Stranger With a Strange Word: Grok

Debbie from Crawfordsville, Florida, says that when she and her husband reach an impasse while working on something, they’ll say Let’s grok about it, which they use to mean “Let’s think about it.” Grok was coined by science fiction writer Robert Heinlein in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land (Bookshop|Amazon). Originally meaning “to drink,” grok also came to mean “to have a profound understanding of.” By the way, Grant mispronounces “Heinlein” during this segment. It should be /ˈhaɪn laɪn/ where both syllables rhyme with “line” or “mine.” This is part of a complete episode.