Someone should write a love letter to a new book called Letters of Note. It’s a splendid collection of all kinds of correspondence through the ages: Elvis Presley fans writing to the president, children making suggestions to famous...
Christmas Fooling, the Norwegian tradition of dressing up and visiting folks around Christmas time, was once popular among young Wisconsinites. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Christmas Fooling” You know what a...
Is a purple squirrel a) a diving board trick, b) a cocktail, or c) a rare job candidate with all the right qualifications? The answer is c. There have, however, been reports of purple squirrels of the sciurine variety. This is part of a complete...
What’s it called when saying becomes sayin’? It’s not a trick question; it’s simply called an abbreviation. Grant and Martha settle an English major’s confusion about the possibility of a trickier term. With words like “o’er,” a shortening of...
In honor of the 2011 Academy Awards, Quiz Guy Greg Pliska offers his own puzzle version, The Oxcars. The trick is that the nominees for Best Picture at the Oxcars have the same titles as this year’s real nominees for the Oscar, but with one...
The hosts talk about the tricks they use to remember how to spell certain words. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Spelling Tricks” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett. And I’m...