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Feast on Three New Episodes

Hey, look: there are three brand-new episodes to tell you about! Each includes a few rounds of devious word puzzles cooked up by our quiz guy John Chaneski, as well as:

Last weekend, “Secret Gibberish”:

  • piggyback
  • gibberish
  • the pronunciation of “pecan”
  • why English doesn’t have an official language academy
  • the expression “hold ’er, Newt!”
  • lots more!

Two weekends ago, “By Jingo!”:

  • the expression “doesn’t know fatmeat is greasy”
  • verbing nouns
  • more on creaky voice
  • symbols for cartoon profanity
  • grass widows
  • by jingo!
  • lots more!

Three weekends ago, “Like a Boss”:

  • the hip-hop roots of the catchphrase “like a boss.”
  • old-timey similes like “large as life and twice as natural.”
  • infra dig
  • witches’ knickers
  • lots more!

Clicky Clicky, Linky Linky

A little fun and enlightenment we’ve found on the Internet:

• The hilarious mispronunciation of words, via Jason Kottke.

• A peppy song about vowels. A sure mood-lifter!

• As we discussed in a past episode, it’s hard to understand some sports because the special lingo is so thick.

• The slow death of the signature, from The Atlantic.

Call to Action

Macmillan Dictionary is taking votes in a simple contest for the best website in their “Love English” awards. Won’t you give A Way with Words your vote?

Sincerely yours,

Martha and Grant

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Sock it to Me (episode #1557)

In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...

Change One Letter Olympic Event Word Games

Quiz Guy John Chaneski insists that the names of modern Olympic sports resulted from changing one letter in the original names for each activity. For example, he says, the pole vault must have originated from an earlier sport in which participants...

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