Ask Rachel

Pass wore-out, heavy chewers and eggs-istential crisis

04/24/2025

Interesting fact: If you need a new password, a passphrase might be your best bet – some experts believe a seven-word passphrase is essentially unhackable. Unless it’s your dog’s name.

The Easter grinch and the three-hour work day: 04/17/2025; Interesting fact: “Eight hours for work” etc. etc. was the slogan of the 19th-century Haymarket Martyrs, who were killed while on strike. We like to say they died for the modern workday. I have to think they died for the “rest & what we will” portions of the day.; Read More

Dog as my witness, office odor & bad taste

04/10/2025

Interesting fact: La Plata County’s website does not seem to take a stance on dog paw prints as witness signatures, one way or the other.

Heavy lifting, secret sauce and wannabe fan boy

04/03/2025

Interesting fact: Baseball saw double-digit increases in its national TV audience for viewers age 18-34 last year. Weird, because I didn’t think kids these days had attention spans.

Cock fight, shoulder season and buzzing off

03/27/2025

Interesting fact: The term “cockpit” for a pilot’s little room seems to come from ye olde nautical term for “where the coxswain sits.” That ought to clear up any other possible misuse of the word.

What the fooch, love triangle and odd cat out

03/20/2025

Interesting fact: An average-sized pine tree can turn into about 100 pounds of toilet paper, or 1,500 rolls. No word on how many fooch wipes that same tree can make.

Burning question, doctors' orders and death wish: 03/13/2025; Interesting fact: Medical appointment times are set to the provider’s schedule, not yours. It’s a lot like how you have to arrive early for your flight, with an equally high chance of contracting something while there.; Read More

Following suit, persona non grata and sucking up: 03/06/2025; Interesting fact: Military fatigues come from the “fatigue duties” of soldiers, aka the work that will wear them out. By this reasoning, all my clothes at this point are fatigues.; Read More

The doll-drums, noodle nerd and giving the slip: 02/27/2025; Interesting fact: The slang term “noodle” for brain doesn’t actually come from the word for pasta – neither, shockingly, does the word “canoodle” – but both might come from when “noodle” meant “idiot.” Let’s bring this one back into fashion.; Read More

'Pops' psych, leggo my LEGOs and virgin territory: 02/20/2025; Interesting fact: LEGO is an abbreviation of the Danish “leg godt,” meaning “play well.” IKEA is an acronym for a bunch of words that sound like IKEA products.; Read More

Prime time, dating for dollars and Star Spangled manner: 02/13/2025; Interesting fact: Two-thirds of Americans do not know the words to the first verse of the national anthem. In fairness, who knows what a “gleaming” is, anyway?; Read More

Run for the border, Super Bore and photo opps: 02/06/2025; Interesting fact: Duolingo boasts more than 83 million monthly active users, and its avatars look more attractive than most dating app photos. Maybe that’s the place to start looking for amore.; Read More

Powder to the people, folked up and hallmarked: 01/30/2025; Interesting fact: Woody Guthrie was named “Woodrow Wilson Guthrie,” after the president, who was not yet president when Woody was born. Buzz Lightyear, in contrast, was named for Buzz Aldrin, whose sister pronounced “brother” as “buzzer.”; Read More

Cyber sucker, total zero and human guinea pigs: 01/23/2025; Interesting fact: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” came to us as an aphorism from philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He clearly didn’t live long enough to add “… or dumber.”; Read More

A bookworm's dilemma, buttered up and selling out: 01/16/2025; Interesting fact: The butter compartment is, reportedly, the warmest part of the fridge, thus keeping butter easier to cut. And here I thought that’s what electric knives were for.; Read More

Right hand dogs, non-resolving and cell-free shopping

01/09/2025

Interesting fact: Dogs heel on the left because of right-handed dominance. This keeps your hand free for self-defense on the trail. Or, more likely, to better dispense dog treats.

At a loss, vive la résistance and key party

12/19/2024

Interesting fact: An eggcorn is a word or phrase misheard and altered in a plausible way. This was supposed to be a fact about potlucks, but an eggcorn sounds tastier than my last potluck contribution, so here we are.

Forbidden dance, coffee talk and guilt gifting: 12/12/2024; Interesting fact: Etiquette for professional coffee meetings is to meet for 30-60 minutes. Weirdly enough, no one seems to do professional tea parties anymore.; Read More

Pie holes, moment of silence and clean breaks

12/05/2024

Interesting fact: A commercial pecan has to be cleaned, sized, sterilized, cracked and shelled before being sold. Makes me feel fortunate that I have only to be proofread – if even that.

Time warp, frank incensed and adulting

11/28/2024

Interesting fact: In “Home Alone,” Macaulay Culkin had a 30-year-old stunt double. I’d like one of those to handle all my adulting stunts, please.