What’s the one word that comes to mind when you hear the name J. D. Salinger? Masterpiece? Recluse? How about the F-word? An Indianapolis listener came across an article about Salinger’s use of that word, and that got him wondering about...
Caitlin from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, grew up calling the children’s message-passing game Whisper Down the Lane, but classmates knew it as Whisper Down the Alley, Telephone, or Broken Telephone. No firm U.S. regional boundary is known, although...
Sheila in Billings, Montana, noticed that she and her husband, both from Colorado, use the two-syllable pronunciation of coyote, something like /KYE-oat/, while their children back East hear the three-syllable version more often, more or less /kye...
Hockey mom? Staycation? Recessionista? What’s your choice for Word of the Year 2008? Also, what expression do you use to describe when it’s raining but the sun is still shining?
We asked you to tell us about odd regional food names, and boy did you oblige! Martha reads some of your letters about whoopie pies, hot tamales, pretzel salad, coolers, and the frappe vs. milkshake controversy.
For true word nerds, it’s a guilty pleasure. You meet a stranger, and you find yourself listening closely to that person’s way of speaking as you try to guess the accent. Martha and Grant confess they play “Name That Accent”...