Yasha, who grew up speaking Russian, recalls phrase used to comfort a child after a small mishap like a skinned knee. The phrase translates as “It will heal in time for the wedding,” and Yasha had assumed it was solely Slavic. So he was surprised to...
Look up the verb comfort in the Oxford English Dictionary and you’ll see that in the 13th century, this word meant “to strengthen.” It comes from Latin fortis meaning “strong,” the source of fort, fortify, and forte. This is part of a complete...
A listener from Dallas, Texas, wonders why we say “here, here” to cheer someone on, and “there, there” to calm someone down. Actually, the phrase is “hear, hear,” and it’s imperative, as in, listen to this guy. “There, there,” on the other hand is...
We’ve spoken before about “It’ll be better when you’re married,” often used to console someone who just had a small scrape or cut. A Chicago-area listener wrote us to say that in such cases, her mom’s phrase was “Quick, get a spoon!” This is part of...
Why do we say that someone who’s happy is in hog heaven? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Hog Heaven” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, my name is Jackie. I’m in Dallas. Hiya, Jackie. Welcome to the program. Thanks. I’m calling...
solastalgia n.—Gloss: a form of homesickness you get when you are still at home; feeling wistful as though an environment has changed around you. «Albrecht has given this syndrome an evocative name: solastalgia. It’s a mashup of the roots solacium...
