When it comes to joining Facebook affinity groups, grammar lovers have lots of choices. Take, for example, the group whose motto is “Punctuation saves lives.” It’s called “Let’s Eat Grandma!” or “Let’s eat, Grandma!” Martha and Grant talk about...
What do you eat at a jitney supper? Jitney? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Contents of a Jitney Supper” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Keith from Pendleton, Indiana. Hi, Keith. Welcome to the program. Hello. I’m...
Here’s the kind of riddle they were telling more than a century ago: “The lazy schoolboy hates my name, yet eats me every day. But those who seek scholastic fame to hunt me never delay.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Boogieman...
Grant quizzes Martha about the meaning of several rhyming verb and noun phrases: cuff and stuff, the cherries and blueberries, chew and screw, eat it and beat it, and flap and zap. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rhyming Verb and...
The word scarf, meaning “to eat rapidly and greedily,” has a long, winding history. Grant helps a listener unravel it. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Scarf as a Verb” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Good afternoon, this is...
If you need proof that language is powerful, here’s some. Researchers at Cornell recently reported that kids are more likely to eat their veggies if they’re told the food has enticing names like “X-ray Vision Carrots” and “Dinosaur Broccoli Trees.”...