Sigrin in Albany, New York, grew up hearing her Iowa father use owly for being irritable, peevish, or grouchy, often as a gentle scolding. The word isn’t a single-family coinage. It’s chiefly Midwestern and Canadian, especially around the border...
In the Pacific Northwest, the term spendy means “expensive.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Spendy” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Joseph, downtown San Diego. Well, Joseph, welcome to the...
A Dallas listener says he was confused at first when a friend from rural North Dakota reported coming home and finding a moose in his kitchen. Only later did he learn what difference the so-called Canadian raising of a vowel can make. More about...
Elizabeth in Princeton, Texas, remembers her late father, who grew up in Snowflake, Arizona, finishing a meal with “I am sufficiently suffonsified. Anything more would be purely obnoxious to my taste. No thank you.” The mock-grand phrase means he...
A North Carolina woman says when she told her friend she had a TL for her, the friend had no idea what she was talking about. She learns that the term is a shortened form of a secondhand compliment also known as a trade-last or last-go-trade. This...
boxla n.— Note: A blend of “box” and “lacrosse.” «The summer lacrosse season is still a few months away, but it’s never too soon to talk a little boxla.» —“Lacrosse busy during so-called off...