An Austin, Texas, listener says he and his buddies are throwing a baby shower for a dad-to-be, but they’re wondering what to call a baby shower thrown for the father. A man shower? A dad-chelor party? This is part of a complete episode...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle involves social media “books” that rhyme with the name Facebook. For example, Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. the Red Baron, posts on on what fancifully named social media outlet? This is part of a...
Margarita from the Dallas area uses anyhow and anyways when she has finished saying something personal and wants to move on. These informal words can function as discourse markers, signaling a transition or wrapping up a thought, though anyways in...
Should people living with cancer be referred to as cancer survivors? Mary from Delafield, Wisconsin, a breast cancer survivor herself, doesn’t like the term. Nor does Indiana University professor emerita Susan Gubar, who discusses this in an...
No single established term fits exactly for the feel of saying a word apart from its meaning, though mouthfeel comes close. Tracy from Dallas, Texas, likes the way suitcase moves in the mouth but not rural, a contrast akin to how wine tasters talk...
The New England phrase “So don’t I”, meaning you agree, is so embedded in the culture that it’s now part of the regional stereotype. Linguist Larry Horn has discussed the phenomenon, as have we. This is part of a complete...