A listener in Brazil challenges Martha’s pronunciation of the odd English word antipodes. Their email exchange leads Martha to muse about a favorite collection of poems, where she first encountered this word.
witching day n.— «That rumor proved false too. But is it just a coincidence that the rumor spread on a Friday known as a “quadruple witching day”—when lots of Merrill Lynch options were expiring?» —“Psst! Hear the Rumor of the Day...
take under n.— «The rumor turned out to be wrong, as rumors often do. But this one even had an exact price: Lehman would be sold for $15 a share, traders buzzed all afternoon, in what would amount to a “take under”—Wall Street parlance...
whisper number n.— «Rumor-mongering, of course, has long been the stock in trade of some on Wall Street. Billions of dollars a day are bet on “whisper numbers” and overheard lunchtime chatter. Information is the coin of the realm. Some of...
pickle back n.— «We do something called a “pickle back”—a shot of Jameson with a shot of pickle-juice brine—that is quickly becoming a signature.» —“Jenn James of the Rusty Knot Never Wants to Hear ’Hotel...
An Indiana listener complains that he can’t stand to hear presidential candidates pronounce the word pundit as pundint. This is part of a complete episode.