Mark from Los Angeles, California, is curious about the slang term gank, meaning to steal. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Gank, To Steal” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, Martha. This is Mark. I’m calling from Los Angeles...
A law enforcement officer says he and his colleagues are curious about how the word pig came to be used as a derogatory term for police. This use has a long history that goes back more than two centuries. This is part of a complete episode...
A man in San Clemente, California, and his friends are debating the term for when a substance you are smoking for pleasure is all used up. Is the bowl cashed or cacked? In this case, both terms work. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Hundreds of years ago, the word girl didn’t necessarily mean a female child — in the 14th and 15th centuries, it could refer to a child of either sex. Only later did its meaning become more specific. • Some people think that referring to a former...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a fill-in-the-blank puzzle about famous hip-hop rhymes. For example, from Run DMC, there’s the verse: “I’m the king of rock / There is none higher / Sucker MC’s should call me _________.” This is part of a complete episode...
The term “spitting game,” meaning “to flirt,” comes from African-American slang going back to at least the 1960’s, when game referred to someone’s hustle. It’s well covered in Randy Kearse’s Street Talk: Da Official Guide to Hip-Hop and Urban...