Listeners keep sending us wince-worthy puns about what various people might have in their gardens. For example, a baseball player’s backyard might be full of pitcher plants. People thinking about adopting a pet might consider orchids. (Say...
Ian in Cincinnati, Ohio, has noticed that some words can lose one letter at a time and a meaningful word remains. For example, drama can become dram, then ram, then am, then a. The National Puzzlers’ League has several specific names for this: If...
The verb substitute has very different understandings depending on the prepositional company it keeps. For example, ask a barista, Can I substitute regular milk for lactose-free milk? and you’re usually asking for regular milk, not lactose-free...
So you think you can spell? Youngsters in modern spelling bees are expected to memorize a wide range of words, from chemical processes to names of rare animals. Also: In many languages, the word for “mother” begins with the letter M —...
Old. Elderly. Senior. Why are we so uncomfortable when we talk about reaching a certain point in life? An 82-year-old seeks a more positive term to describe how she feels about her age. And: a linguist helps solve a famous kidnapping case, using the...
A baby’s first word is often a cherished milestone, but some cultures pay more attention to other firsts, like a baby’s first laugh. A fascinating new book by a linguist examines language at the beginning and the end of life. Plus, the...