Melissa in Grand Prairie, Texas, hails from a family in New Jersey that refers to red pasta sauce with meat in it as gravy. Her family has Italian roots, and in their local dialect, the word for “sauce” can also be translated as...
Beth in Spring Hill, Tennessee, grew up saying bedroom suite and was startled to hear bedroom suit in Georgia and Tennessee. Both forms can mean a matching group of bedroom furniture. Bedroom suit is especially associated with the American South...
Carol from Falmouth, Massachusetts, is curious about this bit of wisdom from her father: As you travel through life, whatever your goal, keep your eye on the doughnut, and not on the hole. The Mayflower Coffee Shop chain, based in New Jersey and New...
Stacy in Eureka, California, wonders: what’s the proper way to pronounce the word bury? Should it rhyme with jury or cherry? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pronouncing Bury” Hello, you have A Way with...
A 1909 newspaper article from the Paterson, New Jersey, Morning Call recounts the story of a runaway teen who was living the life of Riley — if only briefly. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “1909 Life of Riley” We were...
In the United States alone, there are 15 different pronunciations of the word water! This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pronunciations of Water” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Oh, hi, this is Toni. I’m from San...