Hi, all -- In this week's archive edition, we talked about "pooflapoo pie" vs. "Watergate salad," "more" vs. "most," "stalactite" vs. "stalagmite," weather proverbs, and tricks...
Martha shares an email from a longtime listener, Lois Teeslink of Vista, California, about a favorite childhood librarian. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Favorite Librarian” You’re listening to A Way with Words...
Does an avid reader pore or pour over a book? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pore vs. Pour” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, my name is Sheila. I live in Indianapolis. Hi, Sheila. Welcome to the program. Thank...
What does nonplussed mean, exactly? Does it mean “unflappable” or “at a loss.” Martha and Grant disagree about its use. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nonplussed” Hello, you have A Way with...
Good poetry is even better when you read it aloud. For his anthology, Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky selected works with just that in mind. Martha and Grant discuss a poem from the...
Evan in Madison, Wisconsin, learned that peruse means to read closely and carefully but keeps hearing it used for a quick skim. The older sense was even stronger, meaning to use thoroughly, use up, or exhaust, and then later to pore over a text long...