Whippoorwills, bob whites, and chickadees. How do we decide the names of birds and what to call their calls? Plus, the last syllables of Arkansas and Kansas are pronounced differently, but they come from the same etymological root. And: What’s the...
Annie from Omaha, Nebraska, and her partner have been using the Merlin Bird ID app to study and identify birds. This makes them wonder how birds get their names and about the shorthand used to describe their calls. Bird-call mnemonics often use an...
Following our conversation about the secret cup code of the old Harvey House restaurant chain, a listener in Minneapolis, Minnesota, shares a far more complicated and efficient restaurant code, the elaborate plate marking system used at Waffle House...
Need a mnemonic to remember difference between the spelling of the palate in your mouth and an artist’s palette? Associate the one in your mouth with the past tense of the verb to eat. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Palate vs...
What’s the best way for someone busy to learn lots of new words quickly for a test like the GRE? Looking up their origins can help. Or, record yourself reading the words and definitions and play them back while you’re doing other chores. • Book...
On our Facebook group, a listener asks if anyone else’s children have been taught the term fanboy, meaning a coordinating conjunction. These connecting words include f or, a nd, n or, b ut, o r, y et, and s o, and a helpful way to remember them is...