A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, listener says when he was growing up, his family used the word schmutz as a verb. For example, when one parent reminded the other to apply sunscreen to the youngsters, they might say, Make sure you schmutz the kids...
Maira lives in Puerto Rico and speaks English as a second language. When friends visiting from Minnesota join her at the beach and are ready to swim out into the surf, they say I’m ready to go out. When they’re ready to go back onto the...
Martha reads Walt Whitman’s poem “On the Beach at Night, Alone.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Walt Whitman, “On the Beach at Night, Alone”” You’re listening to A Way with Words...
A bi-coastal listener wonders about the terms West Coast and eastern seaboard. Why don’t we say Californians live on the western seaboard? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Coast vs. Seaboard” Hello, you have A Way...
sponging n.— «Bodysurfing, or “sponging” as it’s called by regular boogie boarders, is a lot easier than surfing and a great way to get wet without going too far out to sea (the best waves are usually near the beach)...
secret season n.— «This latter half of spring, after the spring breaks have ended, is often called the “secret season” on the coast, because awe inspiring natural delights like these are quite common, but the beaches are generally...