A Greencastle, Indiana, caller is bothered when his colleagues talk about servicing a customer–and with good reason. Servicing a client has long been associated with prostitution. Serving a client is a better phrase. This is part of a complete...
When does a word’s past make it too sensitive to use in the present? In contra dancing, there’s a particular move that dancers traditionally call a gypsy. But there’s a growing recognition that many people find the term gypsy offensive. A group of...
The word fulsome has undergone some real semantic changes over the years. It used to mean “excessive, overly full” negatively, but it’s come to have positive connotations for some, who think it means “copious” or “abundant.” It’s a word that...
Why do physicians speak of turfing an undesirable patient? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Turfing” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi there, this is Carmen Areola from Carlsbad. Hi, Carmen. Hi, Carmen. How are you doing? Good...