't that take the cake?" Its etymology is uncertain, although it may have to do with old-fashioned shooting contests, in which someone would drape a rag on a bush as a target, and the winner would be the one who knocked it off.Chiasumus http://www.waywordradio.org/pickles-and-ice-cream/, also known as antimetabole, is a somewhat symmetrical expression like John F. Kennedy’s famous “Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country,” or "Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you." The great philosopher Alfred E. Newman once bequeathed to us a bit of wisdom with a somewhat similar structure: We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.When in Rome, do as the Romans do. But wait, what did the Romans do, anyway, and where does that phrase come from? It pops up at least as early as St. Augustine's writings in the late 4th century, when he moved from Rome to Milan and inquired of a bishop as to whether he should keep his old routines.Why are skillets also called spiders http://www.journalofantiques.com/hearthjan01.htm ? Centuries ago, the three-legged, long-handled pans used for frying actually resembled spiders, and the name stuck.....Support for A Way with Words comes from National University, which invites you to change your future today. Learn more at nu.edu. http://nu.eduWe're also grateful for support from The University of San Diego. Since 1949, USD has been on a mission not only to prepare students for the world, but also to change it. Learn more about the college and five schools of this nationally ranked, independent Catholic university at sandiego.edu. http://sandiego.edu--A Way with Words is funded by its listeners: http://waywordradio.org/donateGet your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:Email: words@waywordradio.orgPhone: United States and Canada toll-free (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673London +44 20 7193 2113Mexico City +52 55 8421 9771Donate: http://waywordradio.org/donateSite: http://waywordradio.org/Podcast: http://waywordradio.org/podcast/Forums: http://waywordradio.org/discussion/Newsletter: http://waywordradio.org/newsletter/Twitter: http://twitter.com/wayword/Skype: skype://waywordradio Copyright 2012, Wayword LLC.