"P" is for Science
When an egg cell in a flower fertilizes itself, it's called "self-" this
What is pollinating
It's the most common written letter in French, too, but Georges Perec wrote the novel "La DIsparition" without using it
What is E
It's found in an idiom with "No... ands, or buts"
What are ifs
Word maven Richard Lederer points out that this is Pig Latin for "trash", but it's also an (apt) English word
What is ashtray
It's a synonym for carousel
What is a merry-go-round
The mix of water & chemicals that made up Earth's oceans billions of years ago is often called this kind of "soup"
What is primordial/primeval
Diddy dropped it in 2005
What is P
One of Santa's helpers, or a Keebler baker
What is an elf
In a Three Stooges short, trying to explain Pig Latin, Arrylay & this guy tell Urlycay he's umbday
Who is oemay
According to the Flag Code, for 30 days after the death of a president, the flag should be flown this way
What is half-staff
Among species, there are brood, social & sexual types of this relationship in which someone is usually a loser
What is a parasitic relationship
The old East Coast accent like Katharine Hepburn's or William F. Buckley's was marked by dropping this letter
What is R
Going back to the Bible, a minor drawback is sometimes likened to one of these "in the ointment"
What is a fly
The OED defines this Pig Latin word as "no; not possibly" & has citations back to around 1930
What is ixnay
Like the platypus, dinosaurs known as hadrosaurs have this descriptive facial adjective applied to them
What is a duck-bill
School glue is made up of these long molecule chains, whose name is from the Greek for "many"--adding a water & borax solution helps link them, creating gooey kids' slime
What are polymers
The Motion Picture Association of America abandoned this letter rating in 1990
What is X
Towards the rear of a ship
What is aft
The "Historical Dict. of American Slang" defines this Pig Latin word as "to clear out" & has citations back to around 1930
What is amscray
It takes about a week to travel the 5,700-mile route from Moscow to Vladivostok on this railway
What is the Trans-Siberian
It's the astronomic term for the point in the Moon's orbit when it's nearest the Earth
What is a perigee
It was one of the 3 original blood groups discovered in 1900 but got changed to O
What is C
A dandy dude
What is a fop
Pig Latin cheered up the Depression--in 1933 a popular song debuted with a Pig Latin segment, "e'reway inay the" this
What is oneymay
During the Revolutionary War, George Washington had many of these confidential assistants including Alexander Hamilton
What is aide-de-camp