John from San Diego, California, grew up hearing be-bopping for wandering from place to place, running around, or going about without much of a plan. The expression, also shortened to bopping, appears to draw on bebop and jazz slang, with the same...
When Sean in New York City contemplated telling his boss he wasn’t coming into work the next day, he texted a friend that he might bang out sick. He wonders about the phrase, which he picked up from his father, a police dispatcher in New York City...
Erin grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, but when she moved to New York City, she found that people often told her she pronounces Erin as if it’s spelled like the masculine name Aaron. Has Erin been pronouncing her own name wrong all these years? In...
Nick in Palm Springs, California, wonders about the phrase Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. Springing up the 1970s, the saying been there, done that is sometimes followed by any of several variants, including got the T-shirt; worn the T...
How do you pronounce the word aunt? In most of the United States, it’s pronounced to sound just like the word ant. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pronouncing “Aunt”” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Oh, good afternoon. How are you...
Our conversation about orts, that term well-known to cruciverbalists for “random bits of leftover food,” prompts listeners to share memories of ort buckets in the dining hall at summer camps, and instructions to keep them as free as possible of food...
