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

Grant dishes up the latest language headlines from around the world, including names so weird they sparked legal action. Two New Zealand parents really did name their daughter “Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii.” Also, what’s wrong with using a word that’s perfectly cromulent? Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the s...

If someone calls you dibby, should you be flattered or insulted? You’d know if you were in college a century ago—it’s outdated college slang! Also, we are voluntold to play a word puzzle about Unknown Superheroes! Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United Stat...

For true word nerds, it’s a guilty pleasure. You meet a stranger, and you find yourself listening closely to that person’s way of speaking as you try to guess the accent. Martha and Grant confess they play “Name That Accent” all the time in the privacy of their own heads. Recently though, a listener phoned to challenge them to guess where she’d grown up based on her accent. See if you can figure i...

A caller has client who uses what sounds like a strange, three-syllable word: indice. The caller knows that the plural of index is indices. But, he wonders…indice? And should he talk about it with his client? Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States an...

Have you ever eaten a Benedictine sandwich? Or savored a juicy pork steak? What’s a favorite dish you grew up with that may be mystifying to someone from another part of the country? Also, what does it mean to tell someone to “put a snap on the grouch bag”? Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1...

Puzzle Guys John Chaneski and Greg Pliska team up to make double trouble for Martha and Grant. The four divide into teams, and the object of the game is to make your partner guess words from a list. The only catch? All of the clues have to be one syllable only. It’s tougher than you think! Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a...

A listener has a question about emoticons, those little sideways symbols you type to suggest emotions in informal electronic writing. You know, like using a colon, dash, and a capital P to stick out your tongue like this 😛 or using a colon, dash, and small letter d to say “Yum!” :-d But if you’re going to toss emoticons into your prose, the caller asks, how in the world do you punctuate them? Hea...

What’s a dittler? What’s a dit? A traveling preacher named Fred says he’s heard these strange terms in parts of Appalachia used to refer to “baby chicks” and “little ducklings.” We share some of our own research about these curious terms. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 tol...

Unless you’ve been hiding out in a galaxy far, far away, you know that this is an election year. Grant and Martha talk about current political slang. Ever hear of glass pockets? Or horseracism? Is there an etymological connection between caucus and Caucasian? Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text...

You’ve heard this happen: A singer belts out a song, and then afterward, she starts talking and you’re startled to hear what sounds like a completely different accent. What is it about singing that seems to change some people’s accents? A caller from Indianapolis wants to know. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the...

You’ve just read a terrific paperback novel. Would you feel any differently about it if you’d the same words on the glowing screen of an electronic book? Martha and Grant discuss the social and psychological implications of books that run on batteries.  Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (87...

A New York City listener says he’s reading lots of thrillers this summer. But a couple of words keep tripping him up. Does a speeding car careen or career? The hosts spell out the differences, and throw in the origin of the word carom for good measure. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877...

Do you know where your participle is dangling? Martha and Grant salute National Grammar Day. Also, when you’re scribbling on a piece of paper, do you find yourself expecting spellcheck to kick in and underline your misspellings with squiggly red lines? A caller wants a term for the act of trying to do offline what can only be done online. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way...

A San Diego woman is bothered by the convention of addressing envelopes to Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. Shouldn’t we also include the woman’s first name? For her, it’s more than just a theoretical question: she spends a lot of time sending thank-you letters for nonprofit fundraising. So she’s wondering, what’s the best way to address them so as not to offend potential donors? Her question provokes a l...

Sharpen those pencils! Martha and Grant are doing crossword puzzles on the air again, preparing for their appearance with NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in New York City. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United State...

A caller who grew up in New Jersey remembers hearing a neighbor use the expression Hak mir nisht ken tshaynik whenever she wanted to shush someone. He’s sure the phrase is Yiddish, but he’s never been able to figure out the literal meaning. We solve the mystery for him. Hint: It has to do with teakettles. You’ll find more details about this colorful expression in Michael Wex’s book Born to Kvetch ...

There are nearly 7,000 languages in the world today, and by some estimates, they’re dying off at the rate of one every week. What’s lost when a language dies? Martha and Grant discuss that question and efforts to record some endangered languages before they die out completely. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the...

We hear a lot about political candidates these days. But did you ever stop to think about where the word 'candidate' comes from? Martha says it goes back to an ancient Roman fashion statement. She also explains the etymology of the term for what drives so many candidates: 'ambition.'We hear a lot about political candidates these days. But did you ever stop to think about where the word candidate c...

This week we kick off our 2008 summer minicasts, offered only online, with two downloads. It’s what we’re calling an estival festival. We hear a lot about political candidates these days. But did you ever stop to think about where the word candidate comes from? Martha says it goes back to an ancient Roman fashion statement. She also explains the etymology of the term for what drives so many candid...

In this episode, a listener says his friend Harold likes to do social phoning while driving, so he’s invented a term for mindless calling while in the car. And no, it’s not “car-pe diem.” Also, Martha and Grant also discuss the rules of the road games padiddle and slug bug. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the sho...

Ding! In this week’s episode, Mark Twain would be pleased. Reports that it’s the end of the line for the typewriter have been greatly exaggerated. Well, slightly anyway: it’s not the horseless carriage return yet. Martha and Grant wax nostalgic about the pleasures of pecking away at a rumbling, shuddering Selectric. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: htt...

Martha and Grant discuss advertising slogans and product names supposedly botched in translation. They also recommend an eclectic mix of books for the word-lover on your holiday list, from military slang to Yiddish. Plus a slang quiz on the words blue-bird and corpsing, and a caller from San Diego has a friendly disagreement with friends about the phrase bald-faced lie vs. bold-faced lie.  Hear hu...

In this episode, Grant offers peek at some expressions he’s nominating for the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year vote in January. Will it be “w00t,” “subprime,” or something else? Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; elsewhere...

A Way with Words is starting a brand-new season! Find out what a motorcyclist wears to keep from getting sunburned– is it a do-rag or a dew-rag? A listener wonders “Why is an undesirable task called a g-job?” Martha shares a trick for remembering the answer to that perennial question: Does a comma go inside or outside of quotation marks? Also, the origin of pinkie, podsnicker, the name for a socie...

Grant goes through the mailbag, offering answers about the terms “nosy parker,” “out of pocket,” and about whether the word “falsehood” has its origins in medieval garb. He also throws a question out to listeners about what is supposedly a mild British oath, “butternut!” Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show:...