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

Jump Steady (Rebroadcast) - 26 September 2016

26 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

To transmit information during wartime, various industries used to encode their messages letter by letter with an elaborate system–a primitive versi...

Scat Cat (Rebroadcast) - 19 September 2016

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The dilemma continues over how to spell dilemma! Grant and Martha try to suss out the backstory of why some people spell that word with an “n.” A...

Listening Is Only Half Of It - 18 September 2016

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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There's Something About A Way with Words... - 14 September 2016

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Please donate to A Way With Words.  Visit http://waywordradio.org for more info.  Thanks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

Tennessee Top Hat (Rebroadcast) - 12 September 2016

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It’s hard enough to get a new word into the dictionary. But what happens when lawmakers get involved? New Jersey legislators passed a resolution as ...

Beat The Band (Rebroadcast) - 5 September 2016

05 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Can language change bad behavior in crowded places? The Irish Railway system has launched an ad campaign to encourage passengers to be more generous a...

Fighting Artichokes (Rebroadcast) - 29 August 2016

29 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What’s in a mascot name? Maybe you’re a fan of the Banana Slugs, or you cheer for the Winged Beavers. Perhaps your loyalty lies with the Fighting ...

Burn Bag (Rebroadcast) - 22 August 2016

22 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The slang coming out of Victorian mouths was more colorful than you might think. A 1909 collection of contemporary slang records clever terms for ever...

Spit Game (Rebroadcast) - 8 August 2016

08 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

First-century graffiti. People in ancient times could be just as bawdy and colorful as we are today. To prove it, we found some graffiti written on th...

Pop Stand - 1 August 2016

01 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to learning new things, what’s on your bucket list? A retired book editor decided to try to learn Latin, and ended up learning a lot a...

Punch List - 25 July 2016

25 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Books for sale, books for free, and wisdom passed down through the ages. Libraries aren’t just repositories for books — they’re often a great pl...

Shakespeare's Insults (Rebroadcast) - 18 July 2016

18 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

If you don’t have anything nice to say, say it like Shakespeare: Thou unhandsome smush-mouthed mush-rump! Thou obscene rug-headed hornbeast! The Sh...

Pebble Picker (Rebroadcast) - 11 July 2016

11 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Right off the bat, it’s easy to think of several everyday expressions that derive from America’s pastime–including “right off the bat.” The...

There Once Was A Gal From (Rebroadcast) - 4 July 2016

04 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ever try to write a well-known passage in limerick form? It’s harder than you think. How about this one: “There once was a lady who’s sure / All...

Sweet Dreams - 20 June 2016

20 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In deafening workplaces, like sawmills and factories, workers develop their own elaborate sign language to discuss everything from how their weekend...

How We Roll - 13 June 2016

13 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re serious about writing a memoir, what topics should you include, and what can you leave out? And how honest can you really be about the oth...

Hector's Pup (Rebroadcast) - 6 June 2016

06 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sharing a secret language. Did you ever speak in gibberish with a childhood pal, adding extra syllables to words so the adults couldn’t understand w...

Gangbusters - 30 May 2016

30 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sensuous words and terms of endearment. Think of a beautiful word. Now, is it simply the word’s sound that makes it beautiful? Or does its appeal al...

XYZ PDQ - 23 May 2016

18 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How often do you hear the words campaign and political in the same breath? Oddly enough, 19th-century grammarians railed against using campaign ...

Pickle Seeder (Rebroadcast) - 25 April 2016

25 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Would you rather live in a world with no adjectives … or no verbs — and why? Also, who in the world is that director Alan Smithee [SMITH-ee] who m...

Green Eyed Monster (Rebroadcast) - 18 April 2016

18 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We often hear that English is going to hell in a handbasket. Actually, though, linguistic handwringing about sinking standards and sloppy speech has b...

Idiom's Delight (Rebroadcast) - 21 March 2016

21 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A recent study found that some names crop up more frequently than others in certain professions. The name William is especially common among attorneys...

Whistle Britches (Rebroadcast) - 7 March 2016

07 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Writers and where they do their best creative work. A new book on Geoffrey Chaucer describes the dark, cramped, smelly room where he wrote his early ...

Copacetic - 29 February 2016

29 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Brand names, children’s games, and the etiquette of phone conversations. Those clever plastic PEZ dispensers come in all shapes and sizes—but wher...

Mustard on It - 22 February 2016

22 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When does a word’s past make it too sensitive to use in the present? In contra dancing, there’s a particular move that dancers traditionally call ...

Noon Balloon to Rangoon (Rebroadcast) - 1 February 2016

01 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Is there a word you keep having to look up in the dictionary, no matter how many times you’ve looked it up before? Maybe it’s time for a mnemonic ...

