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. Discover the stories behind names like “Picketwire” and “Key West,” showing how...
A listener from Indianapolis asks about the word chiffarobe meaning “a heavy wooden cabinet that combines hanging space with drawers.” The term is a blend of the French word chiffonier—originally a “rag-gatherer” used to store small personal...
The last syllables of Arkansas and Kansas don’t rhyme, but both come from the language of the same Sioux tribe. The name of Kansas was adopted by English-speaking people who came to that area, while the name of Arkansas came from those who were...
Dilly-dally comes from Anglo-French dalier, which means “to chat” or “act playfully,” making it a linguistic relative of dally, “to trifle with” or “to spend time frivolously,” and dalliance, a “frivolous act.” This is part of a complete...
Rich in Jackson, Wyoming, is searching for a word for using natural objects such as a rocks, driftwood, or antlers, as decoration. He considered the German Natur, “nature,” and Kunst, “art,” but it didn’t quite fit...
Emily in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is married to a native Dutch speaker, who points out that they buy groceries in a store, so why doesn’t grocery denote just one of those items and not the store where they’re sold? Originally, the French...