Summer brings a shift to weekly online audio releases instead of new radio broadcasts. The production team continues to read audience messages and social media posts. The linguistic concept of a pleonasm receives an explanation through the phrase “gunny sack.” The word “gunny” originates from the Marathi word goni (GOH-nee). This word translates to “sack.” The literal translation of “gunny sack” is “sack sack.”
This minicast was released June 15, 2009.
Transcript of “Summer Housekeeping (Minicast)”
Hello podcast listeners, this is Grant Barrett from A Way with Words with a little housekeeping.
It’s the start of the summer season again, which means the program will be going into reruns on most public radio stations.
But, as we’ve done for the last few years, we’re going to post new content online and in our podcast feed every week.
Our goal is to keep you entertained until we begin producing new full episodes in the.
As a matter of fact, in your podcast queue, you should find another one alongside this one.
fall Keep in mind that we’re still listening to your voicemail messages, still reading your emails, still watching you argue on the discussion forums, and still checking out what you have to say on Twitter.
So, keep in touch.
One way to do that is to subscribe to our newsletter, find that and lots of past shows that you might have missed on our website at waywordradio.org.
You can also find a donate link there. Hint, hint.
Apropos of nothing, and just so there’s some language content to this podcast, let me point out that the term gunny sack is more or less a pleonasm.
A pleonasm is a word or phrase that contains the same idea or meaning twice.
The meaning, in effect, is redundant.
How is it a pleonasm, you ask?
Well, the thing ghani in English is a coarse fabric usually made of jute.
That’s J-U-T-E and it’s a fiber.
The word derives from Marathi, an Indian language, in which ghani comes from the Sanskrit and means fabric sacking or just sack.
So, a gunny sack could be said to be a sack sack.
Sack.
Neat, huh?
Well, that’s all for this minicast.
Find past shows and contact information for A Way with Words on our website at waywordradio.org.
For A Way with Words, I’m Grant Barrett in New York City.
