In the 1940s, the slang phrase You shred it, wheat! was used to express complete agreement with something, a punning variation of You said it! The phrase was sometimes also used as a retort meaning “Figure it out yourself.” This is part of a...
Twelve-year-old Gagnon from Newport, Oregon, wonders: What’s the difference between a motor and an engine? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Motor v. Engine” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Ganyan, and I’m calling from...
It’s the Up Goer Five Challenge! Try to describe something complex using only the thousand most common words in English. It’s a useful mental exercise that’s harder than you might think. Also, if you want to make a room dark, you might turn off the...
Did you know reading poetry improves your prose? That includes hip-hop lyrics, too. Also, how linguist can guess where you come from based on how you speak. What do you call someone who picks the chocolate out of the trail mix? Plus, champing at...
Clark in Fort Worth, Texas, asks about the expression “not to mince words” after seeing it in a New York Times Paul Krugman column. To mince is “to make small,” from the same word family as diminish, miniature, and minute. Mincing onions cuts them...
Should we use try and or try to? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage says it’s grammatically permissible to “try and go to the store,” or to ask someone to “try and speak up.” However, a fan of formality ought to stick with try to. Still...