Jill, who recently moved from Chicago, Illinois, to Indianapolis, Indiana, is bothered when restaurant servers say things like, “What would we like to order?” “Are we ready for the check?” and “Would we like dessert?” She says it doesn’t sound right...
Youngsters want to know: What’s the difference between barely and nearly, and what’s so clean about a whistle, anyway? Plus, adults recount some misunderstandings from when they were knee-high to a grasshopper. Kids do come up with some...
Vivian, a high-schooler in Indianapolis, Indiana, asks why number becomes no. instead of something with a u. The abbreviation comes through Latin numero, an ablative form of numerus, and scribes shortened it with an o plus a mark showing that...
C.A. from Indianapolis says that when his mother was exhausted from a long day of work, she’d describe herself as dead on foot. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Dead on Foot” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Sherilyn in Indianapolis, Indiana, says when she was rambunctious as a child, her grandfather, who is of German descent, would ask if she had a hummel. In German, the word Hummel means bee, and a fidgety youngster might be asked Hast Du Hummeln im...
Cecily from Indianapolis, Indiana, asks whether expressions she first heard in African-American English, such as hit us up and it’s been a minute, have long moved from minority communities into majority speech. Covert prestige describes the cultural...
