If you want to be a better writer, try skipping today’s bestsellers, and read one from the 1930’s instead. Or read something besides fiction in order to find your own metaphors and perspective. Plus, just because a city’s name...
A bible lump, or a bible bump, is a ganglion cyst that sometimes forms on the wrist. It’s also called a book cyst, the reason being that people sometimes try to smash them with a book, but don’t try this at home! This is part of a...
Help support A Way with Words broadcasts and podcasts by making a donation now. Dear friends, Last week we sent out a simple survey to tens of thousands of A Way with Words listeners and fans. Our goal: to find out your consensus on the state of the...
It’s hard enough to get a new word into the dictionary. But what happens when lawmakers get involved? New Jersey legislators passed a resolution as part of an anti-bullying campaign urging dictionary companies to adopt the word upstander. It...
Ever try to write a well-known passage in limerick form? It’s harder than you think. How about this one: “There once was a lady who’s sure / All that glitters is golden and pure/ There’s a stairway that heads up to heaven...
Savannah from Richmond, Virginia, heard a home video in which her great-grandmother from rural Central Texas called a male relative someone’s old scratch, then seemed embarrassed. Old Scratch means the devil or Satan, and in that family context, it...

