Sneaky contract lingo, advice for writing well, and preserving a dying language. Say you’re scrolling through an online transaction where you’re asked to read the “Terms and Conditions.” Do you actually read them or just check the...
When you get to the stage of an online transaction where you’re asked to read the “Terms and Conditions,” do you actually read them? Or do you just check the box and move on? A London security firm once offered free use of a WiFi...
A question from a listener on the A Way with Words Facebook page has Martha musing about the entomological and etymological connections between the word pupil and the pupal stage of an insect’s life.
In the theater, actors who forget their lines are said to “go up” or to “go up on their lines.” But why go up? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Go Up On Lines” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
performal adj.— «“There’s a macho performal nature that some of these people crave,” she said. “And what better a performance than the blood and guts of butchery?”» —“Young Idols With Cleavers Rule the Stage” by Kim...
sexual anorexia n.— «Your husband’s behavior is actually very common for people who have a sexual addiction. There is a term for it: Sexual Anorexia—he starves you sexually because he no longer needs you—he has videos which don’t demand...