How do you pronounce the word aunt? In most of the United States, it’s pronounced to sound just like the word ant. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pronouncing “Aunt”” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Oh, good afternoon. How are you...
Ann from Fort Worth, Texas, says her elderly aunt was talking disparagingly about two people who, in her words, wet around the same stump. This expression isn’t all that common, but it does appear in Sarah Bird’s 1999 novel Virgin of the Rodeo...
A woman in Farmers Branch, Texas, explains how the simple term cousin succinctly denotes a complicated relationship. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”Cousin” is a Word for Complicated Relationships” We’ve talked before about how...
A transgender and gender-nonconforming listener wonders if there’s a gender-neutral term for “aunt” or “uncle.” Some people have suggested pibling, meaning the “sibling of one’s parent.” Others have proposed baba, titi, bibi, zizi, unty or untie, or...
Many listeners responded to our conversation about the use of the term auntie to refer to an older woman who is not a blood relative. It turns out that throughout much of Africa, Asia, as well as among Native Americans, the word auntie, or its...
A listener from Silver City, New Mexico, writes that when he was a child and pouted with his lower lip stuck out, his aunt would say “Stick that out a little farther, and I’ll write the Ten Commandments on it with a mop.” This is part of a complete...
