Jamie from Calais, Vermont, says an unfortunate experience with an insect made her wonder about the expression to put a bug in your ear or put a bug in one’s ear, meaning “to make a strong, insistent suggestion to someone.” An...
Listeners weigh in on our discussion about thin places, those locales where the mundane and mystical appear to merge. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “More Thin Places” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the...
Fourteen-year-old Harry from Charlotte, Vermont, asks why we say something is clean as a whistle. The phrase refers not to a physical whistle, but to the purity of the sibilant sound. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “As Clean...
Donna in Ithaca, New York, wonders about the phrase I’ve had the radish, said by someone who’s exhausted or frustrated. It’s commonly heard in Vermont, and may be related to the French phrase je n’ais plus un radis, meaning...
Masha in Vergennes, Vermont, says her family uses the word ilk to refer to a variety or type, as in, “What ilk of tree is that?” Is this term is now archaic? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Using...
Sugar weather refers to a period of time during the spring in Canada marked by warm days and cold nights, when the sap starts running in the trees. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sugar Weather” I tripped across a...