The word cria refers to “a baby llama,” and derives from Spanish criar, meaning “to rear” or “to raise” a young animal. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Cria, the Llama Baby” Grant, I just learned the meaning of the word Kriag. C-R...
Jodi, a native of California’s Central Valley, grew up using the word erp (or urp or earp) for vomiting—only to discover as a child that no one outside her family had heard it. The Dictionary of American Regional English documents urp as...
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
Stefan Fatsis has made a career out of participatory journalism. For his book Word Freak (Bookshop|Amazon) about the world of competitive Scrabble, he became an expert player. For A Few Seconds of Panic: A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL...
The word dezzick is defined in an 1875 dictionary of the Sussex dialect as “a day’s work.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “It’s All in a Dezzick” That 1875 dictionary of the Sussex dialect that I mentioned earlier has so many...
Lisa calls from Huntsville, Alabama, to say that whenever Lisa was looking sharp in an attractive dress, one “tight enough to show that you’re a woman and loose enough to show that you’re a lady,” her mother would compliment her by saying her dress...

