Barbara from Del Mar, California, works in a church mentoring program and wants a warmer alternative to mentee, which to her ear swims a little too close to manatee. Protégé is a well-established possibility, though it can suggest a favored or...
Grant shares some slang he’s found while exploring the game of Skee-Ball, including to hit the hundo. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Skee-Ball Slang” Martha, do you remember skee-ball? Skee-ball? Yeah, you go to...
Rock climbers use the term beta to refer to any information they receive about a route before climbing it. Is it related to beta as in “beta-testing software”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rock Climbing...
Pickle, baboon, cupcake, snorkel, pumpkin, Kalamazoo—let’s face it, some words are just plain funny. But what makes some words funnier than others? Martha and Grant consider this question with an assist from Neil Simon’s play (and movie)...
For some golfers, the phrase “go golfing” is as maddening as a missed two-foot putt. The proper expression, they insist, is “play golf.” A longtime golfer wonders whether that’s true. This is part of a complete episode...
Zach, an F-18 instructor pilot calling from China Lake, California, asks whether deconflict is really a word. In aviation, it means to remove a possible conflict, such as assigning different altitudes or positions so two aircraft can share a piece...

