If you say you’re going to repair to the drawing room after dinner, meaning that that you will “go” to that room, you’re using a word that’s completely different from the verb repair meaning “to fix.” These...
After our conversation about first names that are also verbs, such as Grant, Bob, and Sue, a university freshman in Laramie, Wyoming, wrote to share a funny story about his dad’s name, Rob. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Some proper names could also function as verbs. For starters, there’s Grant, Bob, Josh, Mark, Chip, and Sue. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “First Names That Also Work As Verbs” Grant, you and I have a lot in...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle is about common bonds among seemingly unrelated words. For example, name the one word that unites the following three items: report card, USDA inspected beef, incline. This is part of a complete episode...
Scott in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, wonders if the words nother as in a whole nother and abso-bloomin-lutely are real words. Yes, they are! The construction a whole nother is an example of what linguists call tmesis, which involves the insertion of a...
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...