What do you call someone who doesn’t eat fish? A caller wants to know, but not because of dietary requirements. He’s a string bass player who plays in an ensemble that’s tired of being asked to perform Schubert’s famous composition, the Trout...
What did Shakespeare’s plays sound like in his day? An acting teacher with an interest in dialects wants to know how researchers reconstruct Elizabethan speech. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “How Shakespeare...
What do you eat at a jitney supper? Jitney? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Contents of a Jitney Supper” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Keith from Pendleton, Indiana. Hi, Keith. Welcome to the program...
Quiz Guy Greg Pliska presents a puzzle about the Oxcar awards, given to fictitious films, the names of which differ by just one letter from the names of the real 2010 Best Picture Oscar nominees. Here’s one such plot: “George Clooney...
Proverbs pack great truths into a few well-chosen words, no matter which language you speak. Check out this one from Belize: “Don’t call the alligator a big-mouth till you have crossed the river.” And this truism from Zanzibar:...
According to a listener in San Diego, when a DJ plays a great set, he’s said to rinse it. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rinse It” Martha, Sasha in San Diego wrote to share a little slang with us. Sasha is a...