Words Between Friends

In this episode Malcolm and Kurt do their best to unpack letters to Ann Landers, Carolyn Hax, Dear Prudence and more, offering our pointed critiques of the following:

• “A Hairy Situation in the East” who doesn’t know how to communicate to his loving girlfriend that he’s freaked out that she doesn’t shave her legs or armpits“
• Halloween for the 99 Percent” who asks Prudence’s advice for discouraging low-income trick-or-treaters from invading their posh neighborhood on Halloween
• An ungrateful girlfriend who wants to know if Carolyn Hax thinks she’s being petty by complaining about her boyfriend’s self-serving birthday and Christmas gifts 

And so much more!

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This week Kurt goes thematic by asking Malcolm to identify the origins of “Kick the bucket,” “Dead as a doornail” and “Shuffle off this mortal coil,” while Malcolm introduces his co-host to Cockney rhyming slang in the form of “Put up your dukes” and reveals the derivation of “Fly off the handle.”

All this and our hilarious takes on Olympic boycotts through history, soft-pedaling bad news and “Going Shakespearean” in the heat of passion. 

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Malcolm and Kurt try to stump one another about the origins of Balls to the Wall, Mad as a Hatter,  Bury the Hatchet, and Butter You Up while exploring why the Bruce Springsteen lyric is "throw that old *speedball* by you" instead of *fastball* and reveal that Val Kilmer's Wyatt Earp character in Tombstone does NOT say "I'll be your huckleberry."

All this and whether Malcolm is a terrible friend, why engineers and lawyers are the WORST people to do work for and how a four-way stop sign encounter can rapidly devolve into a ruinous battle of wills.

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In this episode Malcolm and Kurt tackle letters to advice columnists from individuals facing a host of tough situations, including:

• A woman who caught her 40-year-old boyfriend making out with a 16-year-old girl attending her daughter's birthday party
• A new mom who pumps at work but recently discovered her expressed milk is being pilfered from the break room refrigerator
• A mom worried about her 24-year-old virgin son
• Dealing with a husband whose Mothers Day gift is ruining their home

... and much more!

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In this episode Malcolm and Kurt unpack letters to advice columnists covering a range of topics, including:

• A woman whose boyfriend of two years insists on maintaining a relationship with his ex/housemate
• A young man whose yearning for a lesbian friend has finally turned to romance but should they buy a house together?
• What the proper etiquette is for greeting the host of a party immediately after performing an impromptu act of oral pleasure
• Is it OK to feel put-upon after paying for the care and feeding of a friend's teen kids for two weeks if one of the kids steals cars and makes terrorist threats?

... and much more!

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Today Malcolm and Kurt do our best to unpack letters to Dear Abby, Dear Prudence and Miss Manners, doling out our critiques to:

- “Yearns To Be a Mom” a “former model” who’s 31 and desperate to get that finger ringed and start pumping out the rugrats, but just can’t find any takers

- A “Dear Prudence” letter writer whose friend has begun communicating with a “dragon spirit guide” she speaks with every day

- A polyamorous “Gentle Reader” who wants Miss Manners’ expert advice on how to discourage her husband from getting too hot and heavy with the female member of the couple they “swing” with while out to dinner

... and much more!

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Malcolm and Kurt grill one another about the origins of “Under the Weather,” "Bite the Bullet,” “No Cap,” “Milquetoast” and “Steal Your Thunder“ while Kurt also tests Malcolm’s ability to guess the meaning of a foreign idiomatic expressions like “There’s no cow on the ice,” “Not my circus, not my monkeys” and “Going where the Czar goes on foot.”

All this and our hilarious take on Lowenbrau’s famous “Tonight is kind of special” ad slogan, as always delivered with our signature joie de vivre, bonhomie and savoir faire!

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Malcolm and Kurt examine and argue about the surprising provenance of a range of terms including "level best," "on tenterhooks," and "piss-poor" while also discussing pressing questions like:

• Why do we say "hundreds," "thousands" and "millions" but we don't say "tens?"
• If you know the correct pronunciation of a widely mispronounced word, which pronunciation do you use?

And plenty more, all delivered with our signature joie de vivre, wit and savoir faire!

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Today Malcolm and Kurt hilariously tackle letters to Dear Abby, Ask Amy and Miss Manners, sharing pointed thoughts on advice to:

• "Right or Wrong in Virginia," who is adamant about not going on double-dates with her husband's two-timing friend "Al.”
• "Finally Free," who wants to know if she was right to break things off the way she did with the married man who wasn't being honest with her
• A "Gentle Reader" who asked Miss Manners whether her "casual loungewear" was appropriate for brief trips into the yard to feed birds and move garbage bins
• "High and Dry" who says he's not sure how to tell his ex-wife he can't afford the expensive bar bill for their daughter's quinceañera party

Get full access to Culture Shlock at malcolmfleschner.substack.com/subscribe