How long can a newly married woman be called a bride? Does bride apply only as long as her wedding day, or does it extend right on through the couple’s silver anniversary and beyond? Plus, insightful advice about writing from a Pulitzer...
Would you call an artist who paints a painter, or does painter only apply to a technician, like one who paints houses? This is part of a complete episode.
What is a madcap comedy? A fan of classics like Bringing up Baby wonders about the origin of the term. Martha explains that years ago, the word cap sometimes referred to one’s “head.” So if someone’s “madcap,”...
What’s your choice for the word or phrase that best captures the zeitgeist of 2010? Grant shares some of his “word of the year” candidates, including refudiate, mama grizzly, starwhacker, and of course, vuvuzela. This is part of a...
Grant’s been collecting contenders for 2009’s Word of the Year, including Dracula sneeze, Government Motors, and… unumbium? This is part of a complete episode.
One of the Olsen twins does it, some public radio hosts do it, and at least one former U.S. president does it. Grant describes the curious speech trait linguists call “creaky voice.” This is part of a complete episode.