Cody, who lives in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, wonders: If someone is hungry, you feed them, but is there a single word for what you do for someone who’s thirsty? In other words, eat is to feed as drink is to what? A single word isn’t...
Fret can work transitively in parts of the American South, as in Don’t fret that child, meaning don’t bother or worry them. Angela, originally from North Carolina, asked about the usage at a Dallas event after hearing forms such as Don’t fret him...
A listener in Fargo, North Dakota, ask which is correct: graduated from high school or graduated high school? Increasingly, the former is falling by the wayside. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Graduate School vs. Graduate From...
Even though blogs can’t read and newspapers can’t speak, it’s totally appropriate to write “the blog reads,” or “the newspaper says.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Blog Reads” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, Martha...
Carolyn from San Diego asks why made-to-measure clothing, such as a Savile Row suit, is called bespoke. The word goes back to bespeak, meaning to discuss, arrange for, request, or order something. Tailors used it for goods made to order, and the...
A Michigander wants to know about the difference between titled and entitled. She’d assumed that a book is titled Gone with The Wind and a person is entitled to compensation for something. Grant and Martha explain it’s a little more complicated than...