ricket n.— Note: The Oxford English Dictionary has one cite for this word from 1958, defining it as criminals’ slang meaning “a blunder, mistake.” «Hearn is still involved in snooker, supplying Sky with the premier league tournament. However, he...
Stand back! It's another newsletter from A Way with Words. This past weekend on A Way with Words we talked about crossword puzzles. This coming weekend superstar solvers from across the continent will gather in Brooklyn, New York, to test their...
Sharpen those pencils! Martha and Grant are doing crossword puzzles on the air again, preparing for their appearance with NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in New York City. This is part of a complete episode...
Salutations and greetings! This past weekend we aired a brand-new show on which we talked about how far back into history a modern person could understand English, what you shout when you're playing hide-and-seek (ollie, ollie oxen free? ally...
Welcome to another edition of the A Way with Words newsletter! On the air this past weekend we chatted with listeners about the driving games "padiddle" and "slug bug," about the pronunciation of "aunt," about the...
freeroll n.— «About 20 people had come to play poker before 2 p.m. yesterday, attracted by its being a “freeroll” day, they said, which generally involves a tournament that is free to enter but has a cash prize donated by the host, as a way to...

