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...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
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...