Is it rearing to go or raring to go? Champing at the bit or chomping at the bit? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Raring to Go” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, Gran and Martha. This is Terry calling from San Diego...
In this week’s episode: Just how far back could you go and still understand the English people were speaking? We crank up our trusty time machine to find out. Hint: You’d probably have a tough time getting around in the eighth century...
Enough about the Word of the Year. How about the Word of the Decade? Bailout? Google? Martha and Grant discuss some candidates. Also in this episode, does speaking a different language make you feel different emotions? What did Don Draper on Mad Men...
Where’d we get the expression “mind your p’s and q’s”? A Barcelona native wants help understanding exactly what it means, and shares a few other English idioms that caught her up short. This is part of a complete...
You’ve been on the receiving end of backhanded phrases, and admit it, you’ve used them, too. A discussion on Ask MetaFilter prompts Grant and Martha to talk about the ways people use sugar-coated snark. By the way, if you want a fancy...
In English, we say that someone who’s egotistical has a big head. But in French, according to a caller, the person is said to have big ankles. Why ankles? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Big Ankles” Hello, you...