When a teenager went a week without talking as part of a school project, he noticed a surprising side effect: Instead of rehearsing a response to what other people were saying to him, he was focused on listening — and feeling smarter as a result...
In the 1920’s, Americans were warned of a new danger sweeping across the country. This menace that harmed people’s health, ruined minds, and threatened marriages. The culprit? The national obsession with a new form of entertainment: crossword...
In the 1920s, a crossword-puzzle craze swept across the United States. The pastime became wildly popular, and even inspired a Broadway musical, Puzzles of 1925. The fad spread through Canada and England, and the Wimbledon Public Library even removed...
The crossword clue is “bread machine?” The answer has three letters. What is it? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bread Machine?” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it. My name is Grant...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle was inspired by the story of Reverend Archibald Spooner, who supposedly mixed up the initial sounds of words, getting tangled in such verbal missteps as “It is kisstomary to cuss the bride.” For example, there’s a...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has devised another take-off puzzle, meaning that taking off the first letter of a word results in a second word. This time, the initial letter is the letter O. For example, if someone has unlatched the gate to the pigsty...