When a child reaches a milestone like graduation, the proud and excited feeling can come with sadness because they’re leaving that stage of life. A Berea, Kentucky, listener proposes the portmanteau sad-abration, combining the words...
“Are we ready to order yet?” Why do restaurant servers use the word “we” when they’re not eating with you or helping you pay the bill? And a story of Cold War intrigue: A young saxophone player’s clever ruse to smuggle information past KGB...
A new book about how animals perceive their environment reveals immense worlds beyond our own. A bee can see ultraviolet light, catfish have taste buds all over their bodies, and manatees use highly sensitive lips to examine nearby objects. Also...
How long can a newly married woman be called a bride? Does bride apply only as long as her wedding day, or does it extend right on through the couple’s silver anniversary and beyond? Plus, insightful advice about writing from a Pulitzer...
Why would some Spanish speakers use adaptations of certain English words when perfectly good Spanish words for the same thing already exist? Plus, handy terms in a dictionary of the Sussex dialect from 150 years ago: Back then, a dezzick was “a...
Spredge is a portmanteau word, a blend of sprayed and edge, and refers to decorative spraying of the edges of book pages, a trend in book design. These are historically similar to fore-edge paintings. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript...