Isaac from Portland, Oregon, asks whether the workplace verb for tossing ideas around is spitball or spiffball. The standard form is spitball, from the schoolroom trick of wadding up paper, moistening it with saliva, and launching it at a wall or...
Many public speakers, including President Obama, have developed a reputation for using the reduplicative copula. You know, that thing where he says, “the thing of it is, is…” In wonky speak, this is what happens when a cleft...
Hello, language-lovers — This past weekend’s episode is a delicious re-airing of a show from last spring, tackling great catchprases, Fibber McGee drawers, autocorrected text messages, annoying verbal fillers (“um”) and a...
In the Pacific Northwest, the term spendy means “expensive.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Spendy” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Joseph, downtown San Diego. Well, Joseph, welcome to the...
Bubbler, meaning water fountain, is strongly associated with eastern Wisconsin and Rhode Island, where John from Minneapolis grew up saying it as bubbla. One early trail leads to the Kohler Company in Wisconsin, which introduced a bubbling valve...
drifting n.— «Sheriff’s Deputy Paul McRedmond says Kevin Enderlin was speeding in a car that crossed the centerline on a southeast Portland road and collided with a van. McRedmond says investigators believe Enderlin might have been...