If you’re feeling squiffy, it means you’re drunk, especially in 19th century British slang. If someone has a golden gut, on the other hand, it means they have good business acumen. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Squiffy and...
If you’re inappropriately focused on the minutiae of a project instead of the bigger picture, you’re said to be bike-shedding. Grant talks about that modern slang term and Martha discusses a word that goes way back in time, right back to “In the...
Whether it’s bytes of data or intergalactic distances, humans are accumulating ever more massive amounts of data. But how do we use language to describe such mind-bogglingly huge numbers? There’s mega, as in mega-millions, and giga, as in gigabytes...
Is the word criteria singular or plural? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Criteria” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Michelle Diekelman calling from Oceanside, California. Well, hello, Michelle. Welcome to the...
A former sociology professor shares a peeve about the language of political pundits: He’s irked when they say a candidate wants to replicate or duplicate his win. The professor explains why he thinks they should eschew those words and instead opt...