The Spanglish term frajo, meaning “cigarette,” evolved over a couple of generations of Mexican-American language. Primarily thanks to pachucos, sometimes known as zoot-suiters, the term developed from the verb fajar, meaning “to wrap up or roll.”...
When a minister asked, “Who gives this woman to be married?” the father regrettably answered, “Her mother and me.” Well, he regretted it after his daughters ribbed him about his improper grammar, specifically, his disregard for the implied verb. As...
A listener from Dallas wonders about the origin of “I don’t cotton to,” meaning “I’m not in favor of” or “I don’t get along with.” Though it sounds like a classic Southern phrase, Martha traces it all the way back to England, where the verb to...
How do children acquire language? Do they start with nouns, like “Mama” and “cat,” then graduate to verbs and other parts of speech? Grant explains that language acquisition starts even earlier, with children simply emulating sounds they hear...
What’s the proper past tense of the word text? Texted or text? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Texted vs. Text” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Good morning, this is Paris Romero in Fallbrook, California. Hello, Paris. What’s on...
Enough about the Word of the Year. How about the Word of the Decade? Bailout? Google? Martha and Grant discuss some candidates. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Word of the Decade Candidates” You’re listening to A Way with Words...