Long before English speakers adopted the suffix –orama, as in Scoutorama and smell-o-rama, there was the French word panorama referring to “a great display or spectacle.” Panorama comes from Greek words that mean “whole view.” University of Alabama...
For language lovers, it’s like New Year’s, Fourth of July, and the Super Bowl all rolled into one: The brand-new online edition of the Dictionary of American Regional English. Martha and Grant explain what all the fuss is about. Plus, the debate...
Thanks to the fatberg-a 15-ton blob of fat and grease found in a London sewer-the -berg suffix lives on. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fatberg” You know I should have mentioned this word on the air at the time it happened, but...
Washateria, a Texas word for a self-service laundry, puzzled Erica in Indianapolis after she moved from Houston and found everyone saying Laundromat. Both words have trademark histories: Laundromat began as a brand name, and a Texas chain called...
“I’ll be there at three-ish.” “That shirt is bluish.” “It wasn’t a house— but it was house-ish.” OK, but what in the world does ish mean, exactly? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Defining -Ish” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Is it acceptable to make a brand-new adverb simply by adding an -ly to an adjective? A scientist wants to know, and specifically a term she uses, nuclearly.
