Why does the term vegetarian cause so much confusion? Some people assume it means avoiding red meat but still eating chicken. And is there a term for a vegetarian who also eats fish and poultry? Plus, screwball comedies from the 1930s mix slapstick...
Welcome to another A Way with Words newsletter! With any luck, our A Way with Words email messages don’t end up in your spam folder. But did you ever wonder why junk mail is called spam in the first place? There’s a funny story behind this term, and...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski is dreaming up new plots for movies by changing one letter in an existing movie title. For example, if you change one vowel, what hilarious classic comedy becomes the tale of a rebellious, spiky-haired animal found in mosh...
The gorgeous essay “In Praise of the Long and Complicated Sentence” by Joe Moran argues for the glories of spinning out long and beautiful sentences. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “In Praise of Long Sentences” You’re listening to...
In theater slang, a bucklebuster is a line that’s sure to get a big laugh. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bucklebuster” You know what a buckle buster is? Sunday? Brunch? Twice? I guess it could be. I guess it could be, but it’s...
Which came first, orange the color or orange the fruit? And what’s a busman’s holiday? Martha and Grant talk about bumbershoots, brollies, nursery rhymes, and alternatives to the word unicycle. Plus, an app-inspired quiz, favorite oxymorons, and the...