Robert K. Oermann

The Grand Ole Opry has been home to the greatest legends of country music for over eighty years, and in that time it has seen some of conutry music's most dramatic stories unfold. We'll hear of the great love stories ranging from Johnny Cash and June Carter in the 1960s to Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who married in 2005. We'll get the truth of the tragedies that led to the loss of three stars all in the same month, starting the rumor of the...

In this episode we look at how entertainment from circuses and vaudeville to plays and movies, influenced the common words and phrases we say every day. How did bad actors give us the word "explode," rude actors give us the phrase "to upstage" someone.

Ever wonder why American cowboys say "'git along little doggies" when they're talking about herding cattle? Or why a losing wrestler "cries uncle?" And why do we say "ouch" when we stub a toe? The answers to all these questions can be traced.

In this episode, we look at the ways that American English has been transformed by the clothes we wear, the crimes we commit and the punishments we receive, the insults we use...and the internet. Ever wonder why, when we "speak off the cuff."

The American South has given us words like "y'all" and "rednecks" as well as dozens of colorful phrases like "fly off the handle," "having an axe to grind," and "barking up the wrong tree." But what are the origins of these expressions?

In this episode, we look at the ways that American English has been transformed by the Vikings, the Cold War, computers, music, gambling, and the different meaning we give to the colors of the rainbow. Why is a "red letter day" good?

In this episode, we look at words from the worlds of the military, police, aviation, and baseball. Ever wonder why a "last ditch effort" rarely involves digging an actual ditch? Or why a temporary worker is hired as a "freelancer"?

Expressions from "riffraff" to "betting your bottom dollar", "passing the buck," "acid test" and even "heard it through the grapevine" all come from America's frontier days. But have you ever wondered why these phrases were first used?