Martha and Grant discuss a strange new word making the rounds: lecondel. This is part of a complete episode.
scrim n.— «“Scrims” were a new word to me. They are shallow areas of gently flowing water (the water comes out from one side and drains at the opposite side). These are only about 1/8-inch deep, shallower than the sole of a shoe. Besides...
There's a new online-only episode of "A Way with Words" today: a half-hour "New Word Open Mic" from the 2007 Dictionary Society of North America conference, during which all comers were invited to step up to the...
In June, Grant attended the biennial meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America. One of the highlights was the New Word Open Mic where anybody was invited to step up to the microphone and submit a new word they had coined or found. Grant was...
globfrag n.— «Maybe you’ve heard of globfrag. Coined from the words globalization and fragmentation, globfrag means that scattered and uncertain state of mind created by increased technology and contradictory knowledge. It means the...
spankophile n.— «I use the work spanko a lot and I don’t think there is anything derogatory about it. I assume it is a shortened form of spankophile. I don’t know what word you could use to replace it since it is one of the few words that...