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A Way with Words
At First Blush (Rebroadcast) - 19 February 2024
2024/02/19
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Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English grammar, a Spanish-language adventure novel, an account of 19th-century dictionary wars, and a gorgeously illustrated book of letters to young readers. Plus, what's the best language for conveying a heartfelt apology? Ideally, an apology won't be the end of a conversation. Rather, it will be the beginning of one. Plus, a brain-busting word quiz, snow job, clean as a whistle, high muckety-muck, tip us your daddle, and a wet bird never flies at night.
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.
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Sweet Spot - 12 February 2024
2024/02/12
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If you’re in a book club, how do you decide what books to read? There are lots of different ways, depending on your group’s goals. And is it ever wise to correct someone who mispronounces a word? Sometimes you have to decide if it’s better to be right–or simply get along. Plus, some research suggests that when presented with photos from nature, humans naturally focus on animals instead of plants. Botanists even have a term for this tendency: plant blindness. Also, tight as a drum, a funny quiz about slightly altered Stephen King titles, sweet spot, lemniscate, kehrätä, mais garde donc, fourth-person pronouns, meronymy, shambles, semantic bleaching, opening lines of Turkish fairy tales, and the business end.
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.
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Gift Horse (Rebroadcast) - 5 February 2024
2024/02/05
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The edge of the Grand Canyon. A remote mountaintop. A medieval cathedral. Some places are so mystical you feel like you’re close to another dimension of space and time. There’s a term for such locales: thin places. And: did you ever go tick-tacking a few nights before Halloween? It’s pranks like tapping ominously on windows without being caught or tossing corn kernels all over a front porch. Also, horses run throughout our language, a relic of when these animals were much more commonplace in everyday life. For example, the best place to get information about a horse you might buy isn’t from the owner — it’s straight from the horse’s mouth. Plus, shoofly pie,bring you down a buttonhole lower, didaskaleinophobia, pangrams by middle schoolers, Albany beef, using say as an interjection or attention-getter, a brainteaser inspired by a New Jersey grandma, and a whole lot more.
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.
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Had the Radish (Rebroadcast) - 29 January 2024
2024/01/29
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Your first name is very personal, but what if you don’t like it? For some people, changing their name works out great but for others it may create more problems than it solves. And: at least three towns in the U.S. were christened with names formed by spelling a word backward. There’s a name for such names: they’re called ananyms. Plus, the Iowa town with a curious name: What Cheer. And: a brain game involving kangaroo words, had the radish, landed up vs. ended up, who struck John, English on a ball, whoop it up, affirming the Appalachian dialect, Sunday driver, and lots more.
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.
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Orange Pigs - 22 January 2024
2024/01/22
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What do you call a segment of an orange? These juicy pieces of fruit go by lots of different names, including section, wedge, and carpel. But they’re also called pegs or even pigs! The stringy parts of a banana also have a surprising name. Also, we need a word to describe that productive period of wakefulness in the middle of the night before falling back into “second sleep.” And: anagrams that make a statement. The letters in the word “listen,” l-i-s-t-e-n, can be rearranged to form the word “silent,” and the word “conversation” can be switched around to read “Voices rant on”! Plus, gussie, phloem bundles, desahogar, dorveille, a “take-off” quiz, the wayback, ahogarse en un vaso de agua, different ways to say “You’re welcome,” hypnopompic, uto-uto, sockdolager, apizza, bobtail beats the devil, and just like New York!
This episode is sponsored by NordVPN. Get your discount at https://nordvpn.com/AWAYWITHWORDS
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.
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Abso-Bloomin-Lutely (Rebroadcast) - 15 January 2024
2024/01/15
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The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we write and how linguists study language? Also, suppose you could invite any two authors, living or dead, to dinner. Who's on your guest list and why? Plus, anchors aweigh! The slang of sailors includes the kind of BOSS you'd better dodge, a barn you sail into, and the difference between the Baja Ha-Ha and the Baja Bash. All that, and a brain game about body parts, conked out and zonked out, synonyms for synonym, ferhunsed, chronopaguous, nemophilist, sea-kindly, smithereens, and standing on my own two pins.
This episode is sponsored by NordVPN. Get a discount when you go to https://NordVPN.com/AWAYWITHWORDS.
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.
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Niblings and Nieflings (Rebroadcast) - 8 January 2024
2024/01/08
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How do actors bring Shakespeare’s lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the text? One way is to emphasize the names of people and places at certain points. That technique is called billboarding. And: Anyone for an alphabet game? A pangram is a sentence that uses every letter of the alphabet at least once. There’s the one about the quick, brown fox, of course. But there’s a whole world of others, including pangrams about Brexit, emoji, and a pop singer behaving, well, badly. Plus, sworping, agga forti, spelling out letters, the uncertain etymology of kazoo, larruping, the hairy eyeball, where the woodbine twineth, and a brain teaser based on characters that might have been in a Disney movie.
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.
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Book Moth - 1 January 2024
2024/01/01
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If you skip wearing underwear, you’re said to be going commando. This bit of slang originated during the Vietnam War, when U.S. commandos had compelling reasons to do without that particular piece of clothing. Plus, Watergate salad is a mixture of pistachio pudding with whipped cream and pineapple. This dish was popularized in the 1970s, but what does it have anything to do with the scandal that brought down a president? Also: The practice of blurring out images or text in ads or movies helps avoid giving free advertising to a sponsor’s competitor. This strategy is called greeking, but why? The answer is Greek to us! All that, and buveur d’encre, clodhopper, a wild and wooly quiz, fantasy fiction, insure vs. ensure, live vs. stay, get outside of a meal,green goop, mean green, whale fall, and the long and winding etymological route of a name for “eggplant,” brinjal.
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.
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Kite in a Phonebooth (Rebroadcast) - 25 December 2023
2023/12/25
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Stunt performers in movies have their own jargon for talking about their dangerous work. In New York City, the slang term brick means “cold,” and dumb brick means “really cold.” Plus: the East and Central African tradition that distinguishes between ancestors who remain alive in living memory and those who have receded into the vast ocean of history. In this sense, all of us are moving toward the past, not away from it. And, the Indiana town that was named incorrectly because of a bureaucratic mixup. The town’s name? Correct. Also, a brain game with words big and small, slushburger vs. sloppy joe, go fry ice, fracas, beat the band, sensational spelling, heavier than a dead minister, telling porkies, and lots more.
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.
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Takes All Kinds - 18 December 2023
2023/12/18
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Crossword puzzles are a marvelous mental workout. A delightful new book about them shares plenty of crossword lore and puzzle-solving tips. Also, performers who tell each other break a leg aren’t really hoping someone gets hurt. The phrase stems from an old superstition that involves saying the opposite of what you really wish. And: is conversate a real word? You bet it is! Prepare for some serious conversating about this very useful term. Plus, the origin of quesadilla, kill two birds with one stone vs. feed two birds with one seed, touch base vs. touch bases, the different impact of short stories and novels, no te comas el coco, in bocca del lupo, you ate that haircut!, and a brain teaser about itsy-bitsy anagrams that’ll leave your mind feeling pulled through a knothole backwards.
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.
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Strawberry Moon (Rebroadcast) - 11 December 2023
2023/12/11
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We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools — and many of you replied with a resounding "Yes!" You said cursive helps develop fine motor skills, improves mental focus, and lets you read old handtoodlewritten letters and other documents. Also in this episode: finding your way to a more nuanced understanding of language. The more you know about linguistic diversity, the more you embrace those differences rather than criticize them. And a brain game using translations of Native American words for lunar months. During which month would you see a Strawberry Moon? Plus newstalgia, fauxstalgia, lethologica, by and large, pank, yay vs. yea, collywobbles, and carlymarbles.
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.
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Highway Robbery - 4 December 2023
2023/12/04
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Secret signals on the job: Waitresses at some 19th-century restaurants ensured speedy drink service by communicating with a non-verbal code. One server took orders, then placed each customer's cup to indicate exactly what the customer wanted. A second server could then whisk right in and serve the right beverage without asking. Also, the term highway robbery goes back to the 1600s, when armed robbers stopped carriages traveling out of town and ordered occupants to turn over their valuables. And what in the world is a nurdle? Plus, sun grin, John Doe and Richard Roe, a quiz that's twice the fun, too much sugar for a dime, Don't strain your milk, Stand and deliver, Tetrising, Your feet don't fit a limb, and Holy cow!
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.
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Spill the Tea (Rebroadcast) - 27 November 2023
2023/11/27
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If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in “truth.” To spill the T means to “pass along truthful information.” Plus, we’re serving up some delicious Italian idioms involving food. The Italian phrase that literally translates “eat the soup or jump out the window” means “take it or leave it,” and a phrase that translates as “we don’t fry with water around here” means “we don’t do things halfway.” Also: a takeoff word quiz, why carbonated beverages go by various names, including soda, coke, and pop; fill your boots, bangorrhea, cotton to, howdy; milkshake, frappe, velvet, frost, and cabinet; push-ups, press-ups and lagartijas; the Spanish origin of the word alligator, don’t break my plate or saw off my bench, FOMO after death, and much more.
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.
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Dirty Laundry (Rebroadcast) - 20 November 2023
2023/11/20
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When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blankets a pallet. This word comes from an old term for “straw.” And: What’s the story behind the bedtime admonition “Sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite”? Plus, when grownups are talking about sex or money, they may remind each other that “little pitchers have big ears.” It’s a reference to the ear-shaped handle on a jug, and the knack kids have for picking up on adult topics and then spilling that new knowledge elsewhere. Plus, a word game, lick the calf over, lady locks, when clothes become laundry, towhead, build a coffee, and more.
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.
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Strong Coffee - 13 November 2023
2023/11/13
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During the late 19th and early 20th century, thousands of volunteers helped crowdsource the Oxford English Dictionary. This venerable reference work includes citations sent in by inventors, eccentrics, scientists and educators, an Arctic explorer–even the owner of the world’s largest collection of pornography. A lively new book tells their stories. Plus, a healthcare worker finds herself adopting the accent of her patients. And: golf terms that make their way into everyday language, from mulligan to stymie. Also, fossicking, noodling, handicap, I beg your pardon, paper tiger, Voy a puro pincel, TTWWADI, hail-fellow-well-met, dear me suz, and a pickle of a puzzle.
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.
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Keep Your Powder Dry (Rebroadcast) - 6 November 2023
2023/11/06
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Jacuzzi and silhouette are eponyms — that is, they derive from the names of people. An Italian immigrant to California invented the bubbly hot tub called a jacuzzi. And the word silhouette commemorates a penny-pinching treasury secretary who lasted only a few months in office and was associated with these shadow portraits. Also, if the words strubbly, briggling, and wabashing aren’t already in your vocabulary, they should be — if only because they’re so much fun to say. Only one of them refers to messy, tousled hair. Plus: wing it, versing, cocking one’s strumples, keep your powder dry, embeverage, a word game, and so much more.
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.
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One-Armed Paper Hanger (Rebroadcast) - 30 October 2023
2023/10/30
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The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be taught cursive writing in school, or is their time better spent studying other things? A handwritten note and a typed one may use the very same words, but handwritten version may seem much more intimate. Plus, English is full of grisly expressions about animals, such as there’s more than one way to skin a cat and until the last dog is hung. The attitudes these sayings reflect aren’t so prevalent today, but the phrases live on. Finally, the centuries-old story of the mall in shopping mall. Plus, agloo, dropmeal, tantony pig, insidious ruses, have a yen for something, a commode you wear on your head, a tantalizing word game everyone can play.
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.
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Hair on Your Tongue (Rebroadcast) - 23 October 2023
2023/10/23
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If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish one, and vice versa. This puzzling experience is so common among polyglots that linguists have a name for it. • The best writers create luscious, long sentences using the same principles that make for a musician’s melodious phrasing or a tightrope walker’s measured steps. • Want to say something is wild and crazy in Norwegian? You can use a slang phrase that translates as “That’s totally Texas!” • Plus happenstance, underwear euphemisms, pooh-pooh, scrappy, fret, gedunk, tartar sauce, antejentacular, the many ways to pronounce the word experiment, a fun word quiz, and lots more.
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.
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Train of Thought (Rebroadcast) - 16 October 2023
2023/10/16
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Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bible. There are many others, such as the powers that be and bottomless pit, which both first appeared in scripture. • There’s a term for when the language of a minority is adopted by the majority. When, for example, expressions from drag culture and hip-hop go mainstream, they’re said to have covert prestige. • The language of proxemics: how architects design spaces to bring people together or help them keep their distance. • Segway vs. segue, part and parcel, Land of Nod, hue and cry, on the razzle, train of thought, and a special Swedish word for a special place of refuge.
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.
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Space Cadet (Rebroadcast) - 9 October 2023
2023/10/09
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We have books for language-lovers and recommendations for history buffs. • How did the word boondoggle come to denote a wasteful project? The answer involves the Boy Scouts, a baby, a craft project, and a city council meeting. • Instead of reversing just individual letters, some palindromes are sentences with reversed word order. • Also squeaky clean, dad, icebox, search it up, pretend vs. pretentious, toe-counting rhymes, comb the giraffe, a Korean song about carrots, a word game, and more.
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.
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Howling Fantods (Rebroadcast) - 2 October 2023
2023/10/02
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Are there words and phrases that you misunderstood for an embarrassingly long time? Maybe you thought that money laundering literally meant washing drug-laced dollar bills, or that AM radio stations only broadcast in the morning? • A moving new memoir by Kansas writer Sarah Smarsh touches on the connection between vocabulary and class. • The inventive language of writer David Foster Wallace. • Also ilk, how to pronounce Gemini, fart in a mitten, greebles, make over, sploot, to boot, a brainteaser, and a whole lot more.
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.
