Why do some people pronounce the word sixth as “sikth”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”Sixth” Pronounced as “Sikth”” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Augusta calling from Denver. Hey, Augusta, welcome to the show. What...
The Dictionary of American Regional English traces you-uns, a plural form of you, to the Midlands and the Ohio River Valley. But the phrase goes back a while; even Chaucer used something similar. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Feeling fankled? It’s a Scots English word that means “messed up” or “confused.” In this week’s episode, Grant and Martha also discuss a whole litter of synonyms for dust bunny, a slew of different terms for the piece of playground equipment you...
Feeling fankled? It’s a Scots English word that means “messed up” or “confused.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fankled” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette. And I’m Grant Barrett. Earlier this year, we...
A new resident of Pittsburgh is startled by some of the dialect there, like yinz instead of “you” for the second person plural, and nebby for “nosy.” What’s up with that? For a wonderful site about the dialect of that area, check out Pittsburgh...
If you’ve used the word sickly too many times in a paragraph and need a synonym, there’s always dauncy, also spelled donsie and dauncy. Grant explains the origin of this queasy-sounding word. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
