Decoding the 'familect'

What word or phrase conjures immediate understanding in your family — but puzzled looks from everyone else?

In one family, pizza crust is known as “pizza bones.” In another, children who weren’t allowed to say fart were instructed to use the word “foof” instead.

This Thursday, MPR News host Kerri Miller talked about “familect” with word wizard Anatoly Liberman.

Guest:

• Anatoly Liberman is a linguist and professor of languages at the University of Minnesota. His latest book is, “Take My Word For It: A Dictionary of English Idioms.”

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