Following up on our conversation about what to say when coming up behind a stranger so as not to startle them, a Sacramento, California, listener raises another question about communicating quickly with someone in your vicinity: Is there a gesture drivers can use to acknowledge and apologize for an error, such as accidentally cutting someone off in traffic? Perhaps the American Sign Language sign for “Sorry”?This is part of a complete episode.
What makes a great first line of a book? How do the best authors put together an initial sentence that draws you in and makes you want to read more? We’re talking about the openings of such novels as George Orwell’s 1984...
To slip someone a mickey means to doctor a drink and give it to an unwitting recipient. The phrase goes back to Mickey Finn of the Lone Star Saloon in Chicago, who in the late 19th century was notorious for drugging certain customers and relieving...
Subscribe to the fantastic A Way with Words newsletter!
Martha and Grant send occasional messages with language headlines, event announcements, linguistic tidbits, and episode reminders. It’s a great way to stay in touch with what’s happening with the show.
Single blink on the hazard lights.