Claire from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shares a phrase dear to her late friend. Her friend was known for saying since Christ left Philadelphia, meaning “a very long time ago.” This expression fits a well-worn pattern of comic hyperbole using...
Tess from southeastern Pennsylvania wonders about the origins of coleslaw. It comes from Dutch koolsla, meaning simply “cabbage salad.” The cole part shares its root with kale, the cauli in cauliflower, and the kohl in kohlrabi. All these words go...
A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, listener has been pondering the saying It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good, and specifically whether she uses it correctly. The expression usually appears as It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good...
Yvonne from Rock Hill, South Carolina, learned the phrase honor bright as a way of assuring that one was telling the truth, much like cross my heart or I swear to God. It’s common in the UK, and Shakespeare used honour bright in Troilus and...
A taciturn gumshoe in Robert B. Parker’s detective novel Bye Bye Baby (Bookshop|Amazon) offers this good advice: “Never say anything that doesn’t improve the silence.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Listeners respond to our earlier conversation about ending a telephone call with mmm-bye. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Mmm-Bye” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it...