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Pizza Bones - 25 September 2023
2023/09/25
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If your last name is Cook or Smith, your ancestors probably worked in those professions. But what if your last name is Pope? Or Abbott? And if you have enough food for Coxey’s army, you have more than enough to go around. The phrase refers to protesters marching on Washington more than a century ago. Plus, some people say pizza bones are the best parts of the pie! Also, biweekly, shichimencho, piza no mimi, a Barbenheimer-inspired portmanteau puzzle, advice for writers of children’s books, lax vowel lowering, zero-proof drink, spoken Garamond, a catchy camp song, and more.
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.
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Bottled Sunshine (Rebroadcast) - 18 September 2023
2023/09/18
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If you catch your blue jeans on a nail, you may find yourself with a winklehawk. This term, adapted into English from Dutch, means “an L-shaped tear in a piece of fabric.” And: What’s your relationship with the books on your shelves? Do the ones you haven’t read yet make you feel guilty — or inspired? Plus, we’re all used to fairy tales that start with the words “Once upon a time.” Not so with Korean folktales, which sometimes begin with the beguiling phrase “In the old days, when tigers used to smoke…” Plus, excelsior, oxtercog, wharfinger, minuend, awesome vs. awful, googly moogly, and eating crackers in bed.
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.
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Endless Summer - 11 September 2023
2023/09/11
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Surf’s up! When surfers describe the waves as going gangbusters, it’s a great time out on the water. But why that word? Plus, a thesaurus of flavors serves up delicious writing about the taste of foods and spices. And speaking of flavors, the history of vanilla is anything but bland. When the vanilla flavor was introduced to 16th-century Europeans, it was considered a rare delicacy. So why does the expression plain vanilla mean unexceptional today? Also, funny street names, hoorah’s nest, mooch, a quiz chock-full of assonance, traffic-light sundae, lawn jobs, sleigh riding vs. sledding, burn my clothes!, copperosity, sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, and more.
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.
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Care Package (Rebroadcast) - 4 September 2023
2023/09/04
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Sending someone a care package shows you care, of course. But the first care packages were boxes of food and personal items for survivors of World War II. They were from the Committee for American Remittances to Europe, the acronym for which is CARE. Also: Montgomery, Alabama, is home to the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice. This profoundly moving structure commemorates the thousands of African-Americans lynched between 1877 and 1950 in acts of racial terror. The word lynch itself goes back another century. And: a tender term in Arabic that celebrates the milestones of life. Plus high and dry, bought the ranch, neighbor spoofing, afghan blankets, bumbye, gauming around, barking at a knot, taking the ten-toed mule, and a brain-teaser.
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.
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Cootie Shot (Rebroadcast) - 28 August 2023
2023/08/28
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Perfect sentences and slang that tickles your mind! A new book of writing advice says a good sentence “imposes a logic on the world’s weirdness” and pares away options for meaning, word by word. • Your musician friend may refer to his guitar as an ax, but this slang term was applied to other musical instruments before it was ever used for guitars. • We need a word for that puzzling moment when you’re wondering which recyclables go in which bin. Discomposted? Plus: tickle bump, dipsy doodle, dark as the inside of a goat, thickly settled, woodshedding, ish, a brain-teaser, and more.
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.
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Sticky Wicket - 21 August 2023
2023/08/21
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Is listening to an audiobook for a book club somehow “cheating”? Is there no substitute for engaging with the printed page, or do audiobooks adds a whole new dimension? Plus, a mocktail os an artisanal beverage without alcohol. Is there a more positive term that doesn’t imply there’s something missing? Also: dibbly-dobbly, sledging, and sticky wicket — the game of cricket has a language all its own! And a rhyming cruise quiz, congee, silly mid-off, hot dish, an irresistible newspaper headline, clean as seven waters, hold your peace, velar, conlangs, Howzat? and more.
And a rhyming cruise quiz, congee, silly mid-off, hot dish, an irresistible newspaper headline, clean as seven waters, hold your peace, velar, conlangs, and Howzat?
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.
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Ding Ding Man (Rebroadcast) - 14 August 2023
2023/08/14
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In 1803, a shy British pharmacist wrote a pamphlet that made him a reluctant celebrity. The reason? He proposed a revolutionary new system for classifying clouds — with Latin names we still use today, like cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. Also: when reading aloud to children, what’s the best way to present a dialect that’s different from your own? And: If you’re only guessing when you toss it in the recyclng bin, then you’re engaging in wishcycling — and that does more harm than good. Plus, T Jones, diegetic vs. non-diegetic, affixes, solastalgia, since Sookie was a calf, don’t that just frost ya, a brainteaser, and more.
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.
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Gleam in Your Eye - 7 August 2023
2023/08/07
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A remarkable new documentary explores the world of amateur and professional mermaiding and the language bubbling up within it. Some mermaiding enthusiasts greet each other with a friendly "Shello!" Plus, an adoptee wonders what to call the biological parents he found later in life. Bio dad? Birth mother? Or something else? And: street names that make you laugh. Do you really want to take a drive on Yellowsnow Road? Also, saucered and blowed, Eri ancora nel mondo della luna, metathesis, in-group vs. out-group family dynamics, out at elbow, ask vs. aks, because vs. as, and versus v. vs., and lots more.
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.
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Take Tea for the Fever (Rebroadcast) - 31 July 2023
2023/07/31
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Silence comes in lots of different forms. In fact, says writer Paul Goodman, there are several kinds: There's the noisy silence of "resentment and self-recrimination," and the helpful, participatory silence of actively listening to someone speak. Plus, the strange story behind the English words "grotesque" and "antic": both involve bizarre paintings found in ancient Roman ruins. Finally, the whirring sound of a Betsy bug and a moth's dusty wings give rise to picturesque English words and phrases. Plus millers, keysmash, subpar, placer mining, dinklepink and padiddle, machatunim and consuegros, and to clock someone.
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.
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Alligator Mouth - 24 July 2023
2023/07/24
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Kinbank is a new database that illustrates the global diversity of family terms. English, for example, specifies sibling relationships with just one of two terms: sister or brother. But most other languages have even more specific terms. In Japanese, for instance, there’s a single word for “older brother” and another for “younger sister.” Plus, confused by all the names in Russian novels? Characters often go by more than one name, but there are strategies for keeping them all straight. And: why someone who’s pepper-nosed isn’t going to welcome that new pickleball court next door. Also, slide out on one’s ear, a game about life in alternate universes, Konglish, uce, how one’s accent develops, Du gehst mir auf den Keks, why someone who is heavily drugged is said to be snowed, and kangaroo words.
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.
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Sun Dog (Rebroadcast) - 17 July 2023
2023/07/17
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A clever pun can make the difference between a so-so phrase and a memorable one. The phrase “the last straw” refers to an old fable about too many items in a load, but it takes on a whole new meaning in a public-awareness campaign about the environment. • Why do we use the term mob scene to refer to an unruly crowd? • The Basque language spoken in the westernmost Pyrenees has long posed a linguistic mystery. Its origins are unclear and it’s unlike any other language in the region. • Plus: sundog, ob-gyn, double george, geezum pete, and somersault vs. winter pepper.
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.
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High Jinks - 10 July 2023
2023/07/10
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For many people, religion provides language and rituals for key milestones in life, from births to weddings to funerals. But what if you don’t ascribe to any particular religion? What words do you use to mark those moments? An uplifting new book suggests turning to the language of poetry to honor lifecycle events. And speaking of rituals, if you say rabbit, rabbit before you say anything else on the first day of every month, supposedly you’ll have good luck. But if you forget, don’t worry — there’s a remedy for that! Plus, kit bag question, petrichor, a puzzle about funny synonyms, waltzing Matilda, tut and tsk, gee whittaker, be-bopping, and If you don’t chance your arm, you won’t break your neck.
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.
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Oh For Cute (Rebroadcast) - 3 July 2023
2023/07/03
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A stereotype is a preconceived notion about a person or group. Originally, though, the word stereotype referred to a printing device used to produce lots of identical copies. • The link between tiny mythical creatures called trolls and modern-day mischief-makers. • The stories behind the color names we give to horses. • Wise advice about fending off despair: learn something new! • Also: grinslies, personal summer, cowboy slang, smell vs. odor, orient vs. orientate, trolls and trolling, and just for fun, some agentive and instrumental exocentric verb-noun compounds.
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.
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Coinkydink (Rebroadcast) - 26 June 2023
2023/06/26
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Sometimes it’s a challenge to give a book a chance: How many pages should you read before deciding it’s not worth your time? There’s a new formula to help with that decision — and it’s all based on your age. • Have you ever noticed someone mouthing your words as you speak? That conversational behavior can be disconcerting, but there may be good reasons behind it. &bulll A punk rock band debates the pronunciation of homage: is it OM-ij, OH-mazh, or something else entirely? Plus: chevrolegs, on fleek, hornswoggle, twenty-couple, coinkydink, and the correct way to say Nevada.
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.
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Spinning Cookies - 19 June 2023
2023/06/19
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A book of photographs and essays by famous writers celebrates libraries — and the librarians who changed their lives. Plus cutting doughnuts, spinning cookies, and pulling brodies: There are lots of ways to talk about spinning a car in circles on purpose. And if there’s gravel, well, that just makes it more fun! And if you’re faffing about at work, are you busy or idle? Also, Kushtaka, Cooter Brown, fafflement, a puzzle about homographs, toboggan, an inspiring letter from E.B. White, bags not!, the admonition be particular! and more.
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.
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Up Your Alley (Rebroadcast) - 12 June 2023
2023/06/12
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Book recommendations, including a collection of short stories inspired by dictionaries, and a techno-thriller for teens. Or, how about novels with an upbeat message? Publishers call this genre up lit. Plus, a clergyman ponders an arresting phrase in the book Peter Pan: What does the author mean when he says that children can be “gay and innocent and heartless”? And, if you spend money freely, you are a dingthrift. Also, waterfalling, pegan, up a gump stump, spendthrift, vice, cabochon, cultural cringe, welsh, and neat but not gaudy.
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.
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Just Skylarking - 5 June 2023
2023/06/05
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The art of the invitation can be tricky. An inviter’s idea of invitation may be taken by an invitee as merely mentioning an event while they’re nearby. One such a misunderstanding went on for months! Plus, George Saunders, winner of the Booker Prize, says some of the best advice about crafting a story comes from Dr. Seuss. And the icebreaker that doubles as a Dad joke: Do you live around here or ride a bicycle? Wait, what??? Also, stodgy, claggy, undertaker, a fill-in-the-blanks brain teaser, funny childhood misunderstandings, antimetabole and chiasmus, widow’s peak, skylarking, and why some people pronounce the word wash as warsh.
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.
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Piping Hot (Rebroadcast) - 29 May 2023
2023/05/29
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The game of baseball has alway inspired colorful commentary. Sometimes that means using familiar words in unfamiliar ways. The word stuff, for example, can refer to a pitcher’s repertoire, to the spin on a ball, or what happens to the ball after a batter hits it. Also: nostalgia for summer evenings and fond terms for fireflies, a word to describe that feeling when your favorite restaurant closes for good, and homonyms, forswunk, sweetbreads, get on the stick, back friend, farblonjet, and taco de ojo.
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.
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Folding Money - 22 May 2023
2023/05/22
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Barbara Kingsolver’s book Demon Copperhead is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield set in today’s Appalachia. Martha shares memories of a long-ago visit to Kingsolver’s family farm in Virginia, where they discussed many of the same issues covered in this Pulitzer-winning novel. Plus, how could the Carp River in Michigan have that name long before carp existed in the area? The answer is in the history of immigration. And a high-schooler asks how throwing someone under the bus became a synonym for betrayal. Also: willipus-wallipus, lapslock, Fortune favors the audacious, del año del caldo, nonce words, a brain teaser with rhyming answers, a punning joke about Switzerland, clink, jing, jinglers, and janglers, drop a dime, and You shred it, wheat!
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.
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Mimeographs and Dittos (Rebroadcast) - 15 May 2023
2023/05/15
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How colors got their names, and a strange way to write. The terms blue and orange arrived in English via French, so why didn’t we also adapt the French for black and white? • Not every example of writing goes in one direction across the page. In antiquity, people sometimes wrote right to left, then left to right, then back again — the same pattern you use when mowing a lawn. There’s a word for it! • A whiff of those fragrant duplicated worksheets that used to be passed out in elementary schools. Do you call them mimeographed pages or ditto sheets? • Also: three-way chili, hangry, frogmarch, the cat may look at the queen, hen turd tea, and the rhetorical backoff I’m just saying.
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.
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Takes the Cake - 8 May 2023
2023/05/08
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What do you call a long sandwich filled with lots of ingredients? Whether you call it a sub, a hoagie, a grinder, or something else entirely depends on where you’re from. And: Martha’s visit to an Alaskan reindeer ranch reveals why you really do hear click, click, click when reindeer walk, and how these elegant animals got their name. Plus, if it’s time to dodo your baby, what will you need to do next? Also, whippersnapper, rangiferine, sidesaddle gift, a quiz about missing links, gatsby, spuckie, garibaldi, haint blue, take the cake, Zep, yampy, defulgaty and cafugelty, and the polite riposte More tea, vicar?
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.
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Truth and Beauty (Rebroadcast) - 1 May 2023
2023/05/01
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Malamute, kayak, and parka are just some of the words that have found their way into English from the language of indigenous people in northern climes. • In the 1970s, some scientists argued that two quarks should be called truth and beauty. • The many layers of words and worlds we invoke when we describe someone as the apple of my eye. • To have brass on one’s face, frozen statues, good craic, prepone, agathism and agathokakological, and the positive use of I don’t care.
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.
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Dessert Stomach (Rebroadcast) - 24 April 2023
2023/04/24
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Funny cat videos and cute online photos inspire equally adorable slang terms we use to talk about them. • Also, when a salamander is not a salamander, the story of an Italian term for a dish towel used halfway across the world, Bozo buttons, betsubara, both vs. bolth, straight vs. shtraight, mlem, hoosegow, sticky bottle and magic spanner, caster sugar, a word game, and more.
