What would you serve a plumber who comes over for dinner? How about … leeks? The hosts play a word game called “What Would You Serve?” Also, can you correct someone’s grammar without ruining a new relationship? And is there...
A weep of willows, an embarrassment of weeds, and a pride of dandelions are listener-made collective terms for plants, following a recent conversation about the form. The fun depends on sound and sense: a churn of buttercups, a universe of cosmos, a...
Martha shares more clever collective plant names, including a “mommy of poppies.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Mommy of Poppies” We were talking earlier about collective nouns for plants. Oh...
Why not have collective nouns for plants, like a “greasing of palms,” or a “pursing of tulips”? Martha shares some others collected on the site of food writer Gary Allen. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
A sampling of several kinds of wine is called a flight. But why? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Wine Flight” Martha, here’s an interesting email that we got from Steve in Southern California. He says, At a...
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The results of the “A Way with Words” Collective Noun Contest! What collective noun would you apply to groups of 1) tennis players, 2) aliens from outer space, and 3) language-loving...