Hey, podcast listener! Martha here with a special minicast of A Way with Words. Today I want to tell you a story — and make a request for you to support A Way with Words. The story is about a guy named Luigi. He was born in 1737 in Bologna, Italy...
Martha explains how experiments with dead frogs and live wires led to the invention of the battery, and inspired a couple of familiar English words.
This week’s Slang This! contestant is from Esquimalt, British Columbia. She tries to guess the meaning of the slang terms white hat and necklace light. And no, the latter has nothing to do with a “Frankenstein flash.” This is part of a complete...
blessay n.— «I wrote a Frankenstein “blessay.” The reason there’s more “essay” than “blog” in that neologism is because there was more essay than blog in my contribution.» —“One Confused Blessay” by Scott Eric Kaufman Acephalous (California) July...
monster-mashing n.— «“Forward march.” The movements are new, and Cain still has to think about what he is doing. Pretty soon, left becomes right, and instead of swinging his arms naturally—right arm, left leg, etc.—he is “monster-mashing,” the...
Frankenstein veto n.— «A “Frankenstein veto” is a partial veto of an appropriation bill that deletes selected words, digits, punctuation marks or larger “parts” of the bill, for the express purpose of “stitching together” assorted remnants into new...