The Pope has several Twitter feeds — and one of them’s entirely in Latin! But how do you adapt an ancient language to the modern world of selfies and hashtags? Plus, pit bull lovers are giving their dogs a linguistic makeover;...
In parts of the South, it’s not uncommon to end a sentence about a dilemma with the word one, short for one or the other, as in “I’m going to quit my job or get fired, one.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
What the fox says may be a mystery, but we do know that dogs bark differently around the world. In China, for example, they say not bow-wow but wang wang. Also, the story behind the British tradition of scrumping. It’s not a middle school...
To mash the brake or mash the elevator button comes from a Southern instance of mash meaning “to press something hard.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Mash the Brake” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Jane in Monticello, Florida, asks about nairn in sentences such as I don’t want nairn, meaning “I don’t want any.” The word is usually spelled nairn and is a contraction of never a one, and related to nary. It has been used for hundreds of years...
Sondra, calling from Columbus, Georgia, remembered her mother saying don’t be messing and gauming with that, usually about food. The phrase means dawdling, puttering, or getting into trouble and is heard primarily in the US South. The gauming part...