Calling from the Greek island of Crete, a retired English teacher named Beth asks about using of amount of instead of number of when it comes to such phrases as the amount of people or the amount of eggs. The traditional distinction is that amount...
In a conversation with novelist Ann Patchett, writer Elizabeth McCracken makes a pithy observation about the difference between a novel and a short story. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Difference Between a Novel and a...
Lisa lives in Columbia, South Carolina, but went to high school in Brockport, New York. There, a certain type of student was called a beeg or beeger. Such a classmate was likely a fan of Iron Maiden, wore their hair in a mullet, and smoked in the...
After our conversation about blessing boxes, those little free pantries stocked with donated food, a listener points out the use of love fridges in Chicago. These community fridges, sometimes called freedges, are springing up in lots of places. This...
After our conversation about monastic sign language, Cameron Brick, a social psychologist at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, emailed to share his own stories about nonverbal communication and the power of silence. This is part of a...
How did Nimrod, the name of a mighty hunter and a great grandson of Noah, come to mean a lamebrain idiot? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nimrod” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi. Hi, who’s this? Hi, this is...
