“May a mouse eat you,” or in Persian, moosh bokharadet, is a term of endearment suggesting the recipient is small and cute. Another picturesque hypocorism: French mon petit chou, “sweetheart,” but literally, “my little...
A caller from Madison, Wisconsin, is editing a book about children’s games from the 40’s and 50’s. One of them, hull gull, makes use of the English dialectal term hull meaning “to cover” or “hide.” The game...
Need a great synonym for “overthinking”? Try beanplating. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Beanplating” You know I find a million new words, so this is just one of a zillion. Yeah, are you ever guilty of...
Grant follows up on his chickpea vs. garbanzo poll, and shares an email on the subject from the U.S. Dry Bean Council. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Chickpea and Garbanzo Poll” A few weeks ago, we took a question...
Grant quizzes Martha about some odd terms: three sisters garden, weak-hand draw, and strimmer. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Three Sisters Garden” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette...
bean-bag genetics n.— «As Robert Brandon famously stated, genes are invisible to selection. Yet, population genetics assumes that the genes are visible to selection. How? Via phenotypes. But that is an oversimplified notion that a...