Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary language and even internet...
An article in a 1906 edition of the Minneapolis Journal carried the inviting headline: Noisy Hungry Frogs Sadden Farmer’s Life: They Scare His Cattle and They Also Eat His Flannel Shirt. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sad Farmers...
Although the term laundry list originally specified a piece of paper detailing all the items in a load of clothing sent out to be washed and folded, the term now refers more generally to collections of various sorts of things. This is part of a...
Kevin in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, disagrees with his wife over the question: At what point do clothes become laundry? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “When Do Clothes Become Laundry?” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, Kevin...
Will from Lexington, Kentucky, has a long-running dispute with his girlfriend. Is it appropriate to call the machine that launders your clothing a clothes-washing machine rather than just a washing machine? And why do we call the machine that cleans...
The term biz bag, meaning a bag to stuff your discarded items in, comes from an old commercial for Biz stain-removing detergent. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Biz Bag” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, Grant and Martha. This...