Irv in Montreal, Canada, says that in his city, English speakers will typically use the word messages where others might use errands, as in I’m going to do some messages. The oldest meaning of the word errand is “message,” “news,” or “tidings.” In...
Kyle in Fort Monroe, Virginia, says his family jokingly uses the term honyock to refer to “someone who acts in a silly way,” and often applies this word to politicians and bad drivers. Variously spelled hunkyak, hunyakker, or hunyokker, the word...
In Appalachia, it’s fairly common to pronounce chimney as if it were spelled chimley or chimbley is fairly common in Appalachia. This pronunciation is an artifact of immigration in areas originally settled hundreds of years ago by people from...
Greta and Sean in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are discussing whether the term awhile can mean “in the meantime,” as in Let’s go move your car awhile. It’s certainly used that way in many parts of Pennsylvania, reflecting German settlement patterns...
A listener shares a story on our Facebook group about how a child’s misunderstanding illustrates the power of metaphor. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Cows in the Ocean” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about...
Why do some people pronounce the word sandwich as SANG-wich or SAM-mitch or SAM-widge? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sangwich, Sammitch, and Samwidge” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Eric Apayes. I’m calling...