Catch My Fade (Rebroadcast) - 25 January 2016

25 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re sending out party invitations, what’s a sure-fire way to get hold of everyone? Email? Snailmail? Facebook? Texting? Twitter? Or a plain ...

Buckle Down (Rebroadcast) - 18 January 2016

18 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It’s time for book recommendations! Martha’s enjoying an armchair tour of important places in the history of our language, and Grant recommends re...

An Ear For Wine (Rebroadcast) - 4 January 2016

04 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Creative communication in a noisy world! Writing a clever 140-character tweet isn’t easy. But you know what’s even more impressive? Working all 26...

Electric Hootenanny (Rebroadcast) - 28 December 2015

28 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Bathroom walls, missing graffiti, and social media. Where have all the cute quips on bathroom stalls gone? We wonder about the apparent decline of re...

Wolf Whistle - 14 December 2015

14 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Gifts for book lovers: Martha recommends one for lovers of libraries and another for students of Spanish. Grant suggests some enchanting novels for yo...

Busted Melon - 7 December 2015

07 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When writing textbooks about slavery, which words best reflect its cold, hard reality? Some historians are dropping the word slave in favor of terms...

Hell's Bells (Rebroadcast) - 30 November 2015

30 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The language of restaurant menus. Need a dictionary to get through a dinner menu? Research shows the longer the description of a particular dish, the ...

Jump Steady - 23 November 2015

23 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

To transmit information during wartime, various industries used to encode their messages letter by letter with an elaborate system–a primitive versi...

I'll Be Sheep-Dipped (Rebroadcast) - 16 November 2015

16 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What a difference pronunciation makes! The United States has a Department of Defense, and an individual might take classes in self-defense. So why do ...

Month of Sundays (Rebroadcast) - 2 November 2015

02 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re on tenterhooks, it means you’re in a state of anxious anticipation or suspense. But what IS a tenterhook? The answer goes back to a 15t...

Scat Cat - 26 October 2015

26 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The dilemma continues over how to spell dilemma! Grant and Martha try to suss out the backstory of why some people spell that word with an “n.” A...

Tennessee Top Hat - 19 October 2015

19 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

It’s hard enough to get a new word into the dictionary. But what happens when lawmakers get involved? New Jersey legislators passed a resolution as ...

Beat the Band - 12 October 2015

12 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Can language change bad behavior in crowded places? The Irish Railway system has launched an ad campaign to encourage passengers to be more generous a...

Fighting Artichokes - 5 October 2015

05 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What’s in a mascot name? Maybe you’re a fan of the Banana Slugs, or you cheer for the Winged Beavers. Perhaps your loyalty lies with the Fighting ...

Burn Bag - 28 September 2015

28 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The slang coming out of Victorian mouths was more colorful than you might think. A 1909 collection of contemporary slang records clever terms for ever...

Upstairs Basement (Rebroadcast) - 7 September 2015

07 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Giving your baby an unusual moniker may seem like a great idea at the time. But what if you have second thoughts? One mother of a newborn had such bad...

Hang a Salami (Rebroadcast) - 31 August 2015

31 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What’s so special about the phrase Sit on a pan, Otis? It’s an example of a palindrome — a word or phrase that’s spelled the same backwards...

Hard Words Are Hard (Rebroadcast) - 24 August 2015

24 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The SAT is changing things up, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just because words like membranous are no longer in the verbal section does...

Brown as a Berry (Rebroadcast) - 17 August 2015

17 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

It used to be that you called any mixed-breed dog a mutt. But at today's dog parks, you're just as likely to run into schnugs, bassadors, and dalmadoo...

Keep Your Pants On (Rebroadcast) - 10 August 2015

10 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn't that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possib...

Springtime Twitterpation (Rebroadcast) - 3 August 2015

03 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Springtime is the right time to feel twitterpated—you know, you’re smitten beyond a crush. Speaking of relationships, are dog owners really owne...

Dust Bunnies (Rebroadcast) - 27 July 2015

27 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Is it cheating to say you’ve read a book if you only listened to it on tape? Over the centuries, the way we think about reading has changed a lot. T...

Sound of a Kiss (Rebroadcast) - 20 July 2015

20 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

You’re at a social gathering and meet someone you’d like to know better. What do you ask to get a real conversation going? Some people lead with “...

Feeling Gruntled (Rebroadcast) - 6 July 2015

06 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Hyperbolic Headlines Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity!!!! Or maybe not. You’ve seen those breathless headlines on the internet, like “You Won’...

Spit Game - 29 June 2015

29 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

First-century graffiti. People in ancient times could be just as bawdy and colorful as we are today. To prove it, we found some graffiti written on th...

