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

Tip of the Iceberg - 23 March 2026

23 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Why does the term vegetarian cause so much confusion? Some people assume it means avoiding red meat but still eating chicken. And is there a term fo...

Blue Streak (Rebroadcast) - 16 March 2026

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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'...

Color Me Surprised - 9 March 2026

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Over the centuries, the meaning of happiness has traveled a long way. Today we speak of the pursuit of happiness, but it used to be that the word ...

I Don't Have the Spoons (Rebroadcast) - 2 March 2026

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 b...

Turn on a Dime - 23 February 2026

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Every subculture has its own secret lingo, whether you’re talking about surfers, cab drivers, or coffee-shop baristas. A new book uncovers the slang...

Excuse the Hogs (Rebroadcast) - 16 February 2026

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Sweet Science - 9 February 2026

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Why is boxing called the sweet science when it’s obviously such a bruising sport? Also, a mother of five is baffled when her Gen Z kids use words ...

All That and a Bag of Chips (Rebroadcast) - 2 February 2026

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 wou...

Use Your Noodle - 26 January 2026

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

An acclaimed poet’s tender poem about holding a newborn for the first time reflects a complex swirl of emotions. And: A caller finds that in her wor...

Familiar Strangers (Rebroadcast) - 19 January 2026

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week on "A Way with Words": If you take up texting and social media late in life, there's a lot to learn! A 20-something wants advice getting her...

Word Hoard (Rebroadcast) - 12 January 2026

12 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

You Talk Like a Sausage (Rebroadcast) - 5 January 2026

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Pushing the Envelope (Rebroadcast) - 29 December 2025

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dra...

Safe as Houses - 22 December 2025

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Temperature blankets are a visual and tactile mirror of the day's weather. Knitters use specific shades of yarn to match daily temperatures, creating ...

Minicast Bonus: Cocktail

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this bonus A Way with Words minicast, Martha and Grant look into the myriad stories behind the word cocktail. Does the drink name come from feat...

Potatoes and Point - 15 December 2025

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If there’s a logophile on your gift list, you have lots of choices—including a new trivia game for language lovers and a murder mystery for the wo...

Minicast Bonus: Down Bucket

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this bonus A Way with Words minicast, Martha and Grant step into the historic streets of Marblehead, Massachusetts, where the simple cry of “Do...

Primary Colors (Rebroadcast) - 8 December 2025

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence still had to communicate about routine matters, from gardening to equipment repair. So they developed t...

Minicast Bonus: Picketwire

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this bonus A Way with Words minicast, Martha and Grant explore the ways foreign place names transform on official maps and in local slang. Discov...

Drop in the Bucket - 1 December 2025

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sumptuous new collection of poems about specific photographs shows how the moment in time captured by camera can inspire a verbal work of art as wel...

Deep Fried Air (Rebroadcast) - 24 November 2025

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about . . . eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life c...

No Bones - 17 November 2025

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whippoorwills, bob whites, and chickadees. How do we decide the names of birds and what to call their calls? Plus, the last syllables of Arkansas an...

East Overshoe (Rebroadcast) - 10 November 2025

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some people work hard to lose their accent in order to fit in when they move somewhere else. But others may be homesick for the sounds they grew up wi...

Herd of Turtles (Rebroadcast) - 3 November 2025

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Chow Line - 27 October 2025

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Does language acquisition correspond with being ambidextrous? A woman notices her polyglot husband takes notes with his right hand for certain languag...

Big as a Breadbox - 20 October 2025

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Hawaiian word aloha is both a greeting and a goodbye, as well as a profound acknowledgement of the oneness with all living things. Plus, what’...

Mittens in Moonlight (Rebroadcast) - 13 October 2025

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 wor...

Diamond Dust (Rebroadcast) - 6 October 2025

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Diamond dust, tapioca snow, and sugar icebergs — a 1955 glossary of arctic and subarctic terms describes the environment in ways that sound poeti...

Brass Tacks - 29 September 2025

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why would some Spanish speakers use adaptations of certain English words when perfectly good Spanish words for the same thing already exist? Plus, han...

Sleepy Winks (Rebroadcast) - 22 September 2025

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 B...

Cat Bristle - 15 September 2025

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do social media algorithms shape the way we communicate? A new book argues that the competition for clicks is changing the way we speak and write,...

Made from Scratch (Rebroadcast) - 8 September 2025

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Enthusiastic book recommendations! Martha’s savoring the biography of Alexander von Humboldt, the 19th-century explorer, polymath, and naturalist wh...

Good Egg, Bad Apple - 1 September 2025

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you like to use emojis, you have some 3800 to choose from—and the organization that approves them is about to announce even more. But do we reall...

Salad Days (Rebroadcast) - 25 August 2025

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A documentary film called My Beautiful Stutter follows youngsters at a summer camp specifically for stutterers. It’s a place for finding acceptanc...

Tall Drink of Water - 18 August 2025

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it harder to talk if we don’t move our hands? Even when we’re talking on the phone we feel the need to gesture to aid communication. A new ...

Your Imaginary Boyfriend (Rebroadcast) - 11 August 2025

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Mox Nix - 4 August 2025

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You might be surprised to learn that a “hoosier” isn’t necessarily from Indiana. Around the St. Louis, Missouri, area, the term hoosier has a wh...

Beefed It (Rebroadcast) - 28 July 2025

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 expl...

Imaginary Friends - 21 July 2025

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alright, alright, alright! How do some catchphrases become part of the larger vernacular—to the point where people don’t always know the original...

Forty Eleven Zillion (Rebroadcast) - 14 July 2025

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 YO...

Mystery Date (Rebroadcast) - 7 July 2025

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Eat My Hat - 30 June 2025

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Have you lived in your home so long that you don’t notice its flaws? In Sweden, they have a name for this condition: It’s hemmablind—literally,...

Sour Pickle (Rebroadcast) - 23 June 2025

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 Ridge...

Straight and Narrow - 16 June 2025

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

English spelling is a hot mess, even for native speakers. But as a new book shows, would-be spelling reformers, including Benjamin Franklin and Theodo...

Not My Circus (Rebroadcast) - 9 June 2025

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Throwing cheese and shaky cheese are two very different things. In baseball, hard cheese refers to a powerful fastball, and probably comes from a...

The Other Shoe - 2 June 2025

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

So you think you can spell? Youngsters in modern spelling bees are expected to memorize a wide range of words, from chemical processes to names of rar...

Scooter Pooting (Rebroadcast) - 26 May 2025

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Bean Counting - 19 May 2025

19 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1920’s, Americans were warned of a new danger sweeping across the country. This menace that harmed people’s health, ruined minds, and threa...

Gold Dance (Rebroadcast) - 12 May 20256

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Honor Bright - 5 May 2025

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A baby’s first word is often a cherished milestone, but some cultures pay more attention to other firsts, like a baby’s first laugh. A fascinating...

By a Long Shot (Rebroadcast) - 28 April 2025

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We ...

Real Corker - 21 April 2025

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital is a sensuous, exhilarating meditation about the strangeness of life on a space station, with its mix of tedious t...

When Pigs Fly (Rebroadcast) - 14 April 2025

14 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 Wi...

Cool Beans (Rebroadcast) - 7 April 2025

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 actuall...

A Cool Million - 31 March 2025

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

So many books and so little time—it’s a challenge to choose what to read next! It helps to remember that so-called “reading mortality” is a fa...

Love Bites (Rebroadcast) - 24 March 2025

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Wicked Good - 17 March 2025

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

To grok something means “to understand it completely.” The word grok comes from a language spoken on the planet Mars—well, at least accordin...

Lasagna Hog (Rebroadcast) - 10 March 2025

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involveme...

Kiss the Cow (Rebroadcast) - 3 March 2025

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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.”...

Smack Dab - 24 February 2025

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A flashlight emits a steady beam of light. So what’s the flash part of that word about? Also, if you’re a nervous Nellie, you’re skittish and...

Lead on Macduff (Rebroadcast) - 17 February 2025

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 wi...

Holy Toledo - 10 February 2025

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1944, an Italian scientist discovered a drug that he later named for his wife. His wife’s name was Marguerite, but she went by Rita — which is ...

Tribble Trouble (Rebroadcast) - 3 February 2025

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 do...

Ring-Tailed Tooter (Rebroadcast) - 27 January 2025

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a fore...

Potato Wagon - 20 January 2025

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thunderstorms might sound scary, but playful explanations for all those booms can help reassure little ones: How about the potato wagon’s rolling o...

What the Blazes (Rebroadcast) - 13 January 2025

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 n...

Mudlarking (Rebroadcast) - 6 January 2025

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Twice a day the River Thames recedes, revealing a muddy shoreline. Hobbyists known as mudlarks stroll the surface searching for objects that have fo...

Snaggletooth (Rebroadcast) - 30 December 2024

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today...

Honkus Bonkus - 23 December 2024

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The phrase old as Methuselah describes someone quite advanced in years. In ancient scripture, Methuselah was a man who somehow lived to the ripe old...

