Q: Is there a word that rhymes with orange? — W.L., Angleton, Texas
A: I have read many times there is no perfect rhyme for the word orange. Now let me quickly tell you a personal story. A few years ago, I was sitting in a cafe in Abergavenny, Wales. Abergavenny is located at the confluence of the River Usk and the River Gavenny. (Abergavenny means mouth of the River Gavenny.) My friend told me that the two hills on either side of the town were called Sugar Loaf and Blorenge. I quickly made an entry in my travel diary: “Today, I found a word that rhymes with orange.” The only problem is, all of your orange-strewn poetry will have to take place in Wales. If having an orange in Wales doesn’t work for you, the Oxford English Dictionary lists the word “sporange,” meaning “a rare alternative form of sporangium (a botanical term for a part of a fern or similar plant).”
Q: For years, Jimmy Durante signed off his radio and TV shows with “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” Who was Mrs. Calabash? — M.C.L., Bonita Springs, Fla.
A: I’ve been asked this question many times. There are several explanations; this is the one I like: Jimmy Durante kept the identity of Mrs. Calabash a secret, leaving millions of viewers in the dark. Turns out it was the nickname of his wife, Jeanne Olsen, who died in 1943.
Q: Many years ago when I was a little girl, I recall my uncle getting my grandfather a “tippling stick.” “Now, don’t let your wife know about this, Wendell,” my uncle said. I distinctly recall those instructions. It’s a fond memory but presents confusion in the present. What is a “tippling stick”? -- C.H., Idaho Falls, Idaho
A: It is better known as a “tippling cane” or a “tippler,” for short. The cane has a hollowed-out compartment near the top in which a vial, presumably filled with alcohol, could be hidden.
Q: I watched a made-for-TV movie on the Hallmark Channel called “Freshman Father.” It was a true story of a young man who had earned a full scholarship to Harvard. Just before leaving for college, he learned his girlfriend was pregnant. They married and moved to Cambridge, Mass. After the child was born, his wife could not handle the life of a young mother cooped up in a small apartment with no money. She left the family and moved home. What happened to the father and son? — F.M., Media, Pa.
A: While the movie was set in the current day, the story actually took place in the 1970s. After graduating from Harvard, John Wand moved back to Boise, Idaho, with his son, Robby. In 1979, father and son returned to Boston, Mass., where he attended Harvard Business School. Wand remarried in 1983 and had two children with his wife, Beverly. Today, Wand is a finance professor at Seton Hall University.
Q: Over the past year, I have received several e-mails showing some nifty garage-door covers. One has a jet plane; several others picture vintage cars; and one shows a bulldozer. Are these real covers? Or is this just trick photography? — G.W.J., Boulder, Colo.
A: I have received these e-mails, too. I like the one showing a wine cellar. They are real covers available for purchase. Prices range from around $100 to nearly $300. There are many companies offering them; perform an Internet search for “garage door covers.”
Send your questions to Mr. Know-It-All at AskMrKIA@gmail.com or c/o United Feature Syndicate, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016.