Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words! This week we kicked off our online-only summer minicasts. There are *two,* one announcing the minicasts and explaining the term "estival," and another digging into the brilliant...
digifeiter n.— «Desktop graphics technology has also spawned a whole “amateur” counterfeiting industry that Warner refers to as “digifeiters,” or “wannabe counterfeiters.” These are housewives or students who use their home computer and a...
A Wisconsinite hopes to unlock the question, “Why do we call it a skeleton key?” This is part of a complete episode.
This week’s “Slang This!” contestant guesses what the terms tape bomb and pixie money mean. Improvised explosive devices made out of cassette tapes? We don’t think so. This is part of a complete episode.
Grant goes through the mailbag, offering answers about the terms “nosy parker,” “out of pocket,” and about whether the word “falsehood” has its origins in medieval garb. He also throws a question out to listeners...
chimp box n.— «More interesting to me is not really manual control of the flight but what was known as the “chimp box.” This is analogous to an autopilot. Basically automating the whole flight.» —“Second Life Space...