In Scotland and Northern England, something that’s kenspeckle is “conspicuous.” This word likely comes from Scandinavian languages and is related to English ken, meaning “range of knowledge.” And it’s not just ken — this family of words includes...
The first-ever “Word by Word” awards were presented by A Way With Words co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett as part of a sold-out celebration at the San Diego Natural History Museum. To celebrate its tenth year of independent production...
Ken from New Mexico measures up at 6 feet 8 inches, and he’s heard the gamut of comments tall people get, like How’s the weather up there? Sometimes he responds to How tall are you? with 5 feet 20 inches, and if anyone asks if he plays basketball...
Grant interviews Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings about the grueling nature of TV quiz shows, the fine art of writing trivia questions, the special challenges of competing in European quiz contests, and how it feels to answer incorrectly.
It’s “Slang for $500.” All-time Jeopardy! Champion Ken Jennings tackles his next logical challenge, the A Way with Words slang quiz. Ken puzzles over the meaning of brummagem and pluck of a pig, and tries to guess an usual meaning for the term...
meeskite adj.— Note: “Jolie-laide” is the French term for it. «Little, purebred dogs are certainly among the easier animals to find homes for, but Rosie was a bit “mature” when she entered my shelter as a homeless stray. A somewhat crusty old lady...