Carol in Hamden, Connecticut, grew up hearing her Tennessee stepfather use unthaw to mean thaw, then saw a cornbread recipe calling for frozen corn kernels, “unthawed.” The verb unthaw is a dialectal form found in parts of the United States...
If a restaurant menu states, “We cook off our potatoes,” what in the heck does that mean? A truck driver who encountered such an announcement at a roadside cafe is still puzzling over what it means to “cook off” a tuber. He...
A Burlington, Vermont, caller wants to know: Is horseradish so named because of this root’s strong resemblance to part of a horse’s anatomy? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Horseradish” Hello, you have A...
If you get hold of some bad sushi for lunch, you’ll wind up feeling poozley. A caller whose in-laws use poozley insists they must have made it up. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Poozley” Hi, you have A Way with...
A Texas family has a dispute with a prospective in-law who happens to be a chef. Is their favorite spicy chocolate cake properly known as a sheath cake or a sheet cake? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sheath Cake vs. Sheet...
It’s a brand-new season of A Way with Words! Grant has big news, too: He’s used up his last Metrocard, packed up his belongings, and moved to the Left Coast. He reports on some features of California language there that are already...