Greetings, workers of the world! This is another newsletter from A Way with Words. This past weekend's show was re-run about the secret words of families. Give it a spin: We also talked about "knocked up," "the real...
tuppercare n.— «Desperae to find foster carers? Try having a party, but not just any old party. Oh, no, it’s time for tuppercare, a term inspired by the marketing strategy devised to sell plastic boxes to housewives from the 1940s onwards...
parachuting n.— «Consequently, they engage in a dangerous practice—known as parachuting—whereby they defecate in plastic (lada) bags and throw them into the large uncovered drains which run through several sections of the community...
obesogen n.— «One key researcher in the field, Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irvine, has even coined a new word for chemicals that can make you fat: Obesogens.» —“Is plastic making us fat?” by Is plastic...
Get out your plastic utensils and pull up a folding chair! A caller’s question about the origin of the word potluck stirs up mouthwatering memories of crispy fried chicken, warm peach cobbler, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows. Okay, the Jell...
In this episode, Grant offers a peek at some expressions he’s nominating for the American Dialect Society’s 2007 Word of the Year vote in January, 2008. Will it be w00t, subprime, or something else? You can also check out Grant’s...