Did you know reading poetry improves your prose? That includes hip-hop lyrics, too. Also, how linguist can guess where you come from based on how you speak. What do you call someone who picks the chocolate out of the trail mix...
You’re in a business meeting. Is it bad manners to take out your phone to send or read a text? A new study suggests that how you feel about mid-meeting texting differs depending on your age and sex. Grant and Martha offer book recommendations...
The word doppich means “clumsy or awkward,” is used primarily in Southeastern and South Central Pennsylvannia, and goes back to a German word for the same. Another handy word with Pennsylvania Dutch roots: grex, also spelled krex...
The animal called an aardvark takes its name from an Afrikaans term meaning “earth pig.” The word is cognate with the English words earth and pork. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Aardvarks” Hello, you have...
Diminutive suffixes, Donnie for Don, change the meaning of a name to something smaller, cuter, or sweeter. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Diminutive Suffixes” Hi there, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Scott...
When adults are talking sex, money, or other adult topics in the presence of children, one might say little pitchers have big ears, meaning that they don’t want the little ones to hear. The expression has to do with beverage pitchers with...