“Go fly a kite!” A caller from Washington, D.C. wonders whose kite is getting flown and why. Naturally, we have some ideas! Here’s a copy of the cartoon Grant mentions (from the Chicago Tribune May 15, 1927, p. G2). This is part of...
James in Seattle asks whether the final s belongs in words like toward, forward, and backward. In American English, especially in print, style guides generally prefer the forms without s. British English is more likely to use forms with the s, such...
What’s the trouble with using the expression “drink the Kool-Aid” to connote blind, unquestioning obedience to a politician? A caller is bothered by the grisly origin of the phrase—a reference to the 1978 mass suicide in Jonestown...
A retired theater professor wants to know why she keeps hearing the word dramaturge used in surprising new ways. Is dramaturged now a legitimate verb? Can the noun also refer to someone who adapts a play for particular production—and not just to the...
Let’s see… there’s National Cheese Day on January 20, and of course National Iguana Awareness Day on September 8. So it’s only fitting that good grammar should get a day of its own, too. National Grammar Day has been...
A caller wants to know which is correct: pleaded or pled? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pleaded vs. Pled” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi. Who is this? This is Matt from New Holstein, Wisconsin. New Holstein...