When comparing two things, what’s the correct word to use after the word different? Is it different than or different from? In the United States, different from is typical, and almost always the right choice. In Britain, the most common phrase...
Someone who is likened to “a dog in the manger” is acting spitefully, claiming something they don’t even need or want in order to prevent others from having it. The story that inspired this phrase goes all the way back to ancient...
Jennifer from Traverse City, Michigan, asks about using reef to mean applying a lot of force or torque, as in reefing on a stuck window or stubborn jar. This regional verb likely comes from the sailing use of reef, to reduce a sail by taking in part...
A father of five shared with us his kids’ favorite joke. (Yes, it’s terribly corny.) This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Too Many Cheetahs” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language...
There are doobies, and then there are good doobees. A caller from Traverse City, Michigan, says her husband refers to himself as a good doobee whenever he’d clean the house or pay the bills. The phrase goes back to Romper Room, a...
What’s your hobby? Or, rather, do you call your interests or passions hobbies at all, or does the word hobby connote something frivolous or strangely obsessive? The term hobby goes back to a nickname for a horse, which transferred to the...