The hosts discuss two Obamafications: Obamanation and Obamination. Slate’s book and web widget include many Barack Obama-derived words in Obamamania!: The English Language, Barackafied. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
When Barack Obama intoned, “I do not underestimate the enormity of the task ahead,” some grammar sticklers recoiled. Pointing to the word’s roots, they insist that enormity means not “large,” but “out of the...
We heard a lot in 2008 about the Obama campaign’s ground game. What’s the story on that expression?
When you get to the end of a wonderful book, your first impulse is to tell someone else about it. In this week’s episode, Martha and Grant discuss what they’ve been reading and the delights of great prose. You’ll find information...
con-con n.— «The Illinois Constitution requires asking voters every 20 years if they want to hold a constitutional convention, also known in Illinois as a “con-con.”» —“Ballot trick: Leading language in...
An Illinois man recalls that as a kid, he used to mix fountain drinks of every flavor into a concoction he and his friends called a suicide. He wonders if anyone else calls them that. Why a suicide? Because it looks and tastes like poison? This is...