Say you’re on a long road trip. Do you have a term for another driver who happens to be traveling the same direction and sets the pace for your car mile after mile? In an earlier episode, a Rhode Island listener left us wondering why her Swedish friend refers to such a driver as a Follow John. A listener in Malmö, Sweden, has since stepped in with an explanation. In that country, children play a game similar to “Simon Says” called Följa John, or “Follow John.” That helpful Swedish listener, by the way, is Karin Tidbeck, author of The Memory Theater (Bookshop|Amazon), which appears on the New York Times list of best science fiction and fantasy books of 2021. 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.
