In an earlier episode, we played a game in which we raised the ante on words with hidden “numbers” inside them. For example, forever became five-ever. Many listeners wrote to share Victor Borge’s hilarious Inflationary Language...
When it’s raining and sunny at the same time, Almira from St. Paul, who grew up in Natal, Brazil, says she heard that it was a marriage between a fox and a nightingale. South Africans say it’s a monkey’s wedding. Those images are far happier than an...
Do you use paper towels or paper towelling? While a listener insists her husband’s wrong for his use of paper towelling, Grant explains how certain nouns take a gerund ending. For example, clothes derive from clothing, and the side of a house...
Coup de grâce means “stroke of mercy” in French, originally a mercy killing for someone or something mortally wounded. Vera in San Diego wondered after a Thanksgiving family debate whether it can also mean a final touch or decisive event and whether...
If someone’s driving you bonkers, you’d be forgiven for grumbling, “He’s such a pill!” But why a pill? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Such a Pill” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi...
How do you pronounce the word patronize? Is one pronunciation used if you say “Don’t patronize me!” and another one if you say “We patronize local businesses”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...