A Havertown, Pennsylvania, listener wonders why her mother used to answer queries about how she was doing with phrase that sounded like either fair to midland or fair to middling. Middling has long meant “just OK” or “right in the middle,” and the...
Do you pronounce crayon like crown? This common variation tends to be a Midlands pronunciation. Americans may pronounce this word several ways, as this dialect map shows. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Dialects of Crayon” Hello...
If you’re fair to middling (or with the g dropped: fair to middlin’), you’re doing just fine. A native of the Tennessee mountains wonders about the origin of this phrase her good-humored grandfather used. As it turns out, fair to middling was one of...
Does anyone use the expression “fat chance” anymore? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fat Chance” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, my name is Fran Sherpa, and I’m from Midland, Texas. Well, hello, Fran. Welcome to the program...
For true word nerds, it’s a guilty pleasure. You meet a stranger, and you find yourself listening closely to that person’s way of speaking as you try to guess the accent. Martha and Grant confess they play “Name That Accent” all the time in the...
yo-yo financing n.— «The consumer signed a financing contract with the dealer without fully understanding the terms, or the contract was incomplete or not in writing. The customer assumes the credit deal is finalized and the car is theirs. The auto...
