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...
A New York caller is incensed by the verb incent and a California listener is puzzled when his Southern relatives observe that his new baby is fixing to tune up whenever she’s about to start crying. This is part of a complete episode...
A electronic teenager repellent? An alarm clock that runs away from you to make you’ll wake up? Yep, it’s the Ig Nobel Prizes, those awards for academic research that first makes you laugh and then makes you think. Martha and Grant honor...