The US Southern nickname whistle britches likely started with corduroy trousers, whose wales make a soft whistling or swishing sound as a wearer walks. Marshall from Point, Texas, heard his East Texas grandfather use it for men who seemed...
Back when George W. Bush was a student at a New England prep school, he took to the thesaurus to impress a teacher, and wound up using a synonym for the wrong meaning for tear. Hence, the telltale phrase lacerates falling from my eyes wound up in...
Spleeny means hypersensitive, squeamish, or hypochondriacal, and it’s chiefly associated with New England. Jean, now in northern Michigan, grew up in Maine hearing it when she flinched from things like splinters, then discovered elsewhere that the...
The word climb has been sneaking by with that silent b for a while. But speakers of Old English pronounced the b in its predecessor, climban. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Words With Silent B” Hello, you have A Way...
Rare word fans: uhtceare, from Old English words that mean “dawn” and “care,” is a fancy term for those worries you fret over in the wee hours. Next time you find yourself lying awake at night worrying, try reading the...
In New England, a basement can technically be upstairs, since basement is another word for “bathroom.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “New England Basements” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Pam...


