Quiz Guy Greg Pliska has a puzzle called “Categorical Allies.” After he says a word, you must come up with second word that’s in the same category, and begins with the last two letters of the original word. For example, if he says...
bagel v.—Gloss: To score no points. Note: The noun “bagel” has long been used in tennis and other sports to mean “zero.” «As usual after a defeat, Venus was tight-lipped, offering platitudes but no explanation as...
dirt-baller n.— «Still, long gone is the time when anyone could suggest that Nadal was a clay-court specialist, what some Americans call “a dirt-baller.”» —“Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer win in Monaco” by Mark...
Time for a sports question! If an NFL team has a week without having to play a game during the season, it’s called a bye week. But a caller says he’s also heard bye week refer to a week in which a team draws no opponent. Which is correct...
A listener who recently played in a Boggle tournament wants to know why we speak of seeding such a competition. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Seeding a Competition” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi there, this is...
Quiz Guy Greg Pliska presents a quiz about “False Plurals,” based on the old riddle: What plural word becomes singular when you put the letter “s” at the end of it? (Hint: Think of a brand of tennis racket, as well as the...