A young listener once asked if there was a single word for “a combination of being nervous but also excited” about something. Listeners offered several of their own coinages, including nervouscited. Another helpful term along these lines might be...
Ever read a sentence that’s so good, you just have to look up from the page to let it sink in? Grant offers one from Ezra Pound: “The book should be a ball of light in one’s hands.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Most Interesting...
When politicians, authority figures, or bureaucrats ignore those who need help, they’re said to be sitting high and looking low. This idiom, almost exclusive to the African-American community, goes back to 1970s. It’s also used in a religious sense...
There’s a story going around about a 19th Century priest named Giuseppe Mezzofanti who claimed to speak forty to fifty languages. Hyperpolyglots, or those who speak six or more languages fluently, offer some key insights into learnings language...
magicology n.— «Teller was one of the coauthors, and its publication was a signal event in a field some researchers are calling magicology, the mining of stage illusions for insights into brain function.» —“Magic and the Brain: Teller Reveals the...
Martha talks about a favorite Latin-based word: pandiculation. It’s a term that means “the stretching that accompanies yawning.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pandiculation” So, do you know what pandiculation is, Grant...