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.
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Blessing Box - 17 April 2023
2023/04/17
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Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article? Plus, those Little Free Libraries filled with books have inspired another kind of giving: little free pantries stocked with canned foods and other household items for anyone in need. They’re called blessing boxes. Also, Kabelsalat, vigesimal, a take-off puzzle, red rag, s’occuper de ses oignons, a holiday left on a wall, snake’s honeymoon, powdered it, throwing smoke, and why married couples may persist in calling each other Mother and Father long after their children are grown.
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.
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Cool Your Soup (Rebroadcast) - 10 April 2023
2023/04/10
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According to Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, it’s important to master the basics of writing, but there comes a time when you have to strike out on your own and teach yourself. Also: Spanish idioms involving food, a conversation about the difference between compassion and sympathy, recursive acronyms, bear-caught, leaverites, jonesing, mon oeil, Jane Austen’s pins, high-water pants, and save your breath to cool your soup.
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.
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Cats and Dogs - 5 April 2023
2023/04/05
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It’s cats and dogs, and a few other critters, too. Animals prowl around inside several English words, including sleuth, which was originally sleuth-hound, a synonym for bloodhound. Plus, the language we use with our pets and the ways they communicate with us. Boop a snoot, anyone? And NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz stops by to add to the menagerie with a punny quiz about some animals you’re not likely to see. Plus, it’s raining cats and dogs, cat beer, my dogs are barking, gee and haw, lloviendo hasta maridos, chatoyant, and splooting. Don’t step in any barker’s eggs!
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.
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Fair Dinkum - 3 April 2023
2023/04/03
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A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is now the United States. It’s called The People’s Tongue, and it’s a sumptuous collection of essays, letters, poems, lyrics, and much more, from colonial times to the present. Plus, the story behind the phrase what are the odds? And speaking of odds, what’s the chance that you might see an astrobleme? Well, whatever you do, don’t look up! Also: cut a chogi, yeti de freezer, far venire il latte alle ginocchia, a brain teaser about demonyms, oosh! vs. brr!, evolving names for pets, trim a tree, walk and chew gum, deep yogurt, and lots more.
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.
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Put on the Dog (Rebroadcast) - 27 March 2023
2023/03/27
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Why isn’t “you’re welcome” the default response to “thank you” for everyone? Plus lies that kids tell, Philadelphia lawyer, cowbelly, skutch, mind-bottling vs. mind-boggling, tsundoku, infanticipating, noisy piece of cheese, a word game, and lots more.
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.
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Excuse the Hogs (Rebroadcast) - 20 March 2023
2023/03/20
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When a teenager went a week without talking as part of a school project, he noticed a surprising side effect: Instead of rehearsing a response to what other people were saying to him, he was focused on listening — and feeling smarter as a result. Plus, a flight attendant is irritated by a certain term she has to use frequently with passengers. Might there be a better word than de-plane? And how do you pronounce the name of the Show-Me State? The answers you’ll hear are as variable as Midwest weather. Also, cryptic crossword puzzle clues, jabroni, Chatham House rule, railroad slang, dress the bed, nuces relinquere, You can give them books and give them books, but they just chew the covers right off, and lots more.
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.
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By a Landslide - 13 March 2023
2023/03/13
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How do you transform ancient Chinese script for use in the modern age? English uses a keyboard with just 26 letters, but the first Chinese typewriter looked like a small table under a huge disk with more than 4,000 characters. A new book chronicles the innovators who adapted the Chinese writing for use with modern technology. Plus, in poker, why is a pair of aces and a pair of eights known as a dead man’s hand? And some people credit Winston Churchill with the phrase Never pass up the chance to sit down or go to the bathroom. There’s no evidence he ever said that, but a similar bit of advice once circulated among British royalty. Plus, getting pipped, puzzling over proverbs, vittles vs. victuals, do the messages vs. do the errands, sakura-fubuki, a friendly word for your ex’s new sweetie, and the German word that translates as “mouse cinema.”
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.
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All That and a Bag of Chips (Rebroadcast) - 6 March 2023
2023/03/06
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We tend to take the index of a book for granted, but centuries ago, these helpful lists were viewed with suspicion. Some even worried that indexes would harm reading comprehension! A witty new book tells the story. Plus, the Latin term bona fides was adopted into English to mean “good faith” or “authentic credentials.” But there’s more than one way to pronounce it. And: say you’re off at summer camp, and there’s a container in the dining hall labeled ort bucket. What will you find if you look inside? Also: crisp, with one foot in the milk bucket, a brain teaser about nicknames, French gestures, Dutchman, million-dollar family, dungarees, scared water, and nuking food.
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.
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Big Dog - 27 February 2023
2023/02/27
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If you’re ever near a sundial, step closer and look for a message. Many sundials bear haunting, poetic inscriptions about the brevity of life. Plus, language development in toddlers: why and how little ones pick up the exclamation Uh-oh! And a new Japanese term for making the most of your time in the modern age: The Japanese word taipa comes from English and means “time performance.” Also, a punny puzzle about married names, quidnunc, peart, It takes a big dog to weigh a ton, Chamber of Commerce weather, the superstition of saying bread and butter when walking around objects, micturate, piss vs. pee, ordering a hamburger all the way deluxe, why the S in island is silent, and more.
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.
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Familiar Strangers (Rebroadcast) - 20 February 2023
2023/02/20
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If you take up texting and social media late in life, there’s a lot to learn! A twenty-something wants advice getting her dad up to speed on memes, Instagram, and animated images. Plus, when you’re on a long road trip, what do you call that one driver you keep passing on the freeway, or who sets the pace for your car mile after mile? Road buddy? Some call them Follow Johns. Plus, the linguistic reason why some people say “SANG-wich” instead of “SAND-wich.” It’s a mouthful — literally! And: thalweg, stick season, quare, jimmycane, the many Spanish words that derive from the Nahuatl language, camera and camaraderie, cada chango en su mecate, a puzzle all about the letter E, the connection between dollar and Neanderthal, umarell, and menos burros, más elotes.
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.
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Hot Gossip - 13 February 2023
2023/02/12
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Gossip goes by many names: the poop, the scoop, the lowdown, the dope, the scuttlebutt, the 411, the grapes, the gore, and hot tea. Plus, John Donne’s love poems are among the greatest in the English language, even as they’re famously difficult to unravel. A new biography hails the genius of the man who penned the phrases no man is an island and for whom the bell tolls. And Murphy’s Law states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But what about Muphry’s Law? Also: how to organize your bookshelves, rizz, potch in tuchis, conkerbell, pronouncing help like hope, spermologer, sweet tea vs. unsweet tea, work brickle, collywobbles, and a puzzle that will test your wits — and patience.
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.
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Word Hoard (Rebroadcast) - 6 February 2023
2023/02/06
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Ever wonder what medieval England looked and sounded like? In Old English, the word hord meant "treasure" and your wordhord was the treasure of words locked up inside you. A delightful new book uses the language of that period to create a vivid look at everyday life. Plus, a shotgun house is long and narrow with no hallway — just one room leading into the next. It's an architectural style with a long history stretching from Africa to Haiti and into the American South. And: say you accidentally cut someone off in traffic, and you know it's your fault. What's a quick, clear way to communicate that you're sorry? NO texting allowed! All that, and feaking, feather merchant, gradoo, spondulicks, echar un zorrito, tocayo and cuate, a take-off quiz, and an onomatopoeic Old English word for "sneeze."
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.
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In the Ballpark - 30 January 2023
2023/01/30
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Novelist Charles Dickens and the musician Prince were very different types of artists, but they also had a lot in common. A new book chronicling their extraordinary careers becomes a larger meditation on perfectionism and creativity itself. Plus, the military origins of the term ballpark estimate. And when two people say the same thing simultaneously, why do we yell jinx!? There’s a magical story behind this word. Plus, banging-out, flip-flops and zoris, agua de calcetín, the groundhogs are making coffee, marplot, a puzzle inspired by a nerdy game show, duck duck gray duck vs. duck duck goose, piff-paff, Adam’s off ox, and lots more.
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.
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You Talk Like a Sausage (Rebroadcast) - 23 January 2023
2023/01/23
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Do you refer to your dog or cat as “somebody”? As in: When you love somebody that much, you don’t mind if they slobber. In other words, is your pet a somebody or a something? Also, for centuries, there was little consistency in the way many English words were spelled. But long before the printing press helped to standardize spelling, powerful historical forces were already shaping how those words looked on the page. Plus, Irish words that are as handy as they are fun to say: bockety, which describes something wobbly, and segotia, a fond term for “friend.” And ship vs. yacht, rope vs. line, The New Yorker vs. the The New Yorker, evening vs. afternoon, how to pronounce hammock, a wild and woolly animal quiz, “talking cheese” in German, and an Iranian-American playwright on the challenges of learning another language.
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.
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Old College Try - 16 January 2023
2023/01/16
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In just seconds, online text generators and chatbots can produce whole paragraphs of sophisticated prose. But what do advances in artificial intelligence mean for writers? What is lost and what’s gained when machine-writing replaces the work humans have always struggled to produce? Plus, the story behind the phrase the old college try. It goes back to the early days of baseball! And: a clever poem to get you through the long winter months. Also, have beef, cut your water off, a brain teaser about common bonds, inside baseball, South Cack and South Cackalacky, the Ukrainian word for “umbrella,” kiss-me-quick and dippity-do, and the pits.
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.
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Pushing the Envelope (Rebroadcast) - 9 January 2023
2023/01/09
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Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dramatic burst of green after a long, dark winter. And there are many, many terms for a cold snap that follows the first taste of spring: blackberry winter, redbud winter, onion snow, and whippoorwill storm, to name a few. Plus, the family that plays trivia games at home may end up cheering for their teen in high-school competitions. Also, playful prayers at the dinner table: Amen, Brother Ben! Pass the butter, let’s begin! All that, plus retten up, push the envelope, with bells on, self-deprecating vs. self-depreciating, taffy pockets, pigeon pair, the end of pea time, a puzzle about pairs of words, and more. Here we go, laughing and scratching!
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.
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Primary Colors (Rebroadcast) - 2 January 2023
2023/01/02
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Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence developed their own hand signs, with hundreds of gestures, that are still in use today. Plus, how do speakers of different languages distinguish similar shades and tints of colors such as red, yellow, and blue? It's complicated! And: you don't really need those little rivets on your blue jeans, do you? There's a word for decorative elements that no longer serve a practical purpose: skeuomorphs. All that, along with butter of antimony, vein vs. vain, sugar of lead, euchred figs, two bits, mess and gaum, an apt nickname for a garbage disposal, a quiz about family secrets, and lots more.
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.
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Deep-Fried Air (Rebroadcast) - 26 December 2022
2022/12/28
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Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus, what’s an ort? It’s the last bit of food left on a dinner plate — and whether or not you finish it can be a matter of manners. Also, an audio puzzle inspired by the popular game Wordle. Harder than it sounds! Plus ginnels, twittens, nerds, Not on your tintype!, piling Pelion upon Ossa, things to say after a sneeze, and a lovely poem about elevators. Ta-da!
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.
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Stub Your Toe - 19 December 2022
2022/12/19
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Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say that someone who’s fortunate has the luck of the Irish? And the latest edition of the Official Scrabble Dictionary will liven up your game! Now you can rack up points with words pranayama, fauxhawk, and even embiggen. Also, knockin’ dog, a word puzzle about knights who never were, will-o’-the-wisp and jack-o’-lantern, a ver and umbers, squidding, oligopoly, and punished water.
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.
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Big Bang - 12 December 2022
2022/12/12
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A savory Sicilian sausage roll is always a hit for the holidays. This dish goes by a long list of names that are equally delicious to say. Plus, why are those promotional quotes you see on the back of a book called blurbs? The guy who coined the word also wrote that familiar poem about being a purple cow. And, book recommendations: a sweet story about childhood in postwar London, a recent novel by a longtime prison inmate, and a theoretical physicist’s memoir about growing up in Albania, and the possibility that our universe isn’t the only one. Also, bang in sick, salts through a widow woman, how come, gumple-foisted, problems with pesky prepositions, son como uña y mugre, a variation on the swimming-pool game Marco Polo, bunking, twagging, skiving, mitching, and why you don’t want a box with five handles.
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.
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East Overshoe (Rebroadcast) - 5 December 2022
2022/12/05
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Some people work hard to lose their accent in order to fit in. Others may be homesick for the voices they grew up with and try to reclaim them. How can you regain your old accent? Also, a compelling book about scientific taxonomy shows how humans use language to try to divide up and impose order on the word. And Uff-dah!is an expressive word that means "Gee whiz!" or "Oy vey!" It's also handy when lifting heavy objects. Plus, pigloos, pine shatters vs. pine needles, channel fever, a quiz about common bonds, idioms involving stinginess, nicknames, possible baths, verbing nouns, East Jesus and South Burlap, and affirmative semantics with negative morphosyntax.
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.
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Snookums and Snicklefritz - 28 November 2022
2022/11/28
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A new book about how animals perceive their environment reveals immense worlds beyond our own. A bee can see ultraviolet light, catfish have taste buds all over their bodies, and manatees use highly sensitive lips to examine nearby objects. Also, what’s the relationship between romantic novels and Romance languages? Plus, sometimes buying gingerbread isn’t just about the baked goods. In one part of the United States, buying gingerbread has to do with voter fraud! And snickelfritz, oripulation, tchotchkes, an ear-tickling quiz, mocap slang, canooper, an outfit you drive, chipping away at writer’s block, darcin, and Snookums.
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.
