The word curfew comes from a French expression that means “cover your fire” and goes all the way back to a similar phrase in Latin. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Curfew From a Command to Cover Fires” Hey there, you have A Way...
Janine in Murray, Kentucky, shares some favorite tongue twisters. There’s the one that helps you remember the four cardinal directions: Never Eat Sour Wheat. Her dad was fond of saying The stump thunk the skunk stunk and the skunk thunk the stump...
Scott in Madison, Wisconsin, is curious about the word invoice. It’s related to the English word envoy, and comes from French, envois, literally “things sent.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Invoice and Envoy” Hello, you have A...
The English word stilliform means “drop-shaped,” from Latin stilla, meaning “drop.” The same drippy root turns up in distill, “to drip down,” and instill, “to put in drop by drop,” and the spelling stilliform even has a row of tall, narrow letters...
A monk at St. Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, Michigan, a Benedictine monastery in the Episcopal Church, shares some of the terms used there on a daily basis. The monks gather seven times a day to pray as a group, a practice called corporate...
So you’ve long dreamed of writing fiction, but don’t know where to begin? There are lots of ways to get started — creative writing classes, local writing groups, and books with prompts to get you going. The key is to get started, and then stick with...