A San Diego woman who’s homeschooling her children wonders if there’s a formula that explains why nouns like teacher and writer end in “er,” while others, like professor and conductor, end in “or.” She suspects it...
storm trooping n.— «The storm blew in right over our heads from the west. Skiing in light jackets over T-shirts in the morning, we were what the locals call “storm trooping” by the end of the day.» —“When good snow goes...
Greetings, oh wordy ones! We're on vacation, so this past weekend's broadcast was a repeat--uh, "encore presentation"--that originally aired December 2nd and 3rd. It's the one in which we geek-out over...
A San Diego listener has a weird word on her mind: biffy (meaning “toilet”). This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Biffy for Toilets, Outhouses, and Porta-Potties” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Megan...
obex n.— «Like if a gay couple apply for ordination, that would clearly be an obex [obex is Latin term meaning “hindrance”].» —“‘You don’t harass them’” California Catholic Daily (San Diego, California) Nov...
A reader of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential thinks the book is snarky—but what does snarky really mean? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Snarky, Narky, and the Nose-in-the-Air Family of Sn-Words” Hi, you...