David from Matthews, North Carolina, grew up using the term cheese toastie for a type of grilled cheese sandwich. Cheese toasties are familiar in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, particularly around the cities of Decatur and Springfield. In the UK...
English spelling seems so irregular because it preserves history instead of matching sound. Early on, this Germanic tongue absorbed Norse and French influences from invaders, and in the late 1400s, printing helped standardize early spellings just...
Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dramatic burst of green after a long, dark winter. And there are many, many terms for a cold snap that...
After hearing our conversation about how dictionaries decide on a preferred pronunciation, and specifically about how to pronounce aioli, Vern from San Diego, California, wrote to say that a friend once made fun of him for pronouncing grimace with a...
Why do some people pronounce the word sixth as “sikth”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”Sixth” Pronounced as “Sikth”” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Augusta calling from Denver. Hey, Augusta, welcome to the show. What...
Laura in Hereford, Arizona, noticed scientists saying species as “spee-SEES” while a radio host used “spee-SHEES.” Both pronunciations are standard in North American and British English, and neither carries a stigma. The “spee-SHEES” version, with...