Kadee, a Texas sixth-grader, wonders about how to pronounce the word caramel. There are at least seven different ways to pronounce the name of this gooey treat, including some with two and three syllables. This is part of a complete episode...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has crafted a challenge about polysyllabic words that are commonly represented by their first three letters, inspired by the popular online game “Among Us,” in which someone suspicious is simply sus. For example, what three...
Taryn in Washington, D.C., wants to know the proper way to pronounce the word museum. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pronouncing “Museum”” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, my name is Taryn. I use they...
Crossword-puzzle constructors often employ words with a vowel-consonant-consonant-vowel pattern, or VCCV. That’s the cruciverbal inspiration Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s VCCV puzzle. For example, if the clue is teen woe, what’s the four-letter answer...
The punk band Sacred Cash Cow in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, is planning a tribute to another local band that’s breaking up, so they called to ask how to pronounce homage. If you’re paying homage, the older English borrowing usually stresses the...
Pearl, a youngster in Massachusetts, heard turmeric at dinner over kale and chickpeas and wondered whether her mother’s second-syllable stress matched ordinary dictionary pronunciations. For this spice from India, dictionaries record several...