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You know that odd feeling when you’ve listened to a radio personality for years, but when you finally meet them, they look nothing like you’d imagined? Is there a word for that weird disconnect? Radiofreude, maybe? Hostbusters? This is...
In a 1936 episode of Jack Benny’s radio show, a woman says that her father sprained his ankle the night before while truckin’. This has an A Way with Words listener confused; she thought trucking was a term from the 1970s. Grant clears...
One of the Olsen twins does it, some public radio hosts do it, and at least one former U.S. president does it. Grant describes the curious speech trait linguists call “creaky voice.” This is part of a complete episode.
A commuter hears a radio report about an organization that’s “giving away condoms like they were going out of style.” But, he wonders, if they’re really “going out of style,” then why are they so popular...
Finally, to great effect, your unaffected radio hosts explain the difference between affect and effect. This is part of a complete episode.
dangle n.— «Griffin was a big guy, even without the bulky body armor, helmet, and “dangle”—what soldiers call the bits of gear that they clip, strap, or otherwise buckle to their uniforms. He had half a dozen rifle magazines...