A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a certain political persuasion? Also, is there something wrong with the phrase committed suicide? Some say that the word commit is a painful reminder...
An Omaha, Nebraska man wonders about starting a sentence with the word anymore, meaning “nowadays.” Linguists refer to this usage as positive anymore, which is common in much of the Midwest and stems from Scots-Irish syntax. This is part...
A 1957 story by James Thurber includes a sentence with oddly stranded prepositions. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Stranded Prepositions” Earlier, we were talking about prepositional pileups, like it’s really...
The exhortation grab a root and growl is a way of telling someone to buck up and do what must be done. The sense of grabbing and growling here suggests the kind of tenacity you might see in a terrier sinking his teeth into something and refusing to...
Why do so many people begin their sentences with the word so? This sentence-initial so (as it’s known) can play lots of roles. We’ve talked about it before, too. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “So at the...
What does a person really mean when she starts a statement with “to be honest with you”? It’s important not to take such expressions too literally. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “To Be Honest With...