Like a Boiled Owl (Rebroadcast) - 16 December 2024

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What’s it like to hike the Pacific Crest Trail all the way from Mexico to Canada? You’ll end up with sore muscles and blisters, and great stories ...

Price of Tea - 9 December 2024

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The words cushy, cheeky, and non-starter all began as Britishisms, then hopped across the pond to the United States. A new book examines what happ...

Your Two Cents (Rebroadcast) - 2 December 2024

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Astronauts returning from space say they experience what’s called the overview effect, a new understanding of the fragility of our planet and our n...

Space Frogs - 25 November 2024

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have named some recently discovered species of tree frogs after characters from Star Trek. Why? Because of the boops and trills and other s...

Sock it to Me (Rebroadcast) - 18 November 2024

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new boo...

Cut the Mustard - 11 November 2024

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Do people who work together sound alike? Yes! Over time, they may begin to develop similar patterns of speech, or what might be called an “occupatio...

Good Vibrations (Rebroadcast) - 4 November 2024

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece ...

Kitten Britches - 28 October 2024

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How and why do words from one language find their way into another? Vietnamese, for instance, includes lots of words borrowed or adapted from French. ...

Mystery Drawer (Rebroadcast) - 21 October 2024

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange ass...

Deviled Eggs (Rebroadcast) - 14 October 2024

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some TV commercials launch catchphrases that stick around long after the original ads. The exclamation Good stuff, Maynard! is still a compliment al...

Navel-Gazing (Rebroadcast) - 7 October 2024

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers...

Midnight Oil - 30 September 2024

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What exactly is a planet? Controversy over this question led to Pluto’s redefinition, along with a brand-new English word. And: Some people now use ...

Yak Shaving (Rebroadcast) - 23 September 2024

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A ...

Easy as Pie - 16 September 2024

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How hot is it? Well, poet Dylan Thomas found lots of memorable ways to describe a heat wave. In one letter to a friend, he wrote that it was so hot “...

Cabin Fever (Rebroadcast) - 9 September 2024

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The adjectives canine and feline refer to dogs and cats. But how does English address other groups of animals? Plus, cabin fever has been around...

Toad in the Hole - 2 September 2024

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An ambitious effort to install poetry in national parks around the United States features the work of beloved poets in beautiful spots. It’s a rem...

Singing Sand (Rebroadcast) - 26 August 2024

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic —...

Make a Beeline - 19 August 2024

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you make a beeline for something, you’re taking the shortest route possible. You’re also mimicking bee-havior! After a bee has visited enough f...

Baby's Breath (Rebroadcast) - 12 August 2024

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever googled your own name and found someone else who goes by the very same moniker? There’s a word for that: googleganger. Plus, the lang...

Pickled Peppers - 5 August 2024

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Names don’t always mean what you think they mean. Main Street in San Francisco is named after businessman Charles Main, and Snowflake, Arizona, hono...

Hog on Ice (Rebroadcast) - 29 July 2024

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One secret to writing well is . . . there is no secret! There's no substitute for simply sitting down day after day to practice the craft and learn fr...

Minor Planets - 22 July 2024

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are eight major planets, but more than a million minor ones, including asteroids. If you discover one, you get the honor of naming it. The Dict...

Goody Two-Shoes (Rebroadcast) - 15 July 2024

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous ...

Pinking Shears - 8 July 2024

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When you’re distracted by trying to get the perfect photo at a wedding or fiddling with your camera during a solar eclipse, you’re missing out on ...

Baby Blues (Rebroadcast) - 1 July 2024

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It...

Sleeve Island - 24 June 2024

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Language from inside a monastery. A Benedictine monk in the Episcopal Church shares terms from his world: For example, corporate prayer refers to pr...

Walkie Talkie (Rebroadcast) - 17 June 2024

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most powerful words you’ll ever hear — and one of the most poignant — isn’t in dictionaries yet. But it probably will be one day. T...

Tiger Tail (Rebroadcast) - 10 June 2024

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You may have a favorite word in English, but what about your favorite in another language? The Spanish term ojalá is especially handy for expressin...

Clever Clogs (Rebroadcast) - 3 June 2024

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ribbon fall. Gallery forest. You won’t find terms like these in most dictionaries, but they and hundreds like them are discussed by famous writers ...

Bug in Your Ear (Rebroadcast) - 27 May 2024

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is there something inherent in English that makes it the linguistic equivalent of the Borg, dominating and consuming other languages in its path? No, ...

The Black Dog (Rebroadcast) - 20 May 2024

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Books were rare treasures in the Middle Ages, painstakingly copied out by hand. So how to protect them from theft? Scribes sometimes added a curse to ...