In the 15th century, the word disappoint meant “to remove someone from appointed office.” Only later did the word take on its modern meaning of “fail to fulfill expectations.” This is part of a complete episode.
A caller wonders if she’s being hypersensitive about the way her boss addresses her in emails. Can the use of an employee’s first name ever reflect a power differential? And: a community choir director wants a term for “the act of...
A South Carolina teen calls to ask why the English language has a word meaning “to throw someone out of a window,” but no word for “the day after tomorrow.” The word defenestrate, from Latin fenestra, “window,”...