Predictive text on cellphones can result in some amusing accidental substitutions. The word for that: textonym. This is part of a complete episode.
What do you say if you have guests over and someone in your family has stray food left on the face? In some households, the secret warning is “there’s a gazelle on the lawn.” But why a gazelle? Also, this week: the term for a party...
We hope that when it comes to conversation about language, you haven’t been sufficiently suffonsified, because there’s lots to talk about in this week’s archive episode. For starters, there’s the way some pets take a while to...
A hazy, hot, and humid hello! In this week’s archive episode, we take on headlines that make you do a double take, such as “Child’s Stool Great for Use in Garden” and “Milk Drinkers Turn To Powder.” We discuss a...
Howdy! In this week's archive episode: Do you know the meaning of "McGimpers"? How about "geetus"? We discuss these and other examples of underworld slang from the 1930s. In this show, crime novelist James Ellroy stops by to...
Howdy from Wordville! In this week’s archive edition of “A Way with Words,” we talk about Mushroom Basket, Moose Point, and other wacky names given to paint chips and nail polish colors. We also discussed the origin of...