Nicole in Indianapolis, Indiana, has a long-running dispute with her British husband about how to pronounce the word buoy. He says it’s pronounced BOY, like buoyant, and she insists it’s BOO-ee — a difference that reflects their upbringing on...
In Newfoundland, the word wonderful is often used as an intensifier for both positive and negative things. For example, a Newfoundlander might refer to something as a wonderful loss. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Positively and...
The modifier lamming or lammin’, is used as an intensifier, as in “That container is lammin’ full,” meaning “That container is extremely full.” There’s a whole class of intensifying words like this in English, which have to do with the idea of...
Is it acceptable to make a brand-new adverb simply by adding an -ly to an adjective? A scientist wants to know, and specifically a term she uses, nuclearly.