Gang Busters was a fast-paced cops ‘n’ robbers radio show that featured the sounds of glass breaking, whistles blowing, guns blasting, and sirens wailing. Within a few years of its 1935 debut, “like gangbusters” had become part of the vernacular. The catchphrase “come on like gangbusters” long outlived the 1957 demise of the show that …
Retroterm of the Day: Drink the Kool Aid
This allusion to fervent loyalty harks back to the 1978 Jonestown, Guyana massacre in which hundreds of followers of the Rev. Jim Jones obeyed his orders to commit suicide by drinking a cyanide-laced fruit drink (Flavor-Aid, actually, not Kool Aid). Ever since those who blindly follow another person or ideology are said to “drink the …