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Herd of Turtles (Rebroadcast) - 21 November 2022
2022/11/21
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Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discovers a new species of bat, then names it after a poet he admires. Also, warm memories of how a childhood library card becomes a passport to new worlds. And: for a spell vs. cast a spell, thaw vs. unthaw, twice-cooked cabbage, a brain teaser in celebration of the great Stephen Sondheim, Dankie op’n plankie, right as rain, a turd of hurtles, a revolving s.o.b., tips for writing historical fiction, and plenty more.
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.
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If Grandma Had Wheels - 14 November 2022
2022/11/14
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While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be in the dictionary and why — including words that might offend Victorian sensibilities. Also why are some words more pleasurable to say than others? And: the German saying that means "If Grandma had wheels, she'd be a bus." Did something get lost in translation? Plus, an alliterative brain teaser, ovoviviparous, wasper, crack shot, the dessert called buckle, the best term for an adult child, disdainful words for weak coffee, the kind of hairpin I am, proctor vs. proctologist, the smoky jungle frog otherwise known as Leptodactylus pentadactylus, and lots more.
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.
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Mittens in Moonlight (Rebroadcast) - 7 November 2022
2022/11/07
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Need a slang term that can replace just about any noun? Try chumpie. If you're from Philadelphia, you may already know this handy placeholder word. And there's Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, and … The Bronx — why do we add the definite article to the name of that New York borough? The answer lies in the area's geography and local family lore. Plus, an Australian bullfrog that sounds like a banjo called a pobblebonk. Also: get the pips, down your Sunday throat, jubous, dinor vs. diner, stepped out of a bandbox, a Carl Sandburg poem, quemacocos, sirsee, a punny puzzle about doing well, and more.
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.
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Diamond Dust (Rebroadcast) - 31 October 2022
2022/10/31
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Diamond dust, tapioca snow, and sugar icebergs — a 1955 glossary of arctic and subarctic terms describes the environment in ways that sound poetic. And a mom says her son is dating someone who's non-binary. She supports their relationship, but still struggles to use their preferred pronouns in a way that feels natural to her. Plus, A Way with Words is a show about language, right? How the word "right" contains a multitude of meanings. And: echar un coyotito, voluntold, autological words, stay interview, eyesights and farsees, a brain-busting quiz about hidden words, nieve penitente, cutting cots, and rhyming ways to say a casual goodbye in other languages, like the Dutch one that translates as "Bye, umbrella!"
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.
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Sleepy Winks (Rebroadcast) - 24 October 2022
2022/10/24
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It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly convoluted and over-the-top — often with hilarious results. Plus: George Orwell’s prescient novel 1984 gave us the terrifying image of Big Brother and helped popularize words like doublespeak and Orwellian. And is there a word for fallen snow while leaves still remain on the trees? Also: motor vs. engine, capitol vs. capital, wannabe vs. wannabee, scrape acquaintance, a quiz about words that link other words, Tutivillis, skell gel, complementary alternation discourse constructions, and words for “eye boogers” in Hungarian, French, German, Portuguese, Turkish, Scots, and English.
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.
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Touch Grass - 17 October 2022
2022/10/17
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High school students in Alabama share some favorite slang terms. If someone tells you to touch grass, they’re telling you to get a reality check — but the last thing you’d actually want to touch is dog water! Also, the history of the word hangover, and the many names, in several languages, for the effects of drinking too much alcohol. Plus, Do you smell what I’m stepping in? If you do, that means you’re following what someone is saying to you. And Erin vs. Aaron, bloodynoun, cute little whiffet, a calming puzzle, leaning toward sawyers, the skinny, custard wind, swamp-gahoon, hicklesnifter, gillygaloo, whiffle-poofle, and guyascutus.
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.
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Made from Scratch (Rebroadcast) - 10 October 2022
2022/10/10
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Enthusiastic book recommendations! Martha's savoring the biography of Alexander von Humboldt, the 19th-century explorer, polymath, and naturalist who revolutionized our understanding of nature and predicted the effects of human activity on climate. Grant's enjoying A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, about how the study of DNA is rewriting our understanding of history itself. And a customer is startled when a salesperson waves goodbye with a friendly Preesh! Is Preesh really a word you might use to say you appreciate someone's business? Plus, where would you hunt for a tizzy? All that, and whang, sloomy, abbiocco, receipt vs. recipe, scorn vs. scone, the language of emotions, poronkusema, a brain-tickling puzzle about the letter P, and the story behind the unit of distance called a smoot.
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.
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Salad Days (Rebroadcast) - 3 October 2022
2022/10/03
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A documentary film called My Beautiful Stutter follows youngsters at a summer camp specifically for stutterers. It's a place for finding acceptance, support, and confidence for navigating the larger world. And:, "The High Priestess of Soul," Nina Simone, was one of the most beguiling performers of all time. A beautiful new picture book for children tells her inspiring story. Plus: burritos! Why do those savory stuffed tortillas have a name that literally translates as "little donkey"? Also, gobble hole, live catch, and other pinball jargon, salad days, a take-off puzzle, devious licks, gumshoe, plat, pencil colors, not today, Josephine!, and more.
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.
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Funny Papers - 26 September 2022
2022/09/26
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There are word nerds, and then there’s the woman who set up a folding chair on sidewalks throughout the country, cheerfully dispensing tips about grammar. She recounts her adventures in a new book. And the story of the brilliant pioneer of computing language whose name lives on in a familiar term. Plus, when you get a new haircut, beware of anyone yelling Rinktums! Noogies may follow! Also, slobgollion and slumgullion, comb graves, tearing up Jack, paging Dr. Armstrong, a brain teaser about book and movie titles, swotting up your Klingon, Parva sed apta mihi, a clever way to end a long phone conversation, and words worth inscribing in stone. See you in the funny sheet!
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.
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Your Imaginary Boyfriend (Rebroadcast) - 19 September 2022
2022/09/19
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We use the term Milky Way for that glowing arc across the sky. But how people picture it varies from culture to culture. In Sweden, that starry band goes by a name that means "Winter Street," and in Hawaii, a term for the Milky Way translates as "fish jumping in shadows." And: the history of naming rooms in a house. Some old houses have a room off the kitchen with only a sink and cabinets. It's not a kitchen, exactly — but what's it called? Plus, the colorful flag of one European town features a visual pun on its name. It's a drawing of a hand holding a heart. All that, and head over teacups, humpty-twelve, lowdown, chockablock, overhaul, Desperate Ambrose, honyock, an imaginary boyfriend named Raoul, so mad I could spit nickels, and more.
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.
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Go Bananas - 12 September 2022
2022/09/12
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A caller wonders if she’s being hypersensitive about the way her boss addresses her in emails. Can the use of an employee’s first name ever reflect a power differential? And: a community choir director wants a term for “the act of gathering to sing for the pure joy of it, without ever preparing for a performance.” For her, the word rehearsal doesn’t really fit. Plus, what’s so funny about bananas, anyway? Why do we say That’s bananas!? Also glacial erratic, a Swahili riddle, defenestration, overmorrow, funny names for Greek gods, enchantment, accent, etui, a puzzle about similes, Kirchenfenster, Följa John, Mal comune mezzo gaudio, and El que no llora, no mama.
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.
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Beefed It (Rebroadcast) - 5 September 2022
2022/09/05
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The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don't they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes a decision to do something, only to discover later that no one really wanted to do that thing in the first place? There's a term for that! Plus, the sounds we make when we're simply passing the time or waiting a few seconds for something to happen. It can sound like a "whoosh" or barely audible humming or even the theme from Jeopardy! Also, toe the line vs. tow the line, Dirty Gertie, one Mississippi vs. one Piccadilly, cardboard dog vs. rubber duck, sand-hundred, beefed it, a rhyming puzzle, and doofus, and more. All that for under a buck three-eighty!
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.
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What in Tarnation - 29 August 2022
2022/08/29
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Language is always evolving, and that’s also true for American Sign Language. A century ago, the sign for “telephone” was one fist below your mouth and the other at your ear, as if you’re holding an old-fashioned candlestick phone. Now you can sign “phone” with a one-handed gesture. Plus, colorful restaurant slang from the hit TV show The Bear inspires a quiz about the language of the kitchen. And looking for a new way to say “It’s hot outside”? How about “It’s glorgy [GLOR-ghee] out there!” Plus, pothery, laugh to see a pudding crawl, capitalizing the first-person pronoun, silver thaw, the devil’s beating his wife, diaeresis, trema, brogans, barge it, Las conejas están pariendo, claggy, janky, mafting, a brain teaser about restaurant slang, and more.
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.
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Forty Eleven Zillion (Rebroadcast) - 22 August 2022
2022/08/22
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When there's no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — "you're on your own" — or CORN, for "Clean Out your Refrigerator Night." Plus, when a barista hands you hot coffee in a paper cup, you may get a zarf to put it in — but what is that? And, the ongoing search for an alternative to the term senior citizen, and lots more.
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.
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Blue Streak - 15 August 2022
2022/08/15
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How long can a newly married woman be called a bride? Does bride apply only as long as her wedding day, or does it extend right on through the couple’s silver anniversary and beyond? Plus, insightful advice about writing from a Pulitzer winner: Observe carefully, find what you’re uniquely qualified to say, and give voice to your own astonishment. And names of minor-league baseball teams are often a playful combination of nearby industries and a formidable animal. For example, where do the locals root for the Iron Pigs? Also, frunk and froot, left in the lurch, a riddle from Leonardo da Vinci, an onomastic puzzle, Pepper Alley, grocery store vs. food store, get the goody out, and lots more.
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.
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Mystery Date (Rebroadcast) - 8 August 2022
2022/08/08
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A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child's letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten, makeshift bookmarks? Also: a "cumshaw artist" is the wily member of a military unit who knows the shortcuts of procuring something for all their buddies, whether it's food or a borrowed vehicle for the evening. Plus, a handy Russian saying translates as "the circus left, the clowns remain." Also, scroll the window down, case quarter, Johnny pump, getting on the binders, telltale sign, maximums vs. maxima, shm-reduplication, and a funny 19th-century saying about the local know-it-all. Wishing you many happy returns of the day!
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.
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I Don't Have the Spoons - 1 August 2022
2022/08/01
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Whether it's a Rubik's cube or a round of Wordle, why do so many of us find puzzles irresistible? A new book celebrates the allure and psychological benefits of brain teasers. Plus, powerful language for talking about the chronic illnesses and invisible disabilities that sap a person's energy and focus. And what would you wear to a wet dress rehearsal? (Hint: You'll need a helmet.) Plus ditloid, eat a peck of dirt before you die, a game to make you sigh, apologizing to fellow drivers, how to pronounce aunt, why we call a qualifying race a heat, prejudice about dialects, and age-old advice about delegating responsibilities. It's so good, it'll make your tongue slap your brains out!
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.
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Sour Pickle (Rebroadcast) - 25 July 2022
2022/07/25
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You know that Yogi Berra quote about how Nobody ever comes here; it's too crowded? Actually, the first person to use this was actress Suzanne Ridgeway, who appeared in several movies with The Three Stooges. A new book shows that many well-known quotes were first spoken by women, but misattributed to more famous men. Also: a handy scientific word that should become mainstream: aliquot. And no, it's not a kind of hybrid fruit. Plus, an astronomical question: What's the collective noun for a group of black holes? A sink of black holes? A baffle? A vacancy? All that, plus Old Arthur, biffy, bowery, mikka bozu, Sauregurkenzeit, out of heart, vergüenza, and how to talk with children about a painful topic.
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.
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Not My Circus (Rebroadcast) - 18 July 2022
2022/07/18
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Throwing cheese and shaky cheese are two very different things. In baseball, hard cheese refers to a powerful fastball, and probably comes from a similar-sounding word in Farsi, Urdu, and Hindi. Shaky cheese, on the other hand, is the grated Parmesan cheese you might dispense from can onto pasta. Also, why is a movie preview called a trailer when it comes at the beginning of a film, not the end? And: if you want to say that something's not your responsibility, there's always the handy phrase Not my circus, not my monkey. Plus, cocktail party effect, all my put-togethers, bedroom suite vs. bedroom suit, Alles in Butter, pes anserinus, fastuous, bursa, bummer, and too much sand for my little truck, and more.
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.
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Excuse the Hogs - 11 July 2022
2022/07/11
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When a teenager went a week without talking as part of a school project, he noticed a surprising side effect: Instead of rehearsing a response to what other people were saying to him, he was focused on listening — and feeling smarter as a result. Plus, a flight attendant is irritated by a certain term she has to use frequently with passengers. Might there be a better word than de-plane? And how do you pronounce the name of the Show-Me State? The answers you'll hear are as variable as Midwest weather. Also, cryptic crossword puzzle clues, jabroni, Chatham House rule, railroad slang, dress the bed, nuces relinquere, You can give them books and give them books, but they just chew the covers right off, and lots more.
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.
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Scooter Pooting (Rebroadcast) - 4 July 2022
2022/07/04
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Old. Elderly. Senior. Why are we so uncomfortable when we talk about reaching a certain point in life? An 82-year-old seeks a more positive term to describe how she feels about her age. And: a linguist helps solve a famous kidnapping case, using the vocabulary and spelling in a ransom note. Plus, old library books often contain inscriptions and other notes scribbled in the margins. A new book details an effort to reveal and preserve this "shadow archive" of the relationship between readers and the books they love. Plus, bus bunching, devil strip, fiddlesticks, scooter pooping vs. scooter-tooting, too clever by half, knucklehead, passenger, along with bet and bet bet and bet bet bet. We're not selling wolf tickets!
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.
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All That and a Bag of Chips - 27 June 2022
2022/06/27
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We tend to take the index of a book for granted, but centuries ago, these helpful lists were viewed with suspicion. Some even worried that indexes would harm reading comprehension! A witty new book tells the story. Plus, the Latin term bona fides was adopted into English to mean “good faith” or “authentic credentials.” But there’s more than one way to pronounce it. And: say you’re off at summer camp, and there’s a container in the dining hall labeled ort bucket. What will you find if you look inside? Also: crisp, with one foot in the milk bucket, a brain teaser about nicknames, French gestures, Dutchman, million-dollar family, dungarees, scared water, and nuking food.
