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...
The world of politics tops this week’s language headlines, including an explanation of the Bradley effect, and the ongoing debate over bilingual education. Also, what does the word fubsy mean? Grant has the answer and reports about a new...
It started as a typo for “own,” now it’s entrenched in online slang. A Kentucky caller is curious about pwn. It rhymes with “own” and means “to defeat” or “to triumph over.” Our hosts talk about...
playtron n.— «I love to “people-watch,” be they participants or just playtrons and patrons who show up in bizzare attire.» —“Re: What do you value?” by AuroraeB (Tracy) Usenet: alt.fairs...
mpreg n.— «I don’t know when or where I first heard of something called “mpreg,” although I know it was online. I didn’t know what it was, and oh, how I long for those innocent days of yesteryear. “What do you mean...
finger trouble n.— «Sure we have all had disk problems, but what percentage of these were not associated with writing/deleting/finger-trouble/bad-handling—extremely small!» —“Re: software protection – dongles & other...