A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

Latest Episodes:

Catch My Fade - 22 December 2014 Dec 22, 2014

Show notes

If you’re sending out party invitations, what’s a sure-fire way to get hold of everyone? Email? Snailmail? Facebook? Texting? Twitter? Or a plain old-fashioned phone call? Different folks have different communication preferences, and accommodating all of them can be a challenge. Also, when someone says “Catch my fade,” is that good news or bad? And: what to do if your cheese is blinky. Plus, pipe down, cease and desist, peach and bungalow, rush the growler, pagophilic, a famous insult from Hollywood, and a grandma’s edgy phrase for washing up in the sink.

Read full show notes, hear hundreds of free episodes, send your thoughts and questions, and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org/contact. Be a part of the show: call 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; worldwide, call or text/SMS +1 (619) 800-4443. Email words@waywordradio.org. Twitter @wayword. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Urgent Need from A Way with Words Dec 21, 2014

Show notes

Give Now! https://waywordradio.org/donate

Dear friends and listeners,
As we near the end of our biggest year yet, we must raise $75,000 to cover the remainder of this season. We need your help to reach that amount before December 31st.
Reaching that goal will mean covering fixed costs: Broadcast studio rental. A sound engineer and board operator. Website hosting. Podcast hosting. The toll-free phone line. Episode distribution through the Public Radio Satellite System and PRX.
What you may not know is that when you donate to your local station — as you should — none of that money goes to A Way with Words. We’re independent of any radio station and independent of NPR. We receive no funds from them at all.
This means, in part, that A Way with Words can carry out its educational mission without excessive bureaucracy and overhead costs. It also means we can make it available to everyone, completely free of charge.
But it also means that to do well, we require support from our listeners. We need your donations, whether you listen online or on the air.
Give Now! http://waywordradio.org/donate
You can also send your donations by postal mail to this address:

Wayword, Inc.

P.O. Box 632721

San Diego, CA 92163

Best wishes, and happy holidays,
Grant Barrett and Martha Barnette
co-hosts of A Way with Words

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buckle Down - 15 December 2014 Dec 15, 2014

Show notes

It’s time for book recommendations! Martha’s enjoying an armchair tour of important places in the history of our language, and Grant recommends relaxing with books that make great reading for both children and adults. Plus, are you the type of shopper who gets in and out of a store quickly? Or would you rather research that purchase in advance and then try before you buy? No matter where you fall on the shopping scale, psychologists have a name for you. And here’s a wintry question: if you’re panking something, just what are you doing? Plus, how to pronounce short-lived, a slang term for flirting, “ass over teakettle,” and an amusing 19th-century rant about young people’s slang.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Curse of Knowledge Dec 08, 2014

Show notes

It’s all about terms of endearment: If your loved one is far away for a long time, you’re probably tired of just saying “I miss you” over and over. For variety’s sake, there are some creative alternatives to that phrase. Also, what do you call the kind of friend you can go without seeing for years, then pick right back up with, as though no time has passed? Martha calls them her “Anyway friends,” because they always resume the conversation with the transitional term “Anyway…” And if a characteristic is “ingrained and long-established,” do you say it is deep-seated or deep-SEEDED? Plus, Cajun slang, burning platforms, cutting circumbendibus, under the weather, smell a mouse, yard sales on ski slopes, how to pronounce mayonnaise and won, and the curse of knowledge.

Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: ⁠https://waywordradio.org⁠. Be a part of the show: call or text ⁠1 (877) 929-9673⁠ toll-free in the United States and Canada; elsewhere in the world, call or text ⁠+1 619 800 4443⁠. Send voice notes or messages via ⁠WhatsApp 16198004443.⁠ Email ⁠words@waywordradio.org⁠. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polyglot Problems (Rebroadcast) - 1 December 2014 Dec 01, 2014

Show notes

It’s the business of business jargon. Say you’re in line at the drugstore. Does it bother you if the cashier says, “Next guest”? In department stores and coffeeshops, does the term “guest” suggest real hospitality—or just an annoying edict from corporate headquarters? And speaking of buzzwords, has your boss adopted the trendy term “cadence”? Also: words made up to define emotions, like “intaxication.” That’s the euphoria you get when you receive your tax refund–that is, until you remember it was your money to begin with.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ride the Merry Go Round (Rebroadcast) - 24 November 2014 Nov 24, 2014

Show notes

A pint-sized mad scientist, a green-haired girl with a contagious sense of wonder, and a 10-year-old detective. They’re all characters in the books on Grant’s latest list of recommended books for children. Also, what’s the word for a female octopus? How about a male kangaroo? A colorful book for younger kids has those answers and more. And the debate over “on accident” versus “by accident”: Which one you use probably depends on how old you are. Plus, if you hop on a merry-go-round, are you moving clockwise or counterclockwise? The answer depends on which side of the pond you’re on.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bouncy House of Language (Rebroadcast) - 17 November 2014 Nov 17, 2014

Show notes

Some people proudly embrace the label cancer survivor, while others feel that’s not quite the right word. Is there a better term for someone who’s battled cancer? Writers and listeners share the best sentence they’ve read all day. Plus, koofers and goombahs, Alfred Hitchcock and MacGuffins, why we put food in jars but call it canning, and why ring the door with your elbow means BYOB.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Ear For Wine - 10 November 2014 Nov 10, 2014

Show notes

Creative communication in a noisy world! Writing a clever 140-character tweet isn’t easy. But you know what’s even more impressive? Working all 26 letters of the alphabet into just one sentence! The term for that type of sentence is pangram. Naturally, there’s a whole Twitter feed featuring accidental pangrams from all over. And: More people are giving themselves coffee names to avoid confusion when ordering that cup to go. After all, what barista is going to misspell Elvis? And what’s the difference between a purse, a handbag, and a pocketbook? Martha and Grant root around for an answer. Plus: center vs. centre, capital vs. lowercase letters, the origin of sommelier, and an alternative to showering when travelling in an RV.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Electric Hootenanny - 3 November 2014 Nov 03, 2014

Show notes

Bathroom walls, missing graffiti, and social media. Where have all the cute quips on bathroom stalls gone? We wonder about the apparent decline of restroom graffiti. Are people saving their witticisms for Twitter and Facebook? And: If there were a universal law named in your honor, what would it be? Martha says in her case, “Barnette’s Law” would be “The lane you just got out of is the one that ends up going faster.” Always. Finally: Andre the Giant fancies a cocktail called “The American.” The recipe? Fill a 40-ounce pitcher with various liquors, then stir. Eeeeuww! Plus, using Master vs. Mister in correspondence, how fixin’ to became finna, the meaning of derp, and what happens when you take a forest bath in Japan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do Me a Solid - 27 October 2014 Oct 27, 2014

Show notes

What’s in YOUR spice rack? Say you’re cooking up a pot of chili, and you need to add more of that warm, earthy, powdered spice. Do you reach for a bottle of KOO-min? KYOO-min? Or are you going to add KUMM-in? The pronunciation given in dictionaries may surprise you. Also: some people have a problem with using the word issue instead of problem. And if you’re talking to a group of men and women, be careful about using the term you guys. Plus, sharp as a “marshmallow sandwich,” the phrase “of an evening,” what your paycheck has to do with salt, and tips for breaking bad grammar habits.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

A Way with Words – language, linguistics, and callers from all over

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected