A firefighter named Steve in Newport News, Virginia, wonders why in his line of work, and for some police, certain additional kinds of days off after long unbroken shifts are called Kelly days, Kelly shifts, or Kelly time. The term most likely comes...
Visiting firemen doesn’t necessarily refer to firefighters. The terms visiting fireman and visiting firemen may refer to any of several types of visitors from out of town, including non-firefighting celebrities, tourists, and rowdy conventioneers...
Your telephone is for talking, right? Or is it? We’re guessing it’s been a while since you sat next to a telephone waiting for it to ring. In fact, maybe you’re one of those people who HATE to see that voicemail message light...
Firefighters don and doff their equipment, words that derive from “do on” and “do off.” New York City firefighters’ buff-colored uniforms apparently inspired our word buff, as in a fan — a reference to fire...
A firefighter is annoyed by his boss’s use of the term pre-plan. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pre-Plan” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Dave. How are you? Hello, Dave. Hi, Dave. Doing well. Hi...
A recent fire in Grant’s apartment building has him pondering the role played by fire in English idioms. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Language of Fires” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m...