By the Seat of Your Pants (Rebroadcast) - 22 June 2015

22 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dude! We’re used to hearing the word “dude” applied to guys. But increasingly, young women use the word “dude” to address each other. Grant ...

How America Talks (Rebroadcast) - 15 June 2015

15 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

For language lovers, it’s like New Year’s, Fourth of July, and the Super Bowl all rolled into one: The brand-new online edition of the Dictionary...

Thrown for a Loop (Rebroadcast) - 8 June 2015

08 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We all lead busy lives—so are speed reading courses a good idea? Plus, if you hear someone speaking with a British accent, do you tend to assume the...

Shakespeare's Insults - 1 June 2015

01 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If you don’t have anything nice to say, say it like Shakespeare: Thou unhandsome smush-mouthed mush-rump! Thou obscene rug-headed hornbeast! The Sh...

Not Quite A Boyfriend (Rebroadcast) - 25 May 2015

25 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If an older man and woman spend lots of time together, going to family gatherings and the like, but they’re NOT dating, what do you call their relat...

Pebble Picker

18 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Right off the bat, it’s easy to think of several everyday expressions that derive from America’s pastime–including “right off the bat.” The...

There Once Was A Gal From - 11 May 2015

11 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ever try to write a well-known passage in limerick form? It’s harder than you think. How about this one: “There once was a lady who’s sure / All...

Wet Brick (Rebroadcast) - 4 May 2015

04 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What the fox says may be a mystery, but we do know that dogs bark differently around the world. In China, for example, they say not bow-wow but wan...

Catbird Seat (Rebroadcast) - 27 April 2015

27 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Online recaps of Mad Men or Breaking Bad can be as much fun as the shows themselves. So why not recap classic literature — like, say, Dante’s...

Hector's Pup - 13 April 2015

13 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sharing a secret language. Did you ever speak in gibberish with a childhood pal, adding extra syllables to words so the adults couldn’t understand w...

Jumped Up Bald-Headed (Rebroadcast) - 6 April 2015

06 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What do your pronouns say about your own psychological makeup? If you use the word I a lot, does it mean you’re a leader . . . or a follower? A su...

I'll Be Your Boo (Rebroadcast) - 30 March 2015

30 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re nibbling on slippery Jims or sipping sweet soup, chances are you’re in the Badger State. It’s the language of Wisconsin — explain...

Pickle Seeder - 16 March 2015

16 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Would you rather live in a world with no adjectives … or no verbs — and why? Also, who in the world is that director Alan Smithee [SMITH-ee] who m...

Green Eyed Monster - 9 March 2015

09 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We often hear that English is going to hell in a handbasket. Actually, though, linguistic handwringing about sinking standards and sloppy speech has b...

Idiom's Delight - 23 February 2015

23 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A recent study found that some names crop up more frequently than others in certain professions. The name William is especially common among attorneys...

Whistle Britches - 16 February 2015

16 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Writers and where they do their best creative work. A new book on Geoffrey Chaucer describes the dark, cramped, smelly room where he wrote his early ...

Noon Balloon to Rangoon - 9 February 2015

09 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Is there a word you keep having to look up in the dictionary, no matter how many times you’ve looked it up before? Maybe it’s time for a mnemonic ...

Above Your Raisin’ - 2 February 2015

02 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a new kind of hamburger menu that involves pixels, not pickles. It’s that little stack of horizontal lines in the corner of a webpage that...

Monkey's Wedding (Rebroadcast) - 26 January 2015

30 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the art of constructive feedback: If you’re a teacher with a mountain of papers to grade, you may find yourself puzzling over which kinds of ...

Writerly Insults (Rebroadcast) - 19 January 2015

19 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sure, it’s scary to send your writing to a literary agent. But pity the poor agent who must wade through hundreds of terrible query letters a week! ...

Mr. Can't Died (Rebroadcast) - 12 January 2015

12 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

You pick up what you think a glass of water and take a sip, but it turns out to be Sprite. What’s the word for that sensation when you’re expectin...

Drop A Dime (Rebroadcast) - 5 January 2015

05 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Why call it a doggy bag when it’s really for your husband? Grant and Martha talk about the language of leftovers and why we eat beef and not co...

That Old-Book Smell (Rebroadcast) - 29 December 2014

29 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

You walk into a used bookstore, or pull down an old volume at the library, and there it is: The smell of old books. If you detect notes of vanilla in ...

Catch My Fade - 22 December 2014

22 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re sending out party invitations, what’s a sure-fire way to get hold of everyone? Email? Snailmail? Facebook? Texting? Twitter? Or a plain ...

An Urgent Need from A Way with Words

21 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Give Now! http://waywordradio.org/donate   Dear friends and listeners, As we near the end of our biggest year yet, we must raise $75,000 to cov...

Buckle Down - 15 December 2014

15 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

It’s time for book recommendations! Martha’s enjoying an armchair tour of important places in the history of our language, and Grant recommends re...

Polyglot Problems (Rebroadcast) - 1 December 2014

01 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the business of business jargon. Say you’re in line at the drugstore. Does it bother you if the cashier says, “Next guest”? In department...

Ride the Merry Go Round (Rebroadcast) - 24 November 2014

24 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

A pint-sized mad scientist, a green-haired girl with a contagious sense of wonder, and a 10-year-old detective. They’re all characters in the books ...

Bouncy House of Language (Rebroadcast) - 17 November 2014

17 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Some people proudly embrace the label cancer survivor, while others feel that’s not quite the right word. Is there a better term for someone who’...

An Ear For Wine - 10 November 2014

10 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Creative communication in a noisy world! Writing a clever 140-character tweet isn’t easy. But you know what’s even more impressive? Working all 26...

Electric Hootenanny - 3 November 2014

03 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Bathroom walls, missing graffiti, and social media. Where have all the cute quips on bathroom stalls gone? We wonder about the apparent decline of re...

Hell's Bells - 20 October 2014

20 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

The language of restaurant menus. Need a dictionary to get through a dinner menu? Research shows the longer the description of a particular dish, the ...

Month of Sundays - 29 September 2014

22 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re on tenterhooks, it means you’re in a state of anxious anticipation or suspense. But what IS a tenterhook? The answer goes back to a 15t...

On The Shoe Phone (Rebroadcast) - 22 September 2014

22 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

First names like “Patience,” “Hope,” and “Charity” are inspired by worthy qualities. But how about “Be-courteous” or “Hate-evil”? ...

Got Your Six (Rebroadcast) - 15 September 2014

14 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Starting this year, Scripps National Spelling Bee contestants not only have to spell words correctly. A controversial new rule means they’ll have to...

A Hole to China (Rebroadcast) - 8 September 2014

08 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Have a question about objective pronouns? Whom ya gonna call? Wait–is that right? Or would it be “who ya gonna call”? “Whom” may be technica...

Whistling Dixie (Rebroadcast) - 1 September 2014

01 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s most popular dog names are Max and Bella. In the Middle Ages, though, dogs would answer to names like Amiable. Or Nosewise. Or even …...

Gnarly Foot (Rebroadcast) - 25 August 2014

24 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the Up Goer Five Challenge! Try to describe something complex using only the thousand most common words in English. It’s a useful mental exe...

Bump and Grind (Rebroadcast) - 18 August 2014

18 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Remember a few years ago when Amazon introduced that mysterious device called a Kindle? People worried that electronic readers would replace tradition...

Gracious Plenty (Rebroadcast) - 11 August 2014

11 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

When somebody sneezes, we say bless you or gesundheit. But suppose that person coughs. Are you supposed to say something — or are they? Plus, Me...

Upstairs Basement - 9 June 2014

09 Jun 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Giving your baby an unusual moniker may seem like a great idea at the time. But what if you have second thoughts? One mother of a newborn had such bad...

Hang a Salami - 12 May 2014

12 May 2014

Contributed by Lukas

What’s so special about the phrase Sit on a pan, Otis? It’s an example of a palindrome — a word or phrase that’s spelled the same backwards...

Hard Words Are Hard - 5 May 2014

04 May 2014

Contributed by Lukas

The SAT is changing things up, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just because words like membranous are no longer in the verbal section does...

Brown As a Berry - 28 April 2014

27 Apr 2014

Contributed by Lukas

It used to be that you called any mixed-breed dog a mutt. But at today's dog parks, you're just as likely to run into schnugs, bassadors, and dalmadoo...

Nothing to Sneeze At - 14 April 2014

13 Apr 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Forensic linguists use what they know about speech and writing to testify in courtrooms. And get out your hankies! Martha and Grant are talking about ...

Keep Your Pants On - 7 April 2014

06 Apr 2014

Contributed by Lukas

If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn't that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possib...

Springtime Twitterpation - 31 March 2014

31 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Springtime is the right time to feel twitterpated—you know, you’re smitten beyond a crush. Speaking of relationships, are dog owners really owne...

Dust Bunnies - 24 March 2014

24 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Is it cheating to say you’ve read a book if you only listened to it on tape? Over the centuries, the way we think about reading has changed a lot. T...

Sound of a Kiss - 17 March 2014

17 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

You’re at a social gathering and meet someone you’d like to know better. What do you ask to get a real conversation going? Some people lead with “...