True American Words: Our Hosts Test Their Knowledge

The Takeaway

Ben Zimmer, Executive Producer of the Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com  is putting John and Celeste to the test by asking them to identify the real definition of words with truly American origins.  Could you identify absquatulate, callithump and copacetic? If so, you might do well on producer Kristen Meinzer’s  quiz.
Here are the words with which Ben Zimmer tried to stump the hosts: absquatulate, callithump, copacetic, hornswoggle, lagniappe, rumbustious. Do you know what they mean?

Help keep The World going strong!

The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.

Make a gift today to help us reach our $25,000 goal and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer.