Gerrymandering draws political boundaries to tip elections towards certain political parties. Originally, the word was pronounced “GARY-mandering” with a hard “g.” But why? And why did it change? • Mark Twain and Helen Keller...
The Scots verb groak, also spelled growk, can mean “to look longingly at something,” especially the way a child or dog begs for food. A Scots dictionary also gives a watchful or suspicious sense, plus an extended meaning: to come fully awake after...
The hosts discuss Ammon Shea’s recent New York Times Magazine column about whether a large vocabulary filled with obscure and unusual words is all that necessary. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Large, Obscure...