In this week’s episode, “It was bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Martha and Grant discuss their favorite first lines from novels. Also this week, palmer-housing, beanplating, meeting cute, bad...
A listener from Bethel, Maine, calls with a riddle she heard at summer camp: The maker doesn’t want it, the buyer doesn’t use it, and the user never sees it. What is it? She also stumps the hosts with a puzzle: What adjective requires...
Stories From The Onion In this week’s episode, Martha and Grant discuss not-to-be-believed articles about language from the satirical newspaper The Onion, including one headlined “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense from...
What IS the longest word in the English language? “Antidisestablishmentarianism”? “Floccinaucinihilipilification”? Or “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis,” maybe? Martha and Grant discuss such...
rick-roll v. phr.— «Instead of the “hot stuff” they’re promised, they’re being diverted to video hosting site YouTube. More specifically the link goes to Rick Astley’s video to Never Gonna Give You Up. Rick Rolling is the...
Super-Duper Tuesday n. a day that many US states hold primary elections in which political parties choose their candidates for the presidential election to be held the following November; Tsunami Tuesday. Editorial Note: “Duper” serves...