Mark from Los Angeles, California, asks about gank, slang for stealing, as in ganking someone’s fries. The verb is strongly associated with African American Vernacular English and appears in hip-hop lyrics at least as early as a 1987 NWA song...
Jawn is a term common in Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey that refers to a thing, team, show, group, or pretty much any item. It’s a variant of joint, as in, a Spike Lee joint. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Jawn” Hello, you...
A recent study found that some names crop up more frequently than others in certain professions. The name William is especially common among attorneys–and graphic designers include a higher-than-average number of Jessicas. Plus, picturesque idioms...
Why steal something insignificant when you can brodie it? This slang term means basically the same thing. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Brodie” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, how are you? Hi, I’m doing fine. Who’s this...
The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar. It was tense. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Grammar Joke” This email just came in from Jeff in Philadelphia. Ready? The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar...
It’s another newsletter from “A Way with Words.” Woot! In last weekend’s episode: Is it wrong to type two spaces after a period? We arm-wrestle over that, and talk about the odd language in “True Grit.” Also, “shut your pie-hole,” Southern Grammar...