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

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Nicknames Give Me the Heebie-Jeebies (Rebroadcast) - 11 Jan. 2010 Jan 11, 2010

Show notes

Everybody has a nickname, and there’s usually a story to go with it. Martha and Grant reveal their own nicknames and the stories behind them. Also, is the expression “heebie-jeebies” anti-Semitic? And is there a better word than retiree for someone who moves on from a job late in life?

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.

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Squeejawed Red-heads and Grockles (Rebroadcast) - 4 January 2010 Jan 04, 2010

Show notes

In this week’s episode: Just how far back could you go and still understand the English people were speaking? We crank up our trusty time machine to find out. Hint: You’d probably have a tough time getting around in the eighth century, when English poetry looked like: “Hwaet we gardena in geardagum.”

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See A Man About A Horse (Rebroadcast) - 28 Dec. 2009 Dec 28, 2009

Show notes

In this week's episode, Martha and Grant discuss not-to-be-believed articles about language from the satirical newspaper The Onion, including one headlined 'Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense from Language Programs.' By the way, did you ever notice how ONION is ZO-ZO if you tilt your head to the right?

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Words of the Decade - 21 Dec. 2009 Dec 21, 2009

Show notes

Enough about the Word of the Year. How about the Word of the Decade? Bailout? Google? Martha and Grant discuss some candidates. Also in this episode, does speaking a different language make you feel different emotions? What did Don Draper on Mad Men mean when he called Betty a “Main Line brat”? And why do we talk about “throwing someone under the bus”?

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Coinkydinks and Big Boxes - 30 Nov. 2009 Nov 30, 2009

Show notes

We all misspeak from time to time, but how about when we mangle words on purpose? Do you ever say fambly instead of family, perazackly for exactly, or coinkydink for coincidence? When Grant recently wrote a newspaper column about saying things wrong on purpose, the response was enormous. Why do many people find such wordplay hard to resist?

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Word Encounters of the First Kind - 14 November 2009 Nov 14, 2009

Show notes

There’s a frisson you get when you meet a word for the first time—feeling pleasantly stumped in between wondering, “What the heck does that mean?” and hurrying off to find out. Martha and Grant talk about some terms that had just that effect on them: ucalegon and cacoethes scribendi.

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Shivaree (Minicast) - 4 Nov. 2009 Nov 04, 2009

Show notes

You may remember the call we had from Tony in Encinitas, California. He was curious about the term for an unusual hazing ritual.

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Tilly Tickets (Minicast) - 20 Oct. 2009 Oct 20, 2009

Show notes

Did you ever use a tilly ticket in the bathroom? Over the years, we've answered lots of your questions about words and phrases that have to do with going to the bathroom.

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Roy Blount Jr. Slings Southern Slang (minicast) - 15 Oct. 2009 Oct 15, 2009

Show notes

Humorist Roy Blount Jr. stops by to try his hand at a slang quiz specifically about Southernisms. Blount, who is president of the Authors Guild, also joined Grant for a wide-ranging conversation about such topics as the controversy over writers' rights and the Amazon Kindle 2.

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We Cook Off Our Potatoes (minicast) - 13 Oct. 2009 Oct 13, 2009

Show notes

If a restaurant menu states, “We cook off our potatoes,” what in the heck does that mean? A truck driver who encountered such an announcement at a roadside cafe is still puzzling over what it means to “cook off” a tuber. He phones in to hash it out.

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