Ashley from Berea, Kentucky, wonders about her father’s use of nords, apparently to mean “in other words.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nords in Other Words” Hey there, you have A Way with Words...
Among academics, the word planful is used to describe someone methodical or skilled at planning. Whether this term catches on in the same way that the count nouns learnings has remains to be seen. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Preheat, as in preheat the oven, doesn’t mean “heat before heating.” It’s a single word with a concrete idea, akin to “prepay.” It’s perfectly acceptable to use. This is part of a complete episode...
Emcee, or “Master of Ceremonies,” is one of many cases where the initials of something are spelled out phonetically, like okay, deejay, jaycee, or Arby’s. Although every letter of the alphabet can be sounded out this way, few words...
What makes a word a word? If something’s not in the dictionary, you might not be able to use it in Scrabble. But dictionaries aren’t the last word on whether a word is legitimate. If you use a word that someone else understands, then...
Is versing, meaning “competing against someone,” a real verb? In the past thirty years, this term has grown in popularity because versus, when spoken, sounds like a conjugated verb. So youngsters especially will talk about one team getting ready to...