For language lovers, it’s like New Year’s, Fourth of July, and the Super Bowl all rolled into one: The brand-new online edition of the Dictionary of American Regional English. Martha and Grant explain what all the fuss is about. Plus...
Our Quiz Guy Greg Pliska has a game of cryptic crossword clues called Double Definition. For example, if the clue is “trim a tree,” the answer is “spruce.” Or try this one: “crazy flying mammals.” Did you come up...
“Only the grass dies when elephants fight.” This Liberian proverb is a reminder that it’s the powerless who suffer when governments or factions fight. This is part of a complete episode.
A listener was confused when she heard a radio announcer say a man had “Amanda Lynn” in his hands, only to find out that it was “a mandolin.” These funny misheard phrases are called mondegreens, a term coined in Sylvia...
Should you pronounce the word coyote with two syllables or three? This is part of a complete episode.
A Dallas listener says he was confused at first when a friend from rural North Dakota reported coming home and finding a moose in his kitchen. Only later did he learn what difference the so-called Canadian raising of a vowel can make. More about...