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

Latest Episodes:

Qi, Qat, and Za: Great Scrabble Words - 14 March 2011 Mar 15, 2011

Show notes

Need a good Scrabble word? Grant shares some of his favorites. Also, why do we call those classic screwball films madcap comedies? And what does it mean to walk in a crocodile? Plus mondegreens, naval slang, learned vs learnt, and “No way, Jose!” And what do you call that flourish at the bottom of John Hancock’s John Hancock?

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

It's in My Wheelhouse - 7 March 2011 Mar 07, 2011

Show notes

What was your first word? Grant and Martha talk about how children acquire language. Also, if you say that something’s in your wheelhouse, you mean that it’s within your area of expertise. But why “wheelhouse”? And what does it mean to be “high as Cooter Brown”?

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

Sufficiently Suffonsified (rebroadcast) - 31 Jan. 2011 Jan 31, 2011

Show notes

What’s in a pet’s name? Martha and Grant swap stories about how they came up with names for their dogs. Also this week: Have you ever been called a stump-jumper? How about a snicklefritz? And what’s the last word in the dictionary? Depending on which dictionary you consult, it might be zythum, zyzzyva, zyxomma, or zyxt.

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

Word Up! - 17 Jan. 2011 Jan 17, 2011

Show notes

What would you serve a plumber who comes over for dinner? How about … leeks? The hosts play a word game called “What Would You Serve?” Also, can you correct someone’s grammar without ruining a new relationship? And is there an easy way to remember the difference between who and whom?

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

Down A Chimney Up (Rebroadcast) - 10 Jan. 2011 Jan 10, 2011

Show notes

Good poetry is even better when you read it aloud. For his anthology, Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky selected works with just that in mind. Martha and Grant discuss a poem from the book with lines that are more delicious when spoken. Also this week: If a woman decides to keep her own name after getting married, should she be addressed as Ms. or Mrs.? When you were young, what did you call your favorite blanket? When do you redd up the table, and what does it mean to be out like Lottie’s eye?

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

The Thought Plickens (rebroadcast) - 3 Jan. 2010 Jan 03, 2011

Show notes

If you’re inappropriately focused on the minutiae of a project instead of the bigger picture, you’re said to be bike-shedding. Grant talks about that modern slang term and Martha discusses a word that goes way back in time, right back to “In the beginning,” in fact. The word is tohubohu, and it means a “mess” or “confusion.”

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

Cut to the Chase - 27 Dec. 2010 Dec 27, 2010

Show notes

This week: whether cotton-pickin’ is racist, unintentionally funny headlines, whether enormity can simply mean “enormous,” how a person can be “such a pill,” and pandiculation. “It’s good stuff, Maynard!”

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

Too Much Sugar for a Dime - 20 Dec. 2010 Dec 20, 2010

Show notes

Is the term “Oriental” offensive? Where do we get the phrase “not one iota”? Why do we tell someone to “take a gander”? And who coined the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?

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

Anaheim, Asuza, and Cuck-a-monga (Rebroadcast) - 6 Dec. 2010 Dec 06, 2010

Show notes

All aboard! This week, a bit about the musical language of railroad conductors’ calls: “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga!” Also, the origin of the military slang term cumshaw, tips for learning Latin, the influence of Spanish immigrants on English, and the funny story behind why plain-talking Texans say, “We’re going to tell how the cow ate the cabbage.”

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

Zig-Zag and Shilly-Shally (Rebroadcast) - 29 Nov. 2010 Nov 29, 2010

Show notes

Bavarian Chalet. Mushroom Basket. Moose Point. Who in the heck comes up with the names of paints, anyway? Martha and Grant ponder that mystery. They also explain why those annoying emails go by the name spam. And Grant explains the difference between being “adorbs” and “bobo.”

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