Upsitting once meant the first occasion when a new mother sat up to receive visitors after childbirth and confinement, sometimes with food and a feast. William Charles Baldwin’s 1863 African Hunting, From Natal to Zambesi records another use among...
Have a question about objective pronouns? Whom ya gonna call? Wait–is that right? Or would it be “who ya gonna call”? “Whom” may be technically correct, but insisting on it can get you called an elitist. It’s...
The hosts talk about the tricks they use to remember how to spell certain words. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Spelling Tricks” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett. And I’m...
A “red letter day” is a special occasion. Martha explains how this term came to be. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Red Letter Day” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Janet from San Diego...
o-beer-time n.— Note: Seems to be similar to “beer o’clock” and “beer thirty,” which also mean “an instance of, or an occasion suitable for, drinking.” «It was already understood that the crowd in...
cadillac v. in baseball, to run in an unhurried, showy way; generally, to perform or operate lackadaisically, carelessly, or without worry. Editorial Note: An older meaning of “cadillac” is “to drive a car; to drive someone around...
