Grant gives Martha a pop quiz about the meaning of the English word opifex. And no, it’s not a hoofed African quadruped. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Opifex” Hey, you want to hear a word I just learned? Oh...
phenomenalia n.— «What hath The Wiggles wrought? In the etymology of pop-culture phenomenalia, crystallized with the Aussie happy-feet band in the colored skivvies, born of the wistful singalongs in the original MM Club—M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U...
Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words. This one's full of soda-fountain goodness! Let's just say right out of the gate that, judging by the emails and phone calls, the top call for this past weekend's show was the one...
BUI n.— «So Mr. Roy still lives near campus, in a 10-foot-by-12-foot room, and rides his bicycle to college house parties. (Drunken riders get B.U.I.’s—“biking under the influence” tickets.) He plays in a band that “sounds like Tom...
looner n.— «Balloon fetishists, or “looners,” as they call themselves, are sharply divided on the issue of “to pop or not to pop” and “flame wars over the issue take up a significant amount of space on the...
lollie booze n.— «The Government at the weekend increased the tax on pre-mixed drinks, often known as alco-pops or lollie-booze, in a bid to reduce binge drinking among particular demographics.» —“Cigarette tax could also go up:...