Is it grammatically correct for a high school football team to call itself the Vanguards? A Wisconsin listener argues that Vanguard is already a plural noun. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Vanguards” Hello, you...
Ever hear a broadcast where the announcer enunciates a little too precisely? Grant and Martha discuss the effect of softening syllables, such as “prolly” for “probably,” and “wanna” for “want to.” This...
Evan in Madison, Wisconsin, learned that peruse means to read closely and carefully but keeps hearing it used for a quick skim. The older sense was even stronger, meaning to use thoroughly, use up, or exhaust, and then later to pore over a text long...
The hosts tackle a longstanding mystery about the word shoshabong. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Shoshabong” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Helene from Madison, Wisconsin. Hello, Helene. Welcome. Welcome...
Chester drawers is a common reshaping of chest of drawers, especially when the furniture name has been learned by ear rather than from print. Jessica in Madison, Wisconsin, grew up near St. Louis and thought it might simply be a style name, like...
A Wisconsin man says he learned an expression that sounds like quixibar from his father to describe something confusing or befuddling. But he’s never heard anyone else use it. Is it unique to his family? This is part of a complete episode...