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.
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Gold Dance (Rebroadcast) - 20 June 2022
2022/06/20
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People who hunt treasure with metal detectors have a lingo all their own. Canslaw means the shreds of aluminum cans left after a lawnmower ran over them. And gold dance? That's the happy jig you do if you find something far more valuable than an old can. Plus, a splendid new dictionary offers an in-depth look at the rich language of Southern Appalachia, from parts of West Virginia to Georgia. And why do television announcers greet viewers with the phrase "welcome back" after a commercial break? Weren't they the ones who went away? Plus, coinball, bacon bats, Katzensprung, quote unquote vs. quote end quote, a quiz about synonyms, joke tags, dials and smiles, low sick, took a dump, get out of my bathtub!, and more.
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.
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By a Long Shot (Rebroadcast) - 13 June 2022
2022/06/13
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Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within 10 miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or bank loan -- and they're a powerful record of who and what we value. Plus, a third-grader asks why the first episode of a TV series is often called "Pilot." And: the story of the word "dashboard," from muddy roads to computer screens. All that, plus nanomoon, not by a long shot vs. not by a long chalk, layoes to catch meddlers, proc, don't buy the hype, do it for the hywl, and a cheesy quiz flecked with puns.
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.
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Familiar Strangers - 6 June 2022
2022/06/06
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If you take up texting and social media late in life, there’s a lot to learn! A twenty-something wants advice getting her dad up to speed on memes, Instagram, and animated images. Plus, when you’re on a long road trip, what do you call that one driver you keep passing on the freeway, or who sets the pace for your car mile after mile? Road buddy? Some call them Follow Johns. Plus, the linguistic reason why some people say “SANG-wich” instead of “SAND-wich.” It’s a mouthful — literally! And: thalweg, stick season, quare, jimmycane, the many Spanish words that derive from the Nahuatl language, camera and camaraderie, cada chango en su mecate, a puzzle all about the letter E, the connection between dollar and Neanderthal, umarell, and menos burros, más elotes.
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.
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Word Hoard - 30 May 2022
2022/05/30
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Ever wonder what medieval England looked and sounded like? In Old English, the word hord meant “treasure” and your wordhord was the treasure of words locked up inside you. A delightful new book uses the language of that period to create a vivid look at everyday life. Plus, a shotgun house is long and narrow with no hallway — just one room leading into the next. It’s an architectural style with a long history stretching from Africa to Haiti and into the American South. And: say you accidentally cut someone off in traffic, and you know it’s your fault. What’s a quick, clear way to communicate that you’re sorry? NO texting allowed! All that, and feaking, feather merchant, gradoo, spondulicks, echar un zorrito, tocayo and cueto, a take-off quiz, and an onomatopoeic Old English word for “sneeze.”
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.
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When Pigs Fly (Rebroadcast) - 23 May 2022
2022/05/23
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Don’t move my cheese! It’s a phrase middle managers use to talk about adapting to change in the workplace. Plus, the origin story of the name William, and why it’s Guillermo in Spanish. And a five-year-old poses a question that puzzles a lot of people: Why is the letter Q so often followed by a U? All that, and adynaton, an assonant quiz, do it up brown, salt of the earth, haven’t grown gills yet, wooling, a silly joke about the number one, a poem about regret, and hide-and-seek calls, such as Ole Ole Olson all in free!
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.
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Cool Beans (Rebroadcast) - 16 May 2022
2022/05/16
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If you speak a second or third language, you may remember the first time you dreamed in that new tongue. But does this milestone mean you’re actually fluent? And a couple’s dispute over the word regret: Say you wish you’d been able to meet Albert Einstein. Can you regret that the two of you never met, or is there a better word for a situation over which you have no control? Can the word regret include simply longing for something? Plus, a sixth-grader wonders about a weird word on her spelling bee study list. It’s spelled X-Y-L-Y-L — and it’s not just for Scrabble players. Plus, hot as flugens, to play Box and Cox, twack and twoc, a quiz for canine lovers, an eloquent appreciation of libraries, a widow’s moving thank-you note, a punny gardening joke, a funny newspaper correction, a trick with a hole in it, and lots more. Cool beans!
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.
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You Talk Like a Sausage - 9 May 2022
2022/05/09
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Do you refer to your dog or cat as “somebody”? As in: When you love somebody that much, you don’t mind if they slobber. In other words, is your pet a somebody or a something? Also, for centuries, there was little consistency in the way many English words were spelled. But long before the printing press helped to standardize spelling, powerful historical forces were already shaping how those words looked on the page. Plus, Irish words that are as handy as they are fun to say: bockety, which describes something wobbly, and segotia, a fond term for “friend.” And ship vs. yacht, rope vs. line, The New Yorker vs. the The New Yorker, evening vs. afternoon, how to pronounce hammock, a wild and woolly animal quiz, “talking cheese” in German, and an Iranian-American playwright on the challenges of learning another language.
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.
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Love Bites (Rebroadcast) - 2 May 2022
2022/05/02
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The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear your instructor speaking in a kind of continuous present, with phrases like sitting comfortably and breathing deeply instead of simple imperatives to sit comfortably and breathe deeply. These are participles with a purpose, and linguists have a term for it: the politeness progressive. Finally, why can’t you have your cake and eat it, too? Also: Book it!, the language of falconry, acronames, how to pronounce brooch, broach the subject, at loggerheads, a brain-teasing game for science fans and another one for gardeners, the many meanings of hickey, and more. And hey, don’t go visiting with one arm as long as the other!
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.
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Pushing the Envelope - 25 April 2022
2022/04/25
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Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dramatic burst of green after a long, dark winter. And there are many, many terms for a cold snap that follows the first taste of spring: blackberry winter, redbud winter, onion snow, and whippoorwill storm, to name a few. Plus, the family that plays trivia games at home may end up cheering for their teen in high-school competitions. Also, playful prayers at the dinner table: Amen, Brother Ben! Pass the butter, let’s begin! All that, plus retten up, push the envelope, with bells on, self-deprecating vs. self-depreciating, taffy pockets, pigeon pair, the end of pea time, a puzzle about pairs of words, and more. Here we go, laughing and scratching!
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.
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Lasagna Hog (Rebroadcast) - 18 April 2022
2022/04/18
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Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involvement” speakers interrupt or talk along with someone else to signal their enthusiasm, while “high-considerateness” speakers tend more toward thoughtful pauses and polite turn-taking. Adjusting your speaking style accordingly may improve not only your communication, but also your relationships. Plus, when you read a text message from someone, does it seem weird if they use ellipses? And: a delightful new documentary about the World Palindrome Championships will leave you with just one palindromic thought: Wow! Also, boo-boo and boo-hoo, prune and plum, grass widow and widows weeds, a rig and a half, barefoot tea, funny names for birds, a puzzle for movie lovers, and more.
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.
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Primary Colors - 11 April 2022
2022/04/11
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Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence developed their own hand signs, with hundreds of gestures, that are still in use today. Plus, how do speakers of different languages distinguish similar shades and tints of colors such as red, yellow, and blue? It’s complicated! And: you don’t really need those little rivets on your blue jeans, do you? There’s a word for decorative elements that no longer serve a practical purpose: skeuomorphs. All that, along with butter of antimony, vein vs. vain, sugar of lead, euchred figs, two bits, mess and gaum, an apt nickname for a garbage disposal, a quiz about family secrets, and lots more.
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.
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Kiss the Cow (Rebroadcast) - 4 April 2022
2022/04/04
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An anadrome is a word that forms a whole new word when you spell it backwards. For example, the word “stressed” spelled backwards is “desserts.” Some people’s first names are anadromes. There’s the girl named Noel in honor of her father Leon, and the woman named Edna who adopted the name Ande. Speaking of names, know anybody whose occupation fits their name? Maybe a college administrator named Dean, or a breadmaker named Baker? Well, there’s a name for that concept: nominative determinism. Plus, a conversation about how hard it can be to gracefully end… a conversation. Also: a puzzle about famous names, Wellerisms, kaffedags and fika, a kissing game, moco, greissel, twacking, the plural of computer mouse, and more.
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.
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Deep Fried Air - 28 March 2022
2022/03/28
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Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus, what’s an ort? It’s the last bit of food left on a dinner plate — and whether or not you finish it can be a matter of manners. Also, an audio puzzle inspired by the popular game Wordle. Harder than it sounds! Plus ginnels, twittens, nerds, Not on your tintype!, piling Pelion upon Ossa, things to say after a sneeze, and a lovely poem about elevators. Ta-da!
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.
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No Cap, No Lie (Rebroadcast) - 21 March 2022
2022/03/21
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We take our voices for granted, but it’s truly miraculous that we communicate complex thoughts simply by moving our mouths while exhaling. A fascinating new book reveals the science, history, and linguistics involved in human speech. And although you might associate the term paraphernalia with drug use, the word goes all the way back to ancient Greece and the property of a new bride. Plus: you’re jogging through the woods and come up behind someone. What do you say to keep from startling them? Excuse me? On your left? What IS the opposite of startling someone with Boo!? Also, inoculate, no cap, it’s been a minute, doorwall vs. sliding door, ansible, a verbal escape-room puzzle, chimbly and chimley, intentional mispronunciations, and the handy German word Impfneid, which means “vaccine envy.”
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.
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East Overshoe - 14 March 2022
2022/03/14
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Some people work hard to lose their accent in order to fit in. Others may be homesick for the voices they grew up with and try to reclaim them. How can you regain your old accent? Also, a compelling book about scientific taxonomy shows how humans use language to try to divide up and impose order on the word. And Uff-dah!is an expressive word that means “Gee whiz!” or “Oy vey!” It’s also handy when lifting heavy objects. Plus, pigloos, pine shatters vs. pine needles, channel fever, a quiz about common bonds, idioms involving stinginess, nicknames, possible baths, verbing nouns, East Jesus and South Burlap, and affirmative semantics with negative morphosyntax.
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.
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Lead on MacDuff (Rebroadcast) - 7 March 2022
2022/03/07
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For rock climbers, skiers, and other outdoor enthusiasts, the word send has taken on a whole new meaning. You might cheer on a fellow snowboarder with Send it, bro! — and being sendy is a really great thing. Plus: a nostalgic trip to Willa Cather’s’ Nebraska home inspires a reading from one of her classic books about life on the American prairie. And what do they call a sudden, heavy rain where you live? A gully-washer? A frog-strangler? Or maybe even a bridge-lifter? All that, and the flowery language of seed catalogs, rank and file, cut me a husk, I am sat down vs. I am sitting down, Lead on, MacDuff! vs. Lay on, MacDuff!, a hematological puzzle, and a popular Spanish-language refrain about an extremely long goodbye.
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.
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Herd of Turtles - 28 February 2022
2022/02/28
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Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discovers a new species of bat, then names it after a poet he admires. Also, warm memories of how a childhood library card becomes a passport to new worlds. And: for a spell vs. cast a spell, thaw vs. unthaw, twice-cooked cabbage, a brain teaser in celebration of the great Stephen Sondheim, Dankie op’n plankie, right as rain, a turd of hurtles, a revolving s.o.b., tips for writing historical fiction, and plenty more.
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.
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Tribble Trouble (Rebroadcast) - 21 February 2022
2022/02/21
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In Cockney rhyming slang, apples and pears is a synonym for “stairs,” and dustbin lids means kids. Plus, sniglets are clever coinages for things we don’t already have words for. Any guesses what incogsneeto means? It’s the act of trying to hide your sneeze while wearing a face mask. Also, how the vocabulary of science fiction influences our everyday conversation, from the tribble on your hat to vaccine development at warp speed! Plus unkempt vs. unkept, erase vs. delete, tribbles vs. pompoms, placid, meuf, a cryptic quiz, a tasty pangram, Barney for “trouble,” earthborn, apple-dancing, dirtsider, one hand washes the other and both hands wash the face, and You must be holding your mouth wrong!
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.
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Mittens in Moonlight (#1586)
2022/02/14
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Need a slang term that can replace just about anynoun? Try chumpie. If you’re from Philadelphia, you may already know this handy placeholder word. And there’s Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, and … The Bronx — why do we add the definite article to the name of that New York borough? The answer lies in the area’s geography and local family lore. Plus, an Australian bullfrog that sounds like a banjo called a pobblebonk. Also: get the pips, down your Sunday throat, jubous, dinor vs. diner, stepped out of a bandbox, a Carl Sandburg poem, quemacocos, sirsee, a punny puzzle about doing well, and more.
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.
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Ring-Tailed Tooter (Rebroadcast) - 7 February 2022
2022/02/07
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National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a foreign language. And third, find out what you truly believe, because if you’re not writing from your beliefs, then you’re just passing along information. And: if someone says they’re going to plant flags at a gravesite, they may not mean what you think. That’s because the word flag is also the name for a certain flower. Plus, if helicopter parents hover protectively around their kids … what do golf parents do? All that, along with in a brown study, pitcher-proud, ring-tailed ripsnorter, gleepers, clackers, a brain-busting take-off puzzle, thing like that and all, and there are no bones in ice cream. Ye gods and little fishes!
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.
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What the Blazes (Rebroadcast) - 31 January 2022
2022/01/31
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What kind of book do people ask for most often in prison? Romance novels? No. The Bible? No. The most requested books by far are … dictionaries! A number of volunteer organizations gather and distribute used dictionaries to help inmates with reading, writing, and schoolwork. Plus: For some low-tech family fun, how about egg-tapping? Traditionally played after on Easter, the game involves smacking a hard-boiled egg against an opponent’s. The person who ends up with an uncracked egg wins. And: Just how common is it to give a goofy name to a household appliance? Even your garbage disposal might get a moniker! Also, chelidon, knock the stink off, pony keg, pineapple posture, sprunny, wash-ashores, trailblazer, a punny puzzle about song titles, a Norwegian idiom that means “empty-headed,” a bagpipe serenade, and more. Dinna fash!
