When it comes to words like reckon, is it true that Southerners preserve the Queen’s English? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Reckon” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, my name’s Terry and I’m...
Cara, a real-estate lawyer in Rhode Island, was surprised by gazump, meaning to cheat a home buyer at the last minute, often by raising the price just before the contract is signed. The word turns up in the United States in the 1920s, apparently...
A listener in Romania learned English in the Southern U.S., but after going back home to where a British English is taught, people are having a hard time understanding his accent. Where we learn a language plays a big role in how we speak it. This...
Can you guess what a smiley is? No, the other smiley. Or how about tarantula juice? You could, of course, happen upon someone with a muffin top drinking inferior whisky, or you could look these terms up in the new Green’s Dictionary of Slang...
The Century Dictionary contains a list of amended spellings from the late 1800s that only creates more of the confusion it set out to alleviate. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Amended Spellings from 1800s”...
Renee from Indianapolis, Indiana, asks about tickety-boo, an old-fashioned expression meaning “all in order,” “correct,” or “just dandy,” after hearing it often from a former boss at an Indian corporation in Florida. The phrase became especially...