The 2010 winner of the “Best Picture” Oscar has a Seattle woman wondering about the term hurt locker. Ben Zimmer wrote about it recently in his column at the Visual Thesaurus and we talk about it, too. Here’s the searing poem by...
What’s the difference between a lexicographer, a linguist, and a wordsmith? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “People Who Work With Words” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Tori Cosrovi calling from Fort...
We all misspeak from time to time, but how about when we mangle words on purpose? Do you ever say fambly instead of family, perazackly for exactly, or coinkydink for coincidence? When Grant recently wrote a newspaper column about saying things wrong...
The second edition of the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus is chock-full of synonyms, of course, but what makes it special are the essays and usage notes by authors such as Simon Winchester, David Lehman, Zadie Smith, and David Foster...
A Wisconsin woman is trying to remember a term for paths in the grass created by pedestrians taking shortcuts. Grant has an answer for her, straight from the jargon of urban planning professionals. The caller also wants recommendations for a good...
The fur flies when Greg Pliska unleashes a word puzzle involving the names of animals. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Missing Links Puzzle: Animal Names Connecting Thesaurus Entries” You’re listening to A Way...