Take a look back at some notable words and phrases from 2017: Remember path of totality? How about milkshake duck? Also, a committee has to choose a new mascot for a school’s sports teams. They want to call them the Knights, as in the fighters...
The KPBS Radio Reading Service provides audio recordings of daily newspapers for the visually impaired. A volunteer who reads for the service has trouble understanding some of the jargon from the sports pages. Good references for the language of...
Howdy! Recently we talked about why some puns seem clever, while others fall flat as a pancake. Also, what’s the difference between “luggage” and “baggage”? What do you call someone who doesn’t eat fish? Plus, a...
Grant goes through the mailbag, offering answers about the terms “nosy parker,” “out of pocket,” and about whether the word “falsehood” has its origins in medieval garb. He also throws a question out to listeners...
I’d like to give a shout-out and big ups to our friends and colleagues at KPBS in San Diego, who are still dealing with the raging fires there. So far it seems everyone is safe, but I haven’t heard yet about homes and pets. Bravo to...
We’ve been a little quiet because we didn’t want to start making the fire before the logs were stacked, but the news can now be told: A Way with Words is alive! That’s right: the show will continue, new episodes are already in...