Why do we measure the sea in knots? Why, to keep the ocean tide! This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Measuring The Sea Joke” You know, Grant, earlier we were talking about measuring the sea in knots. Do you know why...
Stories From The Onion In this week’s episode, Martha and Grant discuss not-to-be-believed articles about language from the satirical newspaper The Onion, including one headlined “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense from...
wrinkling n.— Note: “Wrinkle,” spelled with an R, is a regional name for the periwinkle. «Jobs like “wrinkling”—the local term for heading out into the intertidal zone at low tide and gathering periwinkles for sale...
king tide n.— «During a King Tide, which is what the islanders call the highest tides of the year, waves rolling off the ocean can have a devastating effect.…A typical high tide reaches about two-and-a-half metres, while a King Tide...
A caller has a friendly disagreement with a pal: Is the expression “tide me over” or “tie me over”? Hint: The answer she gets should tide her over. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Tide Me Over”...
You may have learned that an estuary is where a river meets the sea, but a reference librarian asks whether she should eschew estuary as a word for the confluence of freshwater bodies. Martha and Grant tide her over with some more information. This...

