You’ve seen people indicate emphasis by putting a period after each of several words, and capitalizing the first letter of each word. A Michigan listener wonders how this stylistic trick arose. Her question was prompted by this description of French...
old settler n.— «Opening tonight in Warner Robins is “The Old Settler,” a love story set in Harlem in the 1940s. “Old Settler” is said to be a pejorative term for an aging unmarried woman.» —“Midstate’s calendar offers variety of cultural...
Greg Pliska’s quiz about terms from football, curling, and other sports leaves Martha and Grant winded but wanting more. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Double Plays Sports Quiz” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha...
suspenser n.— «“Mauritius” caters efficiently to a hunger that Broadway hasn’t been gratifying in recent years. That’s the corkscrew-twist drama of suspense, a genre that was a theatrical staple for much of the 20th century.…And “Mauritius” is head...
spanko n.— «I use the work spanko a lot and I don’t think there is anything derogatory about it. I assume it is a shortened form of spankophile. I don’t know what word you could use to replace it since it is one of the few words that can refer to...
spankophile n.— «I use the work spanko a lot and I don’t think there is anything derogatory about it. I assume it is a shortened form of spankophile. I don’t know what word you could use to replace it since it is one of the few words that can refer...
