Bathroom walls, missing graffiti, and social media. Where have all the cute quips on bathroom stalls gone? We wonder about the apparent decline of restroom graffiti. Are people saving their witticisms for Twitter and Facebook? And: If there were a...
Cyril Northcote Parkinson’s Law should be familiar to anyone who’s ever been assigned a minor task and a long weekend to get it done— “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript...
You’ve noticed work seems to expand to fill the time given to complete it. But did you know there’s a term for that? Also this week, the New England exclamation “So don’t I!,” grey vs. gray, building storeys, being squiffy, having chops, getting...
Why do we adjust our working pace to the timelines we’re given? The late Cyril Northcote Parkinson explained the phenomenon in his 1955 Economist piece, calling it Parkinson’s Law. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Parkinson’s Law”...
Grant and Martha discuss a new term, bike-shedding, and an old one, tohubohu. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bike-Shedding” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette. And I’m Grant Barrett. Martha, for one of the...