Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words! This past weekend we aired the episode in which we talked about "grouch bag," the pronunciation of "patronize," the origin of "dead heat," and the use of the German...
A San Diego woman who’s homeschooling her children wonders if there’s a formula that explains why nouns like teacher and writer end in “er,” while others, like professor and conductor, end in “or.” She suspects it...
A teacher discusses whether the correct form is feel bad or feel badly. By the way, the Latin proverb Martha mentions here is, “Qui docet, discet.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bad vs. Badly” Hello, you...
A retired professor wants to know if Latin grammar holds any clues about whether a female professor is properly addressed as “professor emeritus” or “professor emerita.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
A Princeton University student wonders if his school can lay claim to being the first to apply the Latin word campus to the grounds of an institution of higher learning. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “How “Campus” Came to...
It’s the wacky title of a new book by language enthusiast Elizabeth Little which has Martha and Grant talking about whether Coca-Cola and Chevy ran into cultural translation problems when selling products abroad. Did the Chevy Nova really sell...