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.
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Mudlarking (Rebroadcast) - 24 January 2022
2022/01/24
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Twice a day the River Thames recedes, revealing a muddy shoreline. Hobbyists known as mudlarks stroll the surface searching for objects that have found their way into the river over the centuries, everything from ancient Roman jewelry to modern wedding rings. A new book about mudlarking describes the irresistible appeal of searching for treasures and the stories behind them. Also, why do performers whisper the phrase toi, toi, toi to wish each other well backstage before a show? And, what’s the plural of octopus? Octopuses? Octopi? Something else? Plus, schniddles vs. schnibbles, visiting vs. talking, fotched a heave, creature comforts, trade-last, a timely pangram, Doves Type, a brain teaser about malapropisms, and more.
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.
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Diamond Dust - 17 January 2022
2022/01/17
Sleepy Winks - 10 January 2022
2022/01/10
Snaggletooth (Rebroadcast) - 3 January 2021
2022/01/03
Like a Boiled Owl (Rebroadcast) - 27 December 2021
2021/12/27
Your Two Cents (Rebroadcast) - 20 December 2021
2021/12/20
Made from Scratch - 13 December 2021
2021/12/13
Deviled Eggs (Rebroadcast) - 6 December 2021
2021/12/06
Good Vibrations (Rebroadcast) - 29 November 2021
2021/11/29
Salad Days - 22 November 2021
2021/11/23
Mystery Drawer (Rebroadcast) - 15 November 2021
2021/11/15
Your Imaginary Boyfriend - 8 November 2021
2021/11/08
Sock it to Me (Rebroadcast) - 1 November 2021
2021/11/01
Beefed It - 25 October 2021
2021/10/25
Moon Palace (Rebroadcast) - 18 October 2021
2021/10/18
Forty-Eleven Zillion - 11 October 2021
2021/10/11
Cherry Bombs (Rebroadcast) - 4 October 2021
2021/10/04
Navel Gazing (Rebroadcast) - 27 September 2021
2021/09/27
Yak Shaving (Rebroadcast) - 20 September 2021
2021/09/20
Mystery Date - 13 September 2021
2021/09/13
Today I Learned (#1578) - 6 September 2021
2021/09/06
Singing Sand (Rebroadcast) - 30 August 2021
2021/08/30
Sour Pickle - 23 August 2021
2021/08/23
Baby's Breath (Rebroadcast) - 16 August 2021
2021/08/16
Not My Circus - 9 August 2021
2021/08/09
Hog On Ice (Rebroadcast) - 2 August 2021
2021/08/02
Scooter Pooting - 26 July 2021
2021/07/26
Goody Two-Shoes (Rebroadcast) - 19 July 2021
2021/07/19
Gold Dance - 12 July 2021
2021/07/12
Join us for our video cookout July 14th!
2021/07/06
Baby Blues (Rebroadcast) - 5 July 2021
2021/07/05
By a Long Shot - 28 June 2021
2021/06/28
Walkie Talkie (Rebroadcast) - 21 June 2021
2021/06/21
When Pigs Fly - 14 June 2021
2021/06/14
Tiger Tail (Rebroadcast) - 7 June 2021
2021/06/07
Cool Beans - 31 May 2021
2021/05/31
Clever Clogs (Rebroadcast) - 24 May 2021
2021/05/24
Love Bites - 17 May 2021
2021/05/17
Little Shavers (Rebroadcast) - 10 May 2021
2021/05/10
Lasagna Hog - 3 May 2021
2021/05/03
Bug in Your Ear (Rebroadcast) - 26 April 2021
2021/04/26
Kiss the Cow - 19 April 2021
2021/04/19
The Black Dog (Rebroadcast) - 12 April 2021
2021/04/12
No Cap, No Lie - 5 April 2021
2021/04/05
Beside Myself (Rebroadcast) - 29 March 2021
2021/03/29
Lead on, Macduff! (#1565)
2021/03/22
Skookum (Rebroadcast) - 15 March 2021
2021/03/15
Tribble Trouble - 8 March 2021
2021/03/07
Life of Riley (Rebroadcast) - 1 March 2021
2021/03/01
Ring-Tailed Tooter - 22 February 2021
2021/02/22
Off the Turnip Truck (Rebroadcast) - 15 February 2021
2021/02/15
What the Blazes? - 8 February 2021
2021/02/08
Loaded for Bear (Rebroadcast) - 2 February 2021
2021/02/01
Mudlarking - 25 January 2021
2021/01/25
Mrs. Astor's Horse (Rebroadcast) - 18 January 2021
2021/01/18
Snaggletooth - 11 January 2021
2021/01/11
At First Blush (Rebroadcast) - 4 January 2021
2021/01/04
Gift Horse (Rebroadcast) - 28 December 2020
2020/12/28
Like a Boiled Owl - 21 December 2020
2020/12/21
Had the Radish (Rebroadcast) - 14 December 2020
2020/12/14
Your Two Cents - 7 December 2020
2020/12/07
Abso-Bloomin-Lutely (Rebroadcast) - 30 November 2020
2020/11/30
Niblings and Nieflings (Rebroadcast) - 23 November 2020
2020/11/23
Sock it to Me - 16 November 2020
2020/11/16
Kite in a Phonebooth (Rebroadcast) - 9 November 2020
2020/11/09
Strawberry Moon (Rebroadcast) - 2 November 2020
2020/11/02
Good Vibrations - 26 October 2020
2020/10/26
Spill The Tea (Rebroadcast) - 19 October 2020
2020/10/19
Mystery Drawer - 12 October 2020
2020/10/12
Dirty Laundry (Rebroadcast) - 5 October 2020
2020/10/05
Keep Your Powder Dry (Rebroadcast) - 28 September 2020
2020/09/28
One Armed Paper Hanger (Rebroadcast) - 21 September 2020
2020/09/21
Deviled Eggs - 14 September 2020
2020/09/14
Hair On Your Tongue (Rebroadcast) - 7 September 2020
2020/09/07
Play It By Ear - 31 August 2020
2020/08/31
Train of Thought (Rebroadcast) - 24 August 2020
2020/08/24
Moon Palace - 17 August 2020
2020/08/17
Space Cadet (Rebroadcast) - 10 August 2020
2020/08/10
Howling Fantods (Rebroadcast) - 3 August 2020
2020/08/03
Cherry Bombs (#1551)
2020/07/27
Bottled Sunshine (Rebroadcast) - 20 July 2020
2020/07/20
Queen Bee - 13 July 2020
2020/07/13
Cootie Shot (Rebroadcast) - 6 July 2020
2020/07/06
Navel Gazing - 29 June 2020
2020/06/29
Ding Ding Man (Rebroadcast) - 22 June 2020
2020/06/22
Take Tea for the Fever (Rebroadcast) - 15 June 2020
2020/06/15
Yak Shaving - 8 June 2020
2020/06/08
Sun Dog (Rebroadcast) - 1 June 2020
2020/06/01
Oh For Cute (Rebroadcast) - 25 May 2020
2020/05/25
Coinkydink (Rebroadcast) - 18 May 2020
2020/05/18
Up Your Alley (Rebroadcast) - 11 May 2020
2020/05/11
Piping Hot (Rebroadcast) - 4 May 2020
2020/05/04
Mimeographs and Dittos (Rebroadcast) - 27 April 2020
2020/04/27
Cabin Fever - 20 April 2020
2020/04/20
Chopped Liver (Rebroadcast) - 13 April 2020
2020/04/13
Singing Sand - 6 April 2020
2020/04/05
Truth and Beauty (Rebroadcast)
2020/03/30
Baby's Breath - 23 March 2020
2020/03/23
Dessert Stomach - 16 March 2020
2020/03/16
Hog on Ice - 9 March 2020
2020/03/09
Brollies and Bumbershoots (Rebroadcast) - 2 March 2020
2020/03/02
Goody Two-Shoes - 24 February 2020
2020/02/24
Cool Your Soup (Rebroadcast) - 17 February 2020
2020/02/17
Baby Blues - 10 February 2020
2020/02/10
Put on the Dog (Rebroadcast) - 3 February 2020
2020/02/03
Walkie Talkie - 27 January 2020
2020/01/27
Tiger Tail - 20 January 2020
2020/01/20
Gee and Haw (Rebroadcast) - 13 January 2020
2020/01/13
Gung Ho (Rebroadcast) - 6 January 2020
2020/01/06
Crusticles and Fenderbergs (Rebroadcast) - 30 December 2019
2019/12/30
Clever Clogs - 23 December 2019
2019/12/23
Son of a gun! - a special minicast from Grant
2019/12/19
Little Shavers - 16 December 2019
2019/12/16
Electrifying! - a special minicast from Martha
2019/12/12
Bug in Your Ear - 9 December 2019
2019/12/09
Bun in the Oven (Rebroadcast) - 1 December 2019
2019/12/02
The Black Dog - 25 November 2019
2019/11/25
Flying Pickle (Rebroadcast) - 18 November 2019
2019/11/18
The Last Straw (Rebroadcast) - 11 November 2019
2019/11/11
Beside Myself - 4 November 2019
2019/11/04
Hidden Treasures (Rebroadcast) - 28 October 2019
2019/10/28
Skookum - 21 October 2019
2019/10/21
Butterflies in the Stomach (Rebroadcast) - 14 October 2019
2019/10/14
Life of Riley - 7 October 2019
2019/10/07
Catch You on the Flip Side (Rebroadcast) - 30 September 2019
2019/09/30
Off the Turnip Truck - 23 September 2019
2019/09/23
Loaded For Bear - 16 September 2019
2019/09/16
All Verklempt (Rebroadcast) - 9 September 2019
2019/09/09
Hunk Waffle (Rebroadcast) - 2 September 2019
2019/09/03
Pants On Fire (Rebroadcast) - 26 August 2019
2019/08/26
Frozen Rope (Rebroadcast) - 19 August 2019
2019/08/19
Flop Sweat (Rebroadcast) - 12 August 2019
2019/08/12
Smile Belt (Rebroadcast) - 5 August 2019
2019/08/05
Mrs. Astor's Horse - 29 July 2019
2019/07/29
A Shoo-In (Rebroadcast) - 22 July 2019
2019/07/22
At First Blush - 15 July 2019
2019/07/15
Noon Of Night (Rebroadcast) - 8 July 2019
2019/07/08
Gift Horse - 1 July 2019
2019/07/01
Naked as a Jaybird (Rebroadcast) - 24 June 2019
2019/06/24
Had the Radish - 17 June 2019
2019/06/17
Hot Dog, Cold Turkey (Rebroadcast) - 10 June 2019
2019/06/10
Abso-Bloomin-Lutely - 3 June 2019
2019/06/03
Skedaddle (Rebroadcast) - 27 May 2019
2019/05/27
Coast is Clear (Rebroadcast) - 20 May 2019
2019/05/20
Niblings and Nieflings - 13 May 2019
2019/05/13
Gone to Seed (Rebroadcast) - 6 May 2019
2019/05/06
Kite in a Phonebooth - 29 April 2019
2019/04/29
Hell's Half Acre (Rebroadcast) - 22 April 2019
2019/04/22
Steamed Bun (Rebroadcast) - 15 April 2019
2019/04/15
Kids Are Asking - 11 April 2019
2019/04/11
Strawberry Moon - 8 April 2019
2019/04/08
Charismatic Megafauna (Rebroadcast) - 1 April 2019
2019/04/01
Spill the Tea - 25 March 2019
2019/03/25
Knuckle Down (Rebroadcast) - 18 March 2019
2019/03/18
Dirty Laundry - 11 March 2019
2019/03/11
Lie Like A Rug (Rebroadcast) - 4 March 2019
2019/03/04
Keep Your Powder Dry - 25 February 2019
2019/02/25
One Armed Paper Hanger - 18 February 2019
2019/02/18
Hair on Your Tongue - 11 February 2019
2019/02/11
Train of Thought - 4 February 2019
2019/02/04
Colonial English - 28 January 2019
2019/01/28
Pig Latin (Rebroadcast) - 21 January 2019
2019/01/21
Whistle in the Dark (Rebroadcast) - 14 January 2019
2019/01/14
Fickle Finger of Fate (Rebroadcast) - 7 January 2019
2019/01/07
Stars and Garters (Rebroadcast) - 31 December 2018
2018/12/31
Space Cadet - 24 December 2018
2018/12/24
Howling Fantods - 17 December 2018
2018/12/17
Cootie Shot - 10 December 2018
2018/12/10
Boss of Me (Rebroadcast) - 3 December 2018
2018/12/03
Spur of the Moment (Rebroadcast) - 26 November 2018
2018/11/26
Bottled Sunshine - 19 November 2018
2018/11/19
Care Package - 12 November 2018
2018/11/12
Hell for Leather (Rebroadcast) - 5 November 2018
2018/11/05
Ding Ding Man - 29 October 2018
2018/10/29
Take Tea for the Fever - 22 October 2018
2018/10/22
Sun Dog - 15 October 2018
2018/10/15
Oh For Cute - 8 October 2018
2018/10/08
Coinkydink - 1 October 2018
2018/10/01
Sweet Dreams (Rebroadcast) - 24 September 2018
2018/09/24
Gangbusters (Rebroadcast) - 17 September 2018
2018/09/17
XYZ PDQ (Rebroadcast) - 10 September 2018
2018/09/10
Hang a Ralph (Rebroadcast) - 3 September 2018
2018/09/03
You Bet Your Boots (Rebroadcast) - 27 August 2018
2018/08/27
Pink Slip (Rebroadcast) - 20 August 2018
2018/08/20
Criss Cross Applesauce (Rebroadcast) - 13 August 2018
2018/08/13
Whistle Pig (Rebroadcast) - 6 August 2018
2018/08/06
Up Your Alley - 30 July 2018
2018/07/30
Piping Hot - 23 July 2018
2018/07/23
Copacetic (Rebroadcast) - 16 July 2018
2018/07/16
Mustard on It (Rebroadcast) - 9 July 2018
2018/07/09
Proof in the Pudding (Rebroadcast) - 2 July 2018
2018/07/02
We have an attitude — 27 June 2018
2018/06/27
Mimeographs and Dittos - 25 June 2018
2018/06/25
Spicy Jambalaya - 18 June 2018
2018/06/18
A request from Martha — 13 June 2018
2018/06/13
Chopped Liver — 11 June 2018
2018/06/11
Busted Melon (Rebroadcast) - 4 June 2018
2018/06/04
Truth and Beauty - 28 May 2018
2018/05/28
Jump Steady (Rebroadcast) - 21 May 2018
2018/05/21
Dessert Stomach - 14 May 2018
2018/05/14
Scat Cat (Rebroadcast) - 7 May 2018
2018/05/07
Far Out, Man - 30 April 2018
2018/04/30
Beat the Band (Rebroadcast) - 23 April 2018
2018/04/24
Brollies and Bumbershoots - 16 April 2018
2018/04/16
Cool Your Soup - 9 April 2018
2018/04/09
Put on the Dog - 2 April 2018
2018/04/02
Fighting Artichokes (Rebroadcast) - 26 March 2018
2018/03/26
Burn Bag (Rebroadcast) - 19 March 2018
2018/03/19
Gee and Haw - 12 March 2018
2018/03/12
Gung Ho - 5 March 2018
2018/03/05
Flop Sweat (Rebroadcast) - 26 February 2018
2018/02/27
Smile Belt (Rebroadcast) - 19 February 2018
2018/02/19
Crusticles and Fenderbergs - 12 February 2018
2018/02/12
Bun in the Oven - 5 February 2018
2018/02/05
Flying Pickle - 29 January 2018
2018/01/29
Happy as Larry - 22 January 2018
2018/01/22
A Shoo In (Rebroadcast) - 15 January 2018
2018/01/15
Noon of Night (Rebroadcast) - 8 January 2018
2018/01/08
Naked as a Jaybird - 1 January 2018
2018/01/01
Hot Dog, Cold Turkey (Rebroadcast) - 25 December 2017
2017/12/25
There's more of everything!
