Ron in Grand Rapids, Michigan, grew up hearing relatives ask for a receipt when they wanted a recipe, as in getting the instructions for a good cake. That usage is old-fashioned but well established. Both receipt and recipe go back to Latin...
Turn the music down, it doesn’t need to be on boydog! Have you heard this synonym for “the highest level”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Music on Boydog” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, Martha...
What do your pronouns say about your own psychological makeup? If you use the word I a lot, does it mean you’re a leader . . . or a follower? A surprising study suggests that people of lower status in a group tend to use I the most. Also, a...
Among Sconnies, or Wisconsinites, a synonym for beer belly is Milwaukee goiter. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Milwaukee Goiter” Here’s another Wisconsin term. Grant, do you know what a Milwaukee goiter is? A...
Malcolm in Atlanta was puzzled by a news story about rats described as empathic. To his science-fiction ear, that sounded related to an empath, a person with an uncanny ability to sense others’ feelings. In ordinary use, empathic and empathetic are...
Did President Warren G. Harding coin the term normalcy in his famous Return to Normalcy speech? Turns out the word normalcy was already in use before Harding made it famous. Its synonym, normality, is generally the preferred term. Harding is also...