At a Seattle, Washington, tech company, Vivian finds that she and her fellow employees are continually vexed by this question: Does bimonthly mean “once every two weeks” or “once every two months”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Is it worth using proper pronunciation if it makes you sound ignorant or misinformed? Contrary to the common understanding, the word forte is actually pronounced “fort.” Grant describes forte as a skunked word; it’s a losing situation no matter how...
A transplant from Zimbabwe finds the word irregardless annoying and ungrammatical. Grant explains that regardless of its status, “irregardless” is needlessly redundant. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Regardless vs. Irregardless”...
A caller was taught that peruse means to examine closely and carefully, but increasingly hears people use it to mean skim quickly. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Different Uses of Peruse” Hello, you’ve got A Way with Words. Hi...
Does the expression “call a spade a spade” have racist roots? Martha explains that it derives from an ancient Greek phrase, but cautions against its use nevertheless. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Call a Spade a Spade” Hello...