2017/12/21
Brand Spanking New - 18 December 2017
2017/12/18
The Last Straw - 11 December 2017
2017/12/11
A gift for your language nerd!
2017/12/08
Skedaddle (Rebroadcast) - 4 December 2017
2017/12/04
Coast Is Clear (Rebroadcast) - 27 November 2017
2017/11/27
Hidden Treasures - 20 November 2017
2017/11/20
Butterflies in Your Stomach - 13 November 2017
2017/11/13
Catch You on the Flip Side - 6 November 2017
2017/11/06
All Verklempt - 30 October 2017
2017/10/30
Hunk Waffle - 23 October 2017
2017/10/23
Pants on Fire - 16 October 2017
2017/10/16
Frozen Rope - 9 October 2017
2017/10/09
Gone to Seed (Rebroadcast) - 2 October 2017
2017/10/02
Hell's Half Acre (Rebroadcast) - 25 September 2017
2017/09/25
Steamed Bun (Rebroadcast) - 18 September 2017
2017/09/18
Charismatic Megafauna (Rebroadcast) - 11 September 2017
2017/09/11
Knuckle Down (Rebroadcast) - 4 September 2017
2017/09/04
What Kids Know and Want to Find Out - 1 September 2017
2017/09/01
Lie Like a Rug (Rebroadcast) - 28 August 2017
2017/08/28
Pig Latin (Rebroadcast) - 21 August 2017
2017/08/27
Whistle in the Dark (Rebroadcast) - 14 August 2017
2017/08/14
Chocolate Gravy (Rebroadcast) - 7 August 2017
2017/08/07
Fickle Finger of Fate (Rebroadcast) - 31 July 2017
2017/07/31
Flop Sweat - 24 July 2017
2017/07/24
Smile Belt - 17 July 2017
2017/07/17
A Shoo-In - 10 July 2017
2017/07/10
Stars and Garters (Rebroadcast) - 3 July 2017
2017/07/03
Noon of Night - 26 June 2017
2017/06/26
Boss of Me (Rebroadcast) - 19 June 2017
2017/06/19
Sunny Side Up (Rebroadcast) - 12 June 2017
2017/06/12
Naked as a Jaybird - 5 June 2017
2017/06/05
Hot Dog Cold Turkey - 29 May 2017
2017/05/29
Spur of the Moment (Rebroadcast) - 22 May 2017
2017/05/22
Hell For Leather (Rebroadcast) - 15 May 2017
2017/05/15
Skedaddle - 8 May 2017
2017/05/08
Pop Stand (Rebroadcast) - 1 May 2017
2017/05/01
Coast Is Clear - 24 April 2017
2017/04/24
Punch List (Rebroadcast) - 17 April 2017
2017/04/17
Sweet Dreams (Rebroadcast) - 10 April 2017
2017/04/08
Gone To Seed - 3 April 2017
2017/04/03
Hell's Half Acre - 27 March 2017
2017/03/27
Steamed Bun - 20 March 2017
2017/03/20
Gangbusters (Rebroadcast) - 13 March 2017
2017/03/13
XYZ PDQ (Rebroadcast) - 6 March 2017
2017/03/06
Charismatic Megafauna - 20 February 2017
2017/02/20
Knuckle Down - 13 February 2017
2017/02/13
Lie Like A Rug - 5 February 2017
2017/02/06
We've come a long way!
2016/12/30
Copacetic (Rebroadcast) - 19 December 2016
2016/12/19
Whistle in the Dark - 12 December 2016
2016/12/12
Mustard On It (Rebroadcast) - 28 November 2016
2016/11/28
Stars and Garters - 14 November2016
2016/11/14
Boss Of Me - 31 October 2016
2016/10/31
Sunny Side Up - 24 October 2016
2016/10/24
Spur of the Moment - 17 October 2016
2016/10/17
Hell For Leather - 10 October 2016
2016/10/10
Busted Melon (Rebroadcast) - 3 October 2016
2016/10/03
Jump Steady (Rebroadcast) - 26 September 2016
2016/09/26
Scat Cat (Rebroadcast) - 19 September 2016
2016/09/19
Listening Is Only Half Of It - 18 September 2016
2016/09/19
There's Something About A Way with Words... - 14 September 2016
2016/09/14
Tennessee Top Hat (Rebroadcast) - 12 September 2016
2016/09/12
Beat The Band (Rebroadcast) - 5 September 2016
2016/09/05
Fighting Artichokes (Rebroadcast) - 29 August 2016
2016/08/29
Burn Bag (Rebroadcast) - 22 August 2016
2016/08/22
Spit Game (Rebroadcast) - 8 August 2016
2016/08/08
Pop Stand - 1 August 2016
2016/08/01
Punch List - 25 July 2016
2016/07/25
Shakespeare's Insults (Rebroadcast) - 18 July 2016
2016/07/18
Pebble Picker (Rebroadcast) - 11 July 2016
2016/07/11
There Once Was A Gal From (Rebroadcast) - 4 July 2016
2016/07/04
Sweet Dreams - 20 June 2016
2016/06/20
How We Roll - 13 June 2016
2016/06/13
Hector's Pup (Rebroadcast) - 6 June 2016
2016/06/06
Gangbusters - 30 May 2016
2016/05/30
XYZ PDQ - 23 May 2016
2016/05/18
Pickle Seeder (Rebroadcast) - 25 April 2016
2016/04/25
Green Eyed Monster (Rebroadcast) - 18 April 2016
2016/04/18
Idiom's Delight (Rebroadcast) - 21 March 2016
2016/03/21
Whistle Britches (Rebroadcast) - 7 March 2016
2016/03/07
Copacetic - 29 February 2016
2016/02/29
Mustard on It - 22 February 2016
2016/02/22
Noon Balloon to Rangoon (Rebroadcast) - 1 February 2016
2016/02/01
Catch My Fade (Rebroadcast) - 25 January 2016
2016/01/25
Buckle Down (Rebroadcast) - 18 January 2016
2016/01/18
An Ear For Wine (Rebroadcast) - 4 January 2016
2016/01/04
Electric Hootenanny (Rebroadcast) - 28 December 2015
2015/12/28
Wolf Whistle - 14 December 2015
2015/12/14
Busted Melon - 7 December 2015
2015/12/07
Hell's Bells (Rebroadcast) - 30 November 2015
2015/11/30
Jump Steady - 23 November 2015
2015/11/23
I'll Be Sheep-Dipped (Rebroadcast) - 16 November 2015
2015/11/16
Month of Sundays (Rebroadcast) - 2 November 2015
2015/11/02
Scat Cat - 26 October 2015
2015/10/26
Tennessee Top Hat - 19 October 2015
2015/10/19
Beat the Band - 12 October 2015
2015/10/12
Fighting Artichokes - 5 October 2015
2015/10/05
Burn Bag - 28 September 2015
2015/09/28
Upstairs Basement (Rebroadcast) - 7 September 2015
2015/09/07
Hang a Salami (Rebroadcast) - 31 August 2015
2015/08/31
Hard Words Are Hard (Rebroadcast) - 24 August 2015
2015/08/24
Brown as a Berry (Rebroadcast) - 17 August 2015
2015/08/17
Keep Your Pants On (Rebroadcast) - 10 August 2015
2015/08/10
Springtime Twitterpation (Rebroadcast) - 3 August 2015
2015/08/03
Dust Bunnies (Rebroadcast) - 27 July 2015
2015/07/27
Sound of a Kiss (Rebroadcast) - 20 July 2015
2015/07/20
Feeling Gruntled (Rebroadcast) - 6 July 2015
2015/07/06
Spit Game - 29 June 2015
2015/06/29
By the Seat of Your Pants (Rebroadcast) - 22 June 2015
2015/06/22
How America Talks (Rebroadcast) - 15 June 2015
2015/06/15
Thrown for a Loop (Rebroadcast) - 8 June 2015
2015/06/08
Shakespeare's Insults - 1 June 2015
2015/06/01
Not Quite A Boyfriend (Rebroadcast) - 25 May 2015
2015/05/25
Pebble Picker
2015/05/18
There Once Was A Gal From - 11 May 2015
2015/05/11
Wet Brick (Rebroadcast) - 4 May 2015
2015/05/04
Catbird Seat (Rebroadcast) - 27 April 2015
2015/04/27
Hector's Pup - 13 April 2015
2015/04/13
Jumped Up Bald-Headed (Rebroadcast) - 6 April 2015
2015/04/06
I'll Be Your Boo (Rebroadcast) - 30 March 2015
2015/03/30
Pickle Seeder - 16 March 2015
2015/03/16
Green Eyed Monster - 9 March 2015
2015/03/09
Idiom's Delight - 23 February 2015
2015/02/23
Whistle Britches - 16 February 2015
2015/02/16
Noon Balloon to Rangoon - 9 February 2015
2015/02/09
Above Your Raisin’ - 2 February 2015
2015/02/02
Monkey's Wedding (Rebroadcast) - 26 January 2015
2015/01/30
Writerly Insults (Rebroadcast) - 19 January 2015
2015/01/19
Mr. Can't Died (Rebroadcast) - 12 January 2015
2015/01/12
Drop A Dime (Rebroadcast) - 5 January 2015
2015/01/05
That Old-Book Smell (Rebroadcast) - 29 December 2014
2014/12/29
Catch My Fade - 22 December 2014
2014/12/22
An Urgent Need from A Way with Words
2014/12/21
Buckle Down - 15 December 2014
2014/12/15
Polyglot Problems (Rebroadcast) - 1 December 2014
2014/12/01
Ride the Merry Go Round (Rebroadcast) - 24 November 2014
2014/11/24
Bouncy House of Language (Rebroadcast) - 17 November 2014
2014/11/17
An Ear For Wine - 10 November 2014
2014/11/10
Electric Hootenanny - 3 November 2014
2014/11/03
Hell's Bells - 20 October 2014
2014/10/20
Month of Sundays - 29 September 2014
2014/09/22
On The Shoe Phone (Rebroadcast) - 22 September 2014
2014/09/22
Got Your Six (Rebroadcast) - 15 September 2014
2014/09/14
A Hole to China (Rebroadcast) - 8 September 2014
2014/09/08
Whistling Dixie (Rebroadcast) - 1 September 2014
2014/09/01
Gnarly Foot (Rebroadcast) - 25 August 2014
2014/08/24
Bump and Grind (Rebroadcast) - 18 August 2014
2014/08/18
Gracious Plenty (Rebroadcast) - 11 August 2014
2014/08/11
Upstairs Basement - 9 June 2014
2014/06/09
Hang a Salami - 12 May 2014
2014/05/12
Hard Words Are Hard - 5 May 2014
2014/05/04
Brown As a Berry - 28 April 2014
2014/04/27
Keep Your Pants On - 7 April 2014
2014/04/06
Springtime Twitterpation - 31 March 2014
2014/03/31
Dust Bunnies - 24 March 2014
2014/03/24
Sound of a Kiss - 17 March 2014
2014/03/17
Blow a Gasket - 10 March 2014
2014/03/10
Feeling Gruntled - 17 February 2014
2014/02/17
The Big Cheese - 10 February 2014
2014/02/09
By the Seat of Your Pants - 3 February 2014
2014/02/02
How America Talks - 27 January 2014
2014/01/26
Polyglot Problems (Rebroadcast) - 20 January 2014
2014/01/20
Ride the Merry-Go-Round (Rebroadcast) - 13 January 2014
2014/01/13
Bouncy House of Language (Rebroadcast) - 6 January 2014
2014/01/06
On the Shoe Phone (Rebroadcast) - 30 December 2013
2013/12/30
Thrown for a Loop - 23 December 2013
2013/12/22
Sexy Prunes - 16 December 2013
2013/12/15
Not Quite a Boyfriend - 9 December 2013
2013/12/09
Got Your Six (Rebroadcast) - 2 December 2013
2013/12/02
Wet Brick - 25 November 2013
2013/11/24
Catbird Seat - 18 November 2013
2013/11/17
Jumped Up Bald-Headed - 11 November 2013
2013/11/11
I'll Be Your Boo - 4 November 2013
2013/11/03
Monkey's Wedding - 28 October 2013
2013/10/28
Writerly Insults - 21 October 2013
2013/10/20
Mr. Can't Died - 14 October 2013
2013/10/14
Drop a Dime - 7 October 2013
2013/10/06
That Old-Book Smell - 30 September 2013
2013/09/29
A Hole to China (Rebroadcast) - 23 September 2013
2013/09/22
Whistling Dixie (Rebroadcast) - 16 September 2013
2013/09/16
Gnarly Foot (Rebroadcast) - 9 September 2013
2013/09/08
Bump and Grind (Rebroadcast) - 2 September 2013
2013/09/01
Gracious Plenty (Rebroadcast) - 26 August 2013
2013/08/26
Pie in the Sky (Rebroadcast) August 3, 2013
2013/08/05
Polyglot Problems - 1 July 2013
2013/06/24
Ride the Merry-Go-Round - 24 June 2013
2013/06/23
Bouncy House of Language - 17 June 2013
2013/06/16
On the Shoe Phone - 3 June 2013
2013/06/02
Got Your Six - 13 May 2013
2013/05/12
A Hole to China - 1 April 2013
2013/03/31
Whistling Dixie - 18 March 2013
2013/03/17
Gnarly Foot - 11 March 2013
2013/03/11
Bump and Grind - 4 March 2013
2013/03/03
Gracious Plenty - 11 February 2013
2013/02/10
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2012/12/21
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2012/06/24
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2011/12/15
One Space or Two (rebroadcast) - 5 September 2011
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Seeing The Elephant (rebroadcast) - 29 August 2011
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Eastern Seaboard West Coast (rebroadcast) - 22 August 2011
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Red Light, Green Light (minicast) - 17 Aug. 2011
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Nerd vs Geek (rebroadcast) - 15 August 2011
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Of Pupae and Pupils (minicast) - 10 Aug. 2011
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Infix is Just Another Word for Fanfreakintastic (minicast) - 3 Aug. 2011
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Cannibal Sandwich Anyone (rebroadcast) - 1 August 2011
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Guess What (rebroadcast) - 25 July 2011
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Beanplating the Lunatic Fringe (rebroadcast) - 18 July 2011
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Who is Chester Drawers - 11 July 2011
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A Yankee Dime - 4 July 2011
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Tweet Nothings - 13 June 2011
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Tend to the Rat-Killin' - 6 June 2011
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Everything is Tickety-Boo - 9 May 2011
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Like Death Eating a Cracker (rebroadcast) - 25 Apr. 2011
2011/04/25
A Pickle Short of a Jar (rebroadcast) - 20 Apr. 2011
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Sailor's Delight (rebroadcast) - 21 March 2011
2011/03/22
Sufficiently Suffonsified (rebroadcast) - 31 Jan. 2011
2011/01/31
Word Up! - 17 Jan. 2011
2011/01/17
The Thought Plickens (rebroadcast) - 3 Jan. 2010
2011/01/03
Too Much Sugar for a Dime - 20 Dec. 2010
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Anaheim, Asuza, and Cuck-a-monga (Rebroadcast) - 6 Dec. 2010
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Zig-Zag and Shilly-Shally (Rebroadcast) - 29 Nov. 2010
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A Roberta of Flax - 22 Nov. 2010
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NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz - 16 Nov. 2010
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Words of the Year - 15 Nov. 2010
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Lunatic Fringe - 25 Oct. 2010
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Drinking Terms (minicast) - 6 Oct. 2010
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A Louse in a Wrestling Jacket - 4 Oct. 2010
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A Gazelle on the Lawn (rebroadcast) - 13 Sept. 2010
