A San Diego listener has a weird word on her mind: biffy (meaning “toilet”). This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Biffy for Toilets, Outhouses, and Porta-Potties” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Megan...
Greg Pliska has a quiz about chemical names that should exist but don’t. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Word Quiz: Fake Chemical Elements from Words Ending in -ium” You’re listening to A Way with Words...
A caller asks about how lakes get named, and we talk about a lake with a 45-letter Indian name that may or may not translate as, “You fish on your side, I fish on my side and nobody fishes in the middle.” It’s Lake...
A caller from Indiana wonders if the T9 text-messaging function has led to the term book being a new term for “cool.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Why T9 Texting Can Make “Cool” Come Out as “Book”” Hi...
Grant recommends two books that are great for giving as gifts. FUBAR: Soldier Sland of World War II by Gordon Rottman looks at the language of soldiers from different armies. Also, Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas Ostler, which looks...
This week’s slang contestant learns about the slang terms blue-bird and corpsing. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Blue-Bird for an Easy Sale and Corpsing for Laughing on Set” You’re listening to A Way with...