If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn’t that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possible? Maybe for a minute or so—until new words and phrases start springing up. Also, did you ever...
What do darts, flubs, and maids have in common? Our Quiz Guy John Chaneski puts it to us in a game of rhymes. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Word Group Rhyme Quiz” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and...
A listener in Brazil challenges Martha’s pronunciation of the odd English word antipodes. Their email exchange leads Martha to muse about a favorite collection of poems, where she first encountered this word.
YAWN n.— «Now a new generation of the seriously rich has emerged, but with a difference: the ostentation has gone. The new breed is self-made, socially aware, concerned about the planet and gives a lot of money to charity. They are the...
hootlessness n.— «We also gravitate from win-lose to win-win. We are attracted to goals and actions that are for our own highest and best good, and for the highest and best good of everyone—including the planet as a whole. Lester Levenson, the...
foobie n.— «She’s getting foobies. In case you didn’t know (I didn’t—what planet do I live on?) “foobies” is a term for fake boobies.» —“Happily Even After: A blog for Seattle’s Committed: Got Foobies?” by Janna Cawrse Seattle Post...