Dits and Dat (minicast)
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...
View ArticleSmall Talk, the Word Game (minicast)
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....
View ArticleIndex v. Indice (minicast)
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...
View ArticleName That Accent (minicast)
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...
View ArticleWhen is a Bell Pepper a Mango? (minicast)
When is a mango not a mango? Why, when it’s a bell pepper, of course! An Indiana listener says she and her Kentucky in-laws have entirely different names for this vegetable. She wants to know why, so...
View ArticlePair o’ Docs Paradox (minicast)
A caller from Imperial Beach, California has a punctuation question: Dr. Tei Fu Chen and his wife, Dr. Oi Lin Chen own and operate a large, multinational herbal food company. In company literature, the...
View ArticleLackabookaphobia? (minicast)
Some people wouldn’t be caught without the season’s latest fashions, and others never leave home without their asthma inhaler. But for some of us, what strikes fear into our hearts is the thought of...
View ArticleDarwinism and the Dictionary (minicast)
The British publishers of the Collins dictionary have announced 24 words on their endangered species list. They’re words like “vilipend,” which means “to treat with contempt,” and “nitid,” that’s...
View ArticleNuke the Fridge (minicast)
“Nuke the fridge”? We kick off our series on contenders for 2008’s “Word of the Year” with a look at this new slang phrase. Listen here:...
View ArticleGround Game (minicast)
We heard a lot in 2008 about the Obama campaign’s ground game. What’s the story on that expression? Listen here:...
View ArticlePUMA (minicast)
The year 2008 produced a new acronym: PUMA. Grant explains how PUMAs began prowling the political landscape. Listen here:...
View ArticleAutomobile Words of the Year (minicast)
We’re continuing our look at some of the words of the year of 2008 with words related to automobiles. Listen here:...
View ArticleJust a Dite about Sculch and Dooryards (minicast)
Where in the world would you be likely to find sculch in your dooryard, or ask for just a dite of cream in your coffee? Martha has the answers in this minicast about some distinctive regional terms....
View ArticleLove Joe Floggers? So Don’t I! (minicast)
Time to solve another linguistic mystery. You’re in a restaurant. You overhear a conversation at the next table. The woman says to her friend, “You know, I just love the taste of joe floggers.” And her...
View ArticleHow About a Game of Meehonkey? (minicast)
In what part of the country would you be likely to hear momicking, meehonkey, and quamish? Listen here:...
View ArticleTwacking around Duckish (minicast)
Time for another linguistic mystery. Where would you be if you decided to go twacking around duckish, and then you came home and wrote about it in a scribbler? Listen here:...
View ArticleWhat’s a “Hobson’s Choice”? (minicast)
If you’re facing a Hobson’s choice, you don’t really have much to choose from. The phrase describes a situation in which your options are either to take what’s offered, or else take nothing at all....
View ArticleFalling off the Wagon (minicast)
Why do we say someone is on the wagon when they abstain from drinking alcohol? Listen here: http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~r/awwwpodcast/~5/wpOI4cXwT5E/090603-AWWW-falling-off-the-wagon.mp3 Download...
View ArticleGreat Googly Moogly (minicast)
“Great Googly Moogly!” A caller wonders where that exclamation comes from. http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~r/awwwpodcast/~5/-8Snnys2iK8/090617-AWWW-great-googly-moogly-minicast.mp3 Download the MP3 here...
View ArticleThat’s What “Friend” is For? (minicast)
How can the word friend possibly describe both the people you went to school with and the people to whom you are connected through Facebook and MySpace? Are friends on the social sites really friends?...
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