A few weeks ago, a listener was looking for a term to describe the copy of The Emperor’s New Clothes that he’d read many times as a child. In this picture book, the naughty bits were always cleverly covered up. Thinking he wanted a synonym for “fig...
Gina from Dallas, Texas, asks about a family Scrabble dispute with her English-teacher sister: is the comparative form stupider, or should it be more stupid? Usage guides allow both forms, along with the superlative stupidest. Longer adjectives...
Which is correct: mothers-in-law or mother-in-laws? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Mothers-in-Law vs. Mother-in-Laws” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Louise. I’m in Rancho Bernardo, a suburb of San Diego. Hi, Louise...
MTV n.— «“You can get Viread at many gay bars or clubs,” says Bob Adams, managing editor of The Advocate‘s sister publication HIV Plus, adding that when it is sold along with Viagra and crystal meth the combination is known as “MTV”—meth...
deer fast n.— «She recalled how the boy began to cry because he was so thirsty, but he still refused water. Many Iraqi parents try out what is known as “deer fasting,” probably based on a belief that deer eat less during the summer, to get...
cannibalizing n.— «More worryingly, the conglomerate is continuing its use of a business practice known as “cannibalising,” whereby new stores are opened in close proximity to existing branches. The intention of this is that sister stores will...
