Oh no you di-int! The linguistic term for what happens when someone pronounces didn’t as “di-int,” or Martin as Mar-in without the t sound, is called glottalization. Instead of making a t sound with the tongue behind the teeth, a different sound is...
“You’d better behave, or I’ll knock you from an amazing grace to a floating opportunity!” This African-American saying, used as a motherly warning, first popped up in the 1930 play Mule Bone by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. This is part of...
Shadowdabbled. Moon-blanched. Augusttremulous. William Faulkner often used odd adjectives like these. But why? Grant and Martha discuss the poetic effects of compressed language. Also, African-American proverbs, classic children’s books, pore vs...
Who was that masked man? Was it the Barefoot Bandit, the Mummy Bandit, or perhaps the Botox Bandit? Or maybe it was the Bad-Breath Bandit? The hosts discuss the wacky names that law enforcement officers give to suspects. Also, what’s a pickle button...
PLO n.— «Jeddah is the gateway for pilgrims heading to Islam’s holy cities, Mecca and Medina. For centuries, Asian, African and Middle Eastern pilgrims have gone there; those who stayed—often called “PLOs,” for pilgrim leftovers—give the coastal...
blaccent n. a mode of speech which is said to imitate African-American vernacular English, especially when used by a white person. Also blackcent. Editorial Note: This term is usually derogatory. Etymological Note: Black + accent (source: Double...
