An eponymous law is a joking bit of wisdom named after someone, like Murphy’s Law, which states “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Eponymous Laws” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the...
Imagine a time when heroin was marketed for the whole family. It really happened! Also, how Twitter, M&M’s, and Hallmark cards got their names. Plus, restaurant slang, bad juju, having a wild hair, cutting to the quick, and use vs. utilize.
Nancy Friedman, who writes the blog Fritinancy, tweeted this haiku for National Grammar Day: “Dear yoga teacher/ if you say down once more/ I’ll hurt you, no lie.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Haiku for Yoga Teacher” I have...
Jeremy Dick, a listener from Victoria, Australia, grew up in Canada loving the movie The Mighty Ducks. But once he moved down under, he realized the Aussies call it Champions. What’s that all about? Do Australians not think ducks are mighty? TV...
Hallmark Cards got its name from Joyce C. Hall, who bought an engraving shop along with his brothers in 1910. Would it have taken off had they just called it Hall Cards? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Naming Hallmark” We talked...
Andy from Independence, Missouri, inherited a toe-counting rhyme from his grandfather: Tom Pumpkin, Long Larkin, Betty Pringle, Johnny Jingle, and Little Dick. The exact source is unknown, but it fits a lively family of English and Scandinavian toe...