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Spendthrift Snollygosters (rebroadcast) - 16 Aug. 2010
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The Language of Less Than Three (rebroadcast) - 9 Aug. 2010
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Cellar Door (minicast) - 19 July 2010
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What's the Possessive of Y'all? (minicast) - 8 July 2010
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Not to Be Confused with Hieronymus (minicast) - 30 June 2010
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The Fighting Kewpies, Un-hunh! (rebroadcast) - 28 June 2010
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Forte or For-tay: Is Pronunciation Your Strong Suit? (minicast) - 24 June 2010
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Are You Annoyed by Embololalia? (minicast) - 18 June 2010
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Season and Sea Change (minicast) - 18 June 2010
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Get Your Nickels Together for a Jitney Supper - 7 June 2010
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Bless Your Heart - 31 May 2010
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Hit the Pickle Button - 10 May 2010
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X, Y, and Zed (Rebroadcast) - 26 April 2010
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Pardon Our French - 19 April 2010
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Awkward Turtle - 5 April 2010
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Gyros and Sheath Cakes (Rebroadcast) - 29 March 2010
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Jan Freeman, Write it Right - 4 March 2010
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Jack Lynch, Author of The Lexicographer's Dilemma - 22 Jan. 2010
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Ken Jennings: Not-So-Trivial Pursuits (minicast) - Jan. 12, 2010
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Squeejawed Red-heads and Grockles (Rebroadcast) - 4 January 2010
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See A Man About A Horse (Rebroadcast) - 28 Dec. 2009
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Words of the Decade - 21 Dec. 2009
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Coinkydinks and Big Boxes - 30 Nov. 2009
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Shivaree - 4 Nov. 2009
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Tilly Tickets (minicast) - 20 Oct. 2009
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Roy Blount Jr. Slings Southern Slang (minicast) - 15 Oct. 2009
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We Cook Off Our Potatoes (minicast) - 13 Oct. 2009
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What's Slang Jang? (minicast) - 8 Oct. 2009
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Nuclearly (minicast) - 6 Oct. 2009
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West Word, Ho! - 28 Sept. 2009
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English Down Under - 21 Sept. 2009
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Oh-ah, Oh-ah: That's How We Roll (minicast) - 17 Sept. 2009
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The Prehistoric Mother Tongue (minicast) - 15 Sept. 2009
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Never Bolt Your Door with A Boiled Carrot - 14 Sept. 2009
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The Txting Db8 - 7 Sept. 2009
2009/09/07
Bogarting Bangers - 31 Aug. 2009
2009/08/31
Words With K in Them Are Funny - 17 Aug. 2009
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Bothered by People Talking in the Third Person? (minicast) - 13. Aug. 2009
2009/08/13
Going for that Anti-Marketing Dollar - 10 Aug. 2009
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How Do You Pronounce "Etiquette"? Minicast -7 Aug. 2009
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Don't Give Me Any of That Flannel Minicast - 5 Aug. 2009
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Like a Duck on a June Bug - 3 Aug. 2009
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Moded, Corroded, Your Booty Exploded - 27 July 2009
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Magnolia Mouth, Zero Plurals, and Cluster Simplification (minicast) - 22 July 2009
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I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Overlords - 20 July 2009
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A Walk Spoiled But Our Lie is Good - 13 July 2009
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Trespasses vs. Debts - 9 July 2009
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Postal Abbreviations - 8 July 2009
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Chicken Scratches and Creaky Voice - 29 June 2009
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A Snarl of Serial Commas - 24 June 2009
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L-U-R-V-E, Love - 22 June 2009
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That's What "Friend" is For? Minicast - 18 June 2009
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Great Googly Moogly Minicast - 17 June 2009
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Summer Housekeeping Minicast - 16 June 2009
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Once Upon a Time - June 15, 2009
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Falling off the Wagon (minicast) - 3 June 2009
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Days of Wine Flights and Mullets - 1 June 2009
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Hip-Hop Book of Rhymes - 13 May 2009
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One Fell Swoop Minicast - 6 May 2009
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A Conversation with Roy Blount Jr. - 29 April 2009
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Macaroni and Gravy? - 23 April 2009
2009/04/23
What's a Hobson's Choice? - 15 April 2009
2009/04/15
What the Cluck? (Part 2) - 1 April 2009
2009/04/01
What the Cluck? - 25 March 2009
2009/03/25
Stem-winding and Spellbinding Sentences Minicast - 18 March 2009
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Leapin' Lexical Inventions - 11 March 2009
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Elvis in a Cheese Sandwich - 9 March 2009
2009/03/09
Twacking around Duckish Minicast - 4 March 2009
2009/03/04
How About a Game of Meehonkey? - 16 Feb. 2009
2009/02/16
Love Joe Floggers? So Don't I! - 2 Feb. 2009
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Just a Dite about Sculch and Dooryards - 26 Jan. 2009
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Will The Rain Hurt The Rhubarb? - 17 January 2009
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Hoopoe Heads - 12 Jan. 2009
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Automobile Words of the Year - 29 Dec. 2008
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The Lipstick Express - 15 Dec. 2008
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I Can Has Shimmery Eyez - 15 Dec. 2008
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PUMA (minicast) - 8 Dec. 2008
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Ground Game (minicast) - 1 Dec. 2008
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Moonbats and Wingnuts - 1 Dec. 2008
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Nuke the Fridge - 23 Nov. 2008
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A Year of Words - 17 Nov. 2008
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Of Gossamer and Geese (minicast) - 10 Nov. 2008
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Pwned Prose, Stat! - 10 Nov. 2008
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Language Headlines (minicast) - 3 Nov. 2008
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Hair of the Politics that Bit You - 3 Nov. 2008
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Riddled Through With Riddles - 27 Oct. 2008
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Darwinism and the Dictionary (minicast) - 20 Oct. 2008
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Reading the OED from A to Z - 13 Oct. 2008
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Language Headlines (minicast) - 6 Oct. 2008
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Antipodes and Grooks Minicast - 22 Sept. 2008
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Maverick and Gobbledygook Minicast - 15 Sept. 2008
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Lackabookaphobia? Minicast - 8 Sept. 2008
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The Secret Language of Families - 8 Sept. 2008
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Pair o' Docs Paradox Minicast - 1 Sept. 2008
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Language Headlines Minicast- 25 August 2008
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Insegrevious Paratereseomaniacs - 25 Aug. 2008
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When is a Bell Pepper a Mango? Minicast - 17 Aug. 2008
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Word Jocks, Lettered in Language - 17 Aug. 2008
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Language Headlines - 11 August 2008
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Give It the Old College Slang - 11 August 2008
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Name That Accent Minicast - 3 August 2008
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Index v. Indice Minicast - 28 July 2008
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Put a Snap on the Grouch Bag - 28 July 2008
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Small Talk, the Word Game Minicast - 21 July 2008
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Emoticons Minicast - 14 July 2008
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Dits and Dat Minicast - 7 July 2008
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Barbecue Stoppers and Marmalade Droppers - 7 July 2008
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Do Singers Have Accents? Minicast - 30 June 2008
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Paper to Pixels, Pages to Screens - 30 June 2008
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My Brilliant Careen Minicast- 23 June 2008
2008/06/23
Celebrate National Grammar Day - 23 June 2008
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How to Address an Envelope to a Married Couple Minicast - 16 June 2008
2008/06/16
Cruciverbalists Play Across and Down - 16 June 2008
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Careful with That Teakettle Minicast! - 9 June 2008
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Expresso Dating and Dying Tongues - 9 June 2008
2008/06/09
The Word Candidate Minicast - 2 June 2008
2008/06/02
An Estival Festival of Summer Minicasts - 2 June 2008
2008/06/02
Road Trip! - 26 May 2008
2008/05/26
Typewriters We Have Loved - 31 Mar. 2008
2008/03/31
Bite the Wax Tadpole - 24 March 2008
2008/03/24
Words of the Year - 24 Dec. 2007
2007/12/24
Season Premiere: Howdy, It's a Wit's War! - 26 Nov. 2007
2007/11/26
Grant: Nosy Parkers and Butternuts - 20 Nov. 2007
2007/11/21
Martha and Grant: Points on a Compass, the Saga Continues
2007/11/14
Martha and Grant: The Blue Bark Mystery - 7 Nov. 2007
2007/11/08
Martha and Grant: Let's Blow This Joint - 31 Oct. 2007
2007/10/31
Grant: Dangerous Books You Should Read - 24 Oct. 2007
2007/10/24
Martha and Grant: Hey, That's Mine! - 17 Oct. 2007
2007/10/17
Martha: Appalachian Cackleberries - 10 Oct. 2007
2007/10/10
Martha: The Love Dimple - 3 Oct. 2007
2007/10/03
Martha: A Collection of Collective Nouns - 26 Sept. 2007
2007/09/26
Buffet Flats (minicast)
2007/09/19
This Week or Next? (minicast)
2007/09/12
Gardentoolism (minicast)
2007/08/24
What A Load of Bunk! (minicast)
2007/08/17
The Train is Servicing the Station (minicast)
2007/08/10
Podcast Bonus! The New Word Open Mic
2007/08/04
The Secret Lives of Flowers (minicast)
2007/08/01
A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over
https://www.waywordradio.org/
Light-hearted conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family expressions, language change and varieties, as well as word histories, linguistics, regional dialects, word games, grammar, books, literature, writing, and more.
Be a part of the show with author/journalist Martha Barnette and linguist/lexicographer Grant Barrett. Share your language thoughts, questions, and stories: https://waywordradio.org/contact or words@waywordradio.org.
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From everywhere, call or text +1 (619) 800-4443.
Past episodes, show notes, topic search, and more: https://waywordradio.org.
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