If you’re ever near a sundial, step closer and look for a message. Many sundials bear haunting, poetic inscriptions about the brevity of life. Plus, language development in toddlers: why and how little ones pick up the exclamation Uh-oh! And a new...
Susan from Seattle, Washington, has observed her toddler granddaughter starting to exclaim Uh-oh! when something goes amiss. Is that something she picked up from adults, or do adults pick it up from children? By 18 months, children have already...
Parents of a toddler may wonder if Uh-oh should count as their child’s first word. Yep, and it’s actually pretty common first word for little kids, since mishaps are things they learn about early on. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Grant talks about FOIA (“pronounced FOY-uh”), a bit of journalists’ jargon. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “FOIA” A couple new words for you. Martha, you know that I recently started working with this great bunch of young...
Um, are you, like, one of those people who, get, like, really annoyed, by, you know, like, lots of filler words in, you know, like, conversation? If it’s any comfort, there’s a great term for this. Can you say embololalia?
It’s California in the 1980s, and—uh-oh!—you’re outsmarted or caught doing something stupid and someone else says, “Ooooooooooo, moded!” This Schadenfreudian slip of an expression was sometimes accompanied by a chin-stroking gesture, or elaborated...