Why do we say someone has a cold when we say someone else has the flu, and another person has croup? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “A Cold, The Flu” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Anne. I’m calling from Dallas. Great...
Steer clear of the flu. You’ll groan on wet sheets. You will mew. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Flu Limerick” All right, so I’ve been digging around in the Omnificent English Dictionary in limerick form. Oh, yeah? Did you find...
Grant answers a caller’s question about the origin of griage, a word used increasingly in clinics where flu shots are dispensed. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Griage” A while back, Catherine called us from Northern California...
hamdemic n.—Gloss: A joking name for the swine flu pandemic. «As a responsible newspaper in serious times—when the world is threatened by climate change, economic collapse and what we are steadfastly refusing to describe as a “hamdemic” or an...
infodemic n.— «Is it an abundance of caution, or an abundance of panic and fear? An epidemic or an “infodemic?” What constitutes responsible action at a time when fear prevails?» —“The Travel Detective Responds to Joe Biden and the Swine Flu...
Pig Zero n.— «There is not yet any genetic proof that this particular flu was ever in a pig. […] Now, scientists say, the hunt is on for what is jokingly being called Pig Zero. “No one that I’m aware of has swabbed pigs for this yet.”» —“Virus’s...
