A San Diego, California, man wonders about the meaning and distribution of the directional phrase over yonder. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Over Yonder” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, how’s it going? This is Josh. I’m...
An 11-year-old in Tallahassee, Florida, wonders about a phrase her late grandfather used. Instead of swearing, he’d exclaim “I swanee!” or “I’ll swanny!” This mild oath, and its shorter version, “I’ll swan,” derives from an English dialectal phrase...
What’s the difference between butter beans, lima beans, and wax beans? The answer depends on where you live and what dialect you speak. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Butter Beans” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hey, this is...
A woman in Monticello, Florida, is bothered by the phrase “on tomorrow,” and feels that the word on is redundant. However, this construction is a dialect feature, not a grammatical mistake. It has roots in the United Kingdom and probably derives...
“Scat cat, your tail’s on fire” is a fun variant of “scat cat, get your tail out of the gravy”—both of which are Southern ways to say “bless you” after someone sneezes. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Southern Scat Cat” Hello, you...
In the American South, a sirsee, also spelled sursie, sussie, surcy, or circe, is a small, impromptu gift. The term may derive from word surprise. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Etymology of Sirsee” Hello, you have A Way with...