Some business owners give their establishments names like “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe.” What most people don’t realize is that the letter Y in this case is a vestige of a letter we no longer use, and has a “th” sound. More...
Hi, all! In this week's archive episode, do you know the term "bike-shedding"? How about "tohubohu"? The former refers to being inappropriately focused on the minutiae of a project instead of the bigger picture (handy...
Greetings! In this week's archive episode: do you think the Associated Press Stylebook is too stuffy? Then you'll love Fake AP Stylebook, the online send-up that features such faux journalistic advice as "The plural of apostrophe is...
Hi from Martha and Grant! In our latest show, we talk about games that first made us realize that goofing with words and letters is fun. Martha recalls discovering the "F U N E X" word puzzle and Grant describes doing anagrams and...
Mike in Seattle grew up in Sitka, Alaska, and wonders whether there really is an Alaskan accent or just a mix of voices brought by newcomers. Alaskan English has regional pockets, but many speakers share features with western Canadian English and...
Everybody has a nickname, and there’s usually a story to go with it. Martha and Grant reveal their own nicknames and the stories behind them. Also, is the expression “heebie-jeebies” anti-Semitic? And is there a better word than...