Rebecca in Austin, Texas, wonders why the terms cold sore and fever blister describe pretty much the same thing. Also, why do we say we have a cold, but we have the flu? The word flu comes from the Italian word for influence, influenza, and is a...
Why do we say someone has a cold when we say someone else has the flu, and another person has croup? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “A Cold, The Flu” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Anne. I’m calling from Dallas. Great...
Can children adopted from other countries easily re-learn their native languages as adults? And if you’re invited to an old-fashioned pound party, what should you bring? Also, regional names for those wheeled contraptions you use at the grocery...
infectobesity n.— «Catching “being fat” by means of this virus has been called Infectobesity by Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar, a professor at Louisiana State University. What virus is this exactly? It’s called Adenovirus-36, otherwise known as Ad-36...
cold-in-place n.— «Several miles of lettered highways in the county that were going to be resurfaced using a new method called “cold-in-place.” were also taken off the table.» —“MoDOT brings listening post to Richmond” by Dennis Sharkey Daily...
Gordie Howe hat trick n.— «If he does, the top two players in the league last season could be in for what is known in hockey as a Gordie Howe hat trick—a goal, an assist and a fight.» —“Ovechkin, Malkin friendship grows cold” in...