What’s Slang Jang? (minicast)
No, it’s not the neurological effect of spending too much time researching odd new terms. Slang jang is a tongue-tickling sauce found in East Texas. For more about slang jang, including recipes, check...
View ArticleWe Cook Off Our Potatoes (minicast)
If a restaurant menu states, “We cook off our potatoes,” what in the heck does that mean? A truck driver who encountered such an announcement at a roadside cafe is still puzzling over what it means to...
View ArticleRoy Blount Jr. Slings Southern Slang (minicast)
Humorist Roy Blount Jr. stops by to try his hand at a slang quiz specifically about Southernisms. Listen here: Download the MP3 here (3.97 MB). To be automatically notified when audio is available,...
View ArticleTilly Tickets (minicast)
Did you ever use a tilly ticket in the bathroom? Listen here: Download the MP3 here (1.5MB). To be automatically notified when audio is available, subscribe to the podcast using iTunes or another...
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Words of the Year
What’s your choice for 2010’s word of the year? Mama grizzly? Starwhacker? Who could forget vuvuzela? Martha and Grant discuss the five-oh in Hawaii 5-0, and whether the tagline “I approve this...
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Too Much Sugar for a Dime
Is the term “Oriental” offensive? Where do we get the phrase “not one iota”? Why do we tell someone to “take a gander”? And who coined the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? This episode first...
View ArticleOf Pupae and Pupils
A question from a listener on the A Way with Words Facebook page has Martha musing about the entomological and etymological connections between the word pupil and the pupal stage of an insect’s life....
View ArticleRed Light, Green Light
Hot traffic talk! A caller is looking for a word for the point at which you have to reach in order to make it through a stoplight before it turns red. Released August 17, 2011. Download the MP3. Photo...
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Eastern Seaboard, West Coast
Shadowdabbled. Moon-blanched. Augusttremulous. William Faulkner often used odd adjectives like these. But why? Grant and Martha discuss the poetic effects of compressed language. Also, African-American...
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See the Elephant
If you’ve “seen the elephant,” it means you’ve been in combat. But why an elephant? Martha and Grant also discuss some odd idioms in Spanish, including one that translates as “your bowtie is...
View ArticleBuffet Flats (minicast)
Do you know what a “buffet flat” is? Is it A) a type of shoe you wear to all-you-can-eat dinners, B) a lull in economic growth predicted by Warren Buffet, or C) a squalid apartment found in the Rocky...
View ArticleA Collection of Collective Nouns (minicast)
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The results of the “A Way with Words” Collective Noun Contest! What collective noun would you apply to groups of 1) tennis players, 2) aliens from outer...
View ArticleThe Love Dimple (minicast)
What’s the name for that little dent in your upper lip? It’s called a “philtrum.” Martha reveals the erotic origins of this word, and proves once again that etymology is nothing if not sexy. Listen...
View ArticleAppalachian Cackleberries (minicast)
Martha reminisces about her family’s mountain roots while dipping into the delicious vocabulary of Southernisms found in The Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English. When ya’ll listen to this one, you’ll...
View ArticleHey, That’s Mine! (minicast)
When you were a child and wanted to lay claim to something, what did you say? Did you call “dibs”? Or “hosey” it? A caller is curious about another verb used in such situations: “finnie.” Grant...
View ArticleDangerous Books You Should Read (minicast)
Discover the joys (and temptations!) of two new books of collected wisdom: “The Yale Book of Quotations” edited by Fred Shapiro, and James Geary’s “Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists.” Grant explains...
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Howdy, It’s a Wit’s War!
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...
View ArticleAn Estival Festival of Summer (minicasts)
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...
View ArticleMy Brilliant Careen (minicast)
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...
View ArticleDo Singers Have Accents? (minicast)
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...
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