“Do the needful” is a phrase commonly heard from people in India working in tech support. Though it’s fallen out of fashion in British dialects, it’s still common in India to mean “do what you must.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Is there a word you keep having to look up in the dictionary, no matter how many times you’ve looked it up before? Maybe it’s time for a mnemonic device. And: a listener shares a letter from Kurt Vonnegut himself, with some reassuring advice about...
We all lead busy lives—so are speed reading courses a good idea? Plus, if you hear someone speaking with a British accent, do you tend to assume they’re somehow more intelligent? And some common English surnames tell us stories about life in the...
Greetings from Martha, Grant, and our old friend, Tom Swifty! This week we’d like to welcome new listeners who hear us on CKIC 92.9 FM (KICK-FM) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our latest episode features tech writer David Pogue taking the slang quiz, a...
nerd bird n.— «The “nerd bird” lives on, after all. A week after American Airlines said it would cease the San Jose-Austin daily service that bore that nickname, Alaska Airlines said Monday it will inaugurate daily service between the technology...
triggerlock n.— «Demarcus Coley, 29 years of age, of the 12000 block of Tech Ridge in Austin, Tx., charged with possession of a Schedule I narcotic with intent to distribute, criminal conspiracy, and Triggerlock. Triggerlock is a term for the...
