An Indiana woman shudders every time anyone uses the expression comprised of. She wants to know if she’s right that it’s bad grammar, and more important, is she right to be a stickler about it? This is part of a complete episode...
A new resident of Pittsburgh is startled by some of the dialect there, like yinz instead of “you” for the second person plural, and nebby for “nosy.” What’s up with that? For a wonderful site about the dialect of that...
John Chaneski’s latest puzzle is “The Yo-Yo Quiz,” and it’s not about famous cellists or first person pronouns in Spanish. The object is to guess the missing word that can be paired with either “up” or...
Is the expression beck and call or beckon call? What’s a beck? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Beck and Call” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Mara Spring. I’m calling from Wisconsin. Hi...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle Blank the Blank, also called Verb the Noun, asks for familiar three-word expressions in the pattern verb + the + noun. One clue describes someone who refuses to confront trouble, another an accountant committing fraud...
Aerial ping-pong: Is it a new Olympic sport? A less intense version of tonsil hockey? Martha reveals the meaning of this Australian English term. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Aerial Ping-Pong” Martha, I bet you have...