Why do we turn proper nouns, like JC Penney or Kroger, into possessives, as in, Penny’s or Kroger’s? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Plural Business Names” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Debbie from Indianapolis...
A caller observes that after moving to Indianapolis, he noticed that many of the locals say the names of commercial enterprises as if they’re plural or possessive, even when they’re not, such as calling Walmart “Walmart’s.” Grant explains the...
Grant and Martha share more intentional mispronunciations, including tar-ZHAY instead of Target. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Target vs. Tar-Zhay” Martha, we were talking earlier about words that we mispronounce on purpose, and...
poison put n.— «In December 1995, following several quarters of weak sales, Kmart Corp. came on the brink of a bankruptcy filing: Their problems stemmed from the possible exercise of $550 million of poison put bonds outstanding, which allowed...

