bird dog n.—Gloss: A person who guides an electrical crew to a repair site. «“There’s a lot of sign language for ‘don’t touch,’” said Andy Janosz, a switchman with PSNH in Manchester and the crew’s local “bird dog...
poofer n.— «Poofers: A slang term for girls who suddenly disappear from their community in order to take part in an arranged marriage. The girls are either kept hidden or moved to another state or country. This term is most often used by...
black blind n.— «It’s a common misconception among people that if someone is blind they can’t see at all n what is known as “black blind.” That, however, is not true for the majority of the blind and visually impaired n most have...
Here’s another newsletter from A Way with Words. On this past weekend’s show we mused over the idea of reading books on electronic devices, talked about “tow-headed,” and got to the German origins of “going to Buxtehude...
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...
A Michigander wants to know about the difference between titled and entitled. She’d assumed that a book is titled Gone with The Wind and a person is entitled to compensation for something. Grant and Martha explain it’s a little more...