Channel fever is “the feeling of excitement or restlessness that sailors experience as their ship nears its home port.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Channel Fever” Here’s a cool term that you might want to extend as a metaphor...
Tommy in Lexington, Kentucky, recalls that when he was a youngster, a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C., led to a hilarious misunderstanding about exactly what might be on offer at the National Mall. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript...
Have you been asked to trip the light fantastic? This phrase, meaning “dance the night away,” dates back to a poem by John Milton from 1640. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Trip the Light Fantastic” Hello, you have A Way with...
First, a big welcome to our new listeners in Waco, Texas, where we'll be the public-radio airwaves there starting Sunday night at 9 on 103.3 FM, Waco NPR! If your local public radio station still doesn't air "A Way with Words," why...
A trip to the California State Railroad Museum has Grant musing about the way language can change in the mouth of a single individual— in this case, railroad conductors. He recommends a collection of sound files from metros and subways around the...
Gaudy is much older than Antoni Gaudí’s exuberant Barcelona buildings, or his name, so the adjective doesn’t come from the Catalan architect’s name. The showy sense dates to the late 15th century and may be related to the earlier noun gaud, a flashy...
