Stefan Fatsis has made a career out of participatory journalism. For his book Word Freak (Bookshop|Amazon) about the world of competitive Scrabble, he became an expert player. For A Few Seconds of Panic: A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL...
A high-schooler asks: Why do we say throw someone under the bus when we’re talking about an act of betrayal. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”Throwing Someone Under the Bus” Has a Complicated History” Hello, you have A Way with...
Puzzling over the New York Times Spelling Bee, Jordan in Cheyenne, Wyoming, played the word pipped, but was surprised that the game disallowed it. He remembers hearing the word in stories about the historic 1954 Miracle Mile race between Sir Roger...
Carl in Vancouver, British Columbia, wonders if it’s incorrect to use the word meat to denote the edible part of an egg. Meat can indeed be used to denote the edible part of a nut, a fruit, or an egg. In Middle English, the word meat referred to any...
A Houston, Texas, woman wants to know, “Why are there so many different dictionaries?” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Why Are There So Many Dictionaries?” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hey, this is Linda Taylor from Houston...
A listener in Port Washington, Wisconsin, asks: When is it appropriate to get rid of an old edition of a dictionary? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Discarding and Replacing Dictionaries” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Good...