A listener from Fairfield, Connecticut, wonders why she changes her accent and diction when family members from the Middle East are in town. Truth it, everyone does this. It’s a matter of imitating those around us in order to make ourselves feel...
When award winners say I’m humbled, Ann from Burlington, Vermont, hears a mismatch: winning seems like a moment to feel honored, not brought low. The phrase can sound disingenuous if it calls attention to the prize, but it can also be apt when the...
A college senior has invented a word to describe that anxiety we feel when there’s unfinished work looming over us. He calls it desgundes. As in, “that twenty-year-old in the library making a three-foot boondoggle must likely be dealing with some...
“I feel more like I do now than I did a while ago.” The hosts discuss that and other examples of self-referential humor, like “Before I begin speaking, I’d like to say something.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Self-Referential...
Does speaking a particular language make you feel certain emotions? The hosts talk about a blog post by evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson musing about whether this might be true. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Language...
strap hanging n.— «Usually the truck drivers wait at the opening of the valley for a U.S. Army patrol to pass and then they follow it, a practice soldiers have dubbed “strap hanging.” Lining the sides of the road are the remains of scorched trucks...