Is subscribing just for magazines and podcasts, or can you subscribe to an idea? A husband and wife disagree over whether the latter is grammatically correct. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Subscribing to an Idea” Hi, you have A...
On a recent episode of Mad Men, a character said “keep me in the loop.” Was that phrase really around in the 1960s? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “In the Loop” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Mark from San Diego...
Howdy! In this week's archive episode: Do you know the meaning of "McGimpers"? How about "geetus"? We discuss these and other examples of underworld slang from the 1930s. In this show, crime novelist James Ellroy stops by to...
A Fort Worth listener wonders about a claim she saw in a 1930s magazine. The article said that traditionally, a picket line was an area between the front lines of two opposing armies where soldiers might safely venture out to pick berries without...
South African English is a rich mix of Afrikaans, English, and indigenous languages such as Zulu and Xhosa. Martha and Grant discuss some favorite terms from that part of the world, including lekker, diski, and ubuntu. Also, where’d we get the term...
The hosts discuss Ammon Shea’s recent New York Times Magazine column about whether a large vocabulary filled with obscure and unusual words is all that necessary. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Large, Obscure Vocabulary” You’re...
