This week, Martha and Grant discuss terms from Australia, including aerial ping-pong, pumpkin squatter, and…kangarooster? They explain the connection between stereotypes and stereos, and why we call the person clearing tables in a restaurant a...
The English language has no shortage of words that mean nonsensical talk, including one that’s piqued a listener’s curiosity: How did flannel come to mean “empty chatter” or “hot air,” as in “Don’t...
Twittering, tweeting, twirting—it’s rare to see a whole new body of language appear right before your eyes. But that’s what’s happening with Twitter. We discuss the snappy new shorthand of the twitterati. Also, why do people feel...
Toward vs. towards: is it more correct to say “toward an object” or “towards an object”? Well, which side of the Atlantic are you on? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Toward vs. Towards” Hello...
Dude, how’d we ever start using the word dude? The Big Grantbowski traces the word’s origin—it’s over 125 years old. Here’s a poem about dandy dudes from 1883, the year the word zoomed into common use. Ben Zimmer at Visual...
Faunching around, Donna from El Cajon, California’s family term for squirming fussily or impatiently, isn’t unique to them. The Dictionary of American Regional English records faunch by 1970 meaning to fret or show irritation or impatience. An older...