The language and melodies of military marching songs connect grown children with their parents who served, as do parents’ love letters from World War II. Plus, “running a sandy” describes an awkward love triangle and Northern Spy is a kind of apple...
If your boss drives you crazy with the word cadence, you’re not alone. This business buzzword, referring to steady, efficient scheduling, was popularized in the 90s after IBM published a paper about sales called Chaos to Cadence. And you know how...
Being a writer and making a living as a writer are often two different things. Maybe you’re writing poetry at night but by day you’re writing technical manuals or web copy. Journalist Michael Erard, whose day job is writing for think tank, describes...
It’s been said that the most beautiful combination of words in English is cellar door. But why? After this caller raised the question, Grant did even more digging on the topic. The result: He wrote an article about it that appeared in the New York...
A die-hard Tyler Perry fan is curious about an emphatic expression she’s heard in some of his movies: Hell-to-the-no. What’s up with the extra words? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Hell-to-the-No” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Grant recommends a couple of favorite children’s books by Kate Banks and Georg Hallensleben: Baboon and The Night Worker. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Favorite Children’s Books” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha...