If you've eaten crispy chicken, you might also have had jo-jo potatoes. Speaking of chicken, ever wonder why colonel isn't pronounced KOH-loh-nell? Grant and Martha have the answers to those nagging little questions, like the difference between a turnpike and a highway and the rules on me versus I. Who's behind eponyms in anatomy and why are doctors phasing them out? Plus, a newsy limerick challenge, dog breed mashups, pallets, a little Spanglish, and enough -ologies to fill a course catalog!
This episode first aired December 10, 2011.
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Ologies
What's your favorite -ology? Perhaps alethiology, the study of truth, from the Greek alethia? Theologians might concern themselves with naology, the study of holy buildings.
Jo-Jo Potatoes
What are jo-jo potatoes? Starting in the 1960s, fried potato wedges took that name in some of the Northern states. Jo-jos were often served in restaurants that also made a type of chicken which requires a special type of deep-fat fryer. Jo-jos are simply unpeeled potato wedges thrown in the fryer, but the name may have derived from the idea of "junk," because the potato scraps were considered worthless until restaurateurs realized they could be marketed and sold.
Perissology
We'll keep this short: perissology is the superfluity of words.
Colonel Pronunciation
Why is "colonel" pronounced like "kernel"? The original form comes from Italy, where a colonello was in charge of a column of soldiers. As the word moved from Italian to French, it took on an r sound, but the English translators reverted to the more etymologically correct Italian spelling. That's why it looks one way but sounds another.
Dog-Breed Blends
What do you get when you mix a shelty and a cocker? A shocker! Or how about a dachshund and a border collie? That'd make it a dashboard. We don't want to know what you'd call a cross between a pit bull and shih tzu.
Current-Event Limerick Quiz
Hope you've been checking the headlines, because our Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a new set of current-event limericks. What's been "occupied?" How long did the Kardashian marriage last? And who made ambiguous the definition of the word "winning"?
Pallet
A thick blanket or stack of blankets is also called a pallet. The Dictionary of American Regional English says this term is most common in the South Midlands — such states as Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. In the New American Standard Bible (John 5:8) Jesus says to a man who's been incapacitated for nearly 40 years, "Pick up your pallet and walk." The term comes from French, where a pallet was a thick, woven mat of hay to lie on.
Me vs. I, Object vs. Subject
The usage of the word me vs. I will always be a point of debate. Grant and Martha contend that language works in the service of culture, and thus, there will always be informal settings where the words me and I are slung around interchangeably. Then again, there will also be classrooms, job interviews and the like, where "my colleague and I completed the project" is the better choice than "me and my colleague completed the project."
Kalology
Aesthetes might go for kalology, or "the study of beauty."
Turnpike
What's the difference between a turnpike and a highway? In the 1700s, privately funded roads were constructed in the Northeast to connect commercial centers, but tolls were charged in order to pay for the wood planks that covered the road; this was well before gravel or pavement came about. A turnpike itself is the bar on a turnstile, much like you'd see in a subway station or an amusement park. One pays the toll then moves through the turnpike. On the other hand, freeways were the dirt roads that didn't require a toll.
Anatomical Eponyms
Anatomy is full of eponyms — that is, words inspired by the name of a person. For examples, there are the fallopian tubes, the Achilles heel, and the eustachian tubes. But there's a movement in anatomy to replace eponyms with more scientific, descriptive names. Thus, fallopian tubes are now uterine tubes and eustachian tubes are auditory tubes.
Frajos
The Spanglish term frajo, meaning "cigarette," evolved over a couple of generations of Mexican-American language. Primarily thanks to pachucos, sometimes known as zoot-suiters, the term developed from the verb fajar, meaning "to wrap up or roll."
A Murmuration
A flock of starlings is called a murmuration, and a beautiful video of a murmuration of starlings flying about has been described by Martha as "nature's ornithological lava lamp."
Litotes
If you're looking for a clever way to straddle the glass-half-empty line, try using litotes, or understated slights turned positive. For example, the guy you met for a blind date was really not unattractive.
Uredinology
If you're into fungus among us, you might enjoy uredinology, the study of rust molds.
Nutty Nuts
Why do we refer to people of questionable sanity as nuts, nutty, or nut-cases? In the early 1600s, a nut was considered something "pleasing" or "delightful." Its meaning then transferred to someone who liked something pleasing, and then someone obsessed with that thing to the point of eccentricity or weirdness.
Zygology
Zygology? That's the study of joining or fastening.
Photo by little blue hen. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Books Mentioned in the Broadcast
| Dictionary of American Regional English |
| New American Standard Bible |
Music Used in the Broadcast
| Title | Artist | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knitting | Gary Pacific Orchestra | Movement in Rhythm / Rhythm At Random | Bosworth Music |
| The Game of Death | John Barry | Bruce Lee's Game Of Death (Original Soundtrack) | Bruce Lee's Game Of Death (Original Soundtrack) |
| The Rock | Atomic Rooster | The Rock 45rpm | Phillips |
| A Man And A Woman | David McCallum | Music - It's Happening Now | Capitol Records |
| A Fool In Line | Starbuck | Rock'n Roll Rocket | Private Stock |
| Mellow, Mellow Right On | Lowrell | Mellow, Mellow Right On 45rpm | AVI Records |
| If I Were a Carpenter | David McCallum | Music - It's Happening Now | Capitol Records |
| Don't Ask My Neighbors | Ahmad Jamal | Genetic Walk | 20th Century Fox Records |
| Mr. Funky Samba | Banda Black Rio | Maria Fumaqua | Atlantic |
| Shoreline Drive | Sammy Nestico | Dark Orchid | Dark Orchid Jazz |
| Let's Call The Whole Thing Off | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gerswin Songbook | Verve |
Grant Barrett said:
Anatomy is full of eponyms — that is, words inspired by the name of a person. In this case, there are the fallopian tubes, the Achilles heel, and the eustachian tubes. But there's a movement in anatomy to replace eponyms with more scientific, descriptive names. Thus, fallopian tubes are now uterine tubes and eustachian tubes are auditory tubes.
I can't say I approve of where this is heading. I put in all that effort learning to say Hansen's disease instead of leprosy and now I have to go back?
And if someone is choking, am I going to have to ask if anyone knows how to perform the abdominal thrust maneuver?
I believe Florida has a turnpike, but it's been a long time since I drove anywhere in Florida. 
I first heard "litotes" in Monty Python's "Piranha Brothers" sketch.
"He knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire. He was vicious."
I work at a large software company in the northwest. We, like anatomists,
have a large vocabulary of specialty language. Sometimes, we invent words where
a new word is not really needed. For example, when a function that programs
call should not be called anymore, a civilian might call it,
"Obsolete." In the software industry, we would use the term,
"Deprecated."
This usage bothers me for two reasons. One, the word, "Obsolete"
perfectly covers the case. Two, "Deprecated" already has a meaning
and it does not match this usage. As part of my campaign to change this, I did
some research and I found that the new usage was started by a competitor to
where I work. So, not only are we using the wrong word, we are supporting
someone else's mistake.
My arguments fell on deaf ears. People insisted that the jargon was
necessary as it covered a very specific case in a technical area. OK, I decided
that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If people wanted jargon, I would give
them jargon, but I would use a term that is already in the dictionary with the
right definition - defenestrated. Look it up and you will be able to guess
where I work.