A San Diego woman who’s homeschooling her children wonders if there’s a formula that explains why nouns like teacher and writer end in “er,” while others, like professor and conductor, end in “or.” She suspects it...
Greg Pliska presents a punny political puzzle about the names of presidential candidates. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Odd Candidate Out Puzzle with Presidential Candidate Names” You’re listening to A Way with...
leverite n. (also leaverite) a worthless stone or rock, especially one mistaken as being valuable. Editorial Note: Paul Dickson writes in Family Words (1998, p. 79), “Heaverite, according to Raymond J. Nelson of Cody, Wyoming, is a rock that...
sheetrockero n. a person who hangs drywall, also known as gypsum board or sheet rock. Also sheetroquero. Editorial Note: The book Learning Construction Spanglish includes the Spanglish verb shiroquear, meaning to “to hang drywall or...
mocktini n. a non-alcoholic drink made to look like a martini. Editorial Note: A mocktini is a kind of mocktail, a much more common term. The “-tini” suffix, indicating a drink similar to a martini, exists in a variety of words such as...
viewshed n. the landscape or topography visible from a geographic point, especially that having aesthetic value. Etymological Note: This term is directly related to watershed ‘an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different...