The early 20th-century Spanish poet Antonio Machado has a beautiful poem about finding one’s way. The translation in this segment is by Anna Rosenwong and María José Giménez. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Antonio Machado Poem”...
Turkey vultures spotted on a hike in San Diego’s Mission Trails Regional Park lead to a small feast of collective nouns for turkey vultures. A group in a tree can be a committee, a venue, or a volt. In flight, it’s a kettle, and when feasting on...
For a good time, google wake vs. awaken. Perhaps the most vexing verb in English, the term for waking up still puzzles the experts. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Wake vs. Awaken” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is...
The language of restaurant menus. Need a dictionary to get through a dinner menu? Research shows the longer the description of a particular dish, the more expensive it will be. Plus: What’s the best way to use a thesaurus? DON’T — unless, that is...
Post-9/11, we’ve heard a lot of new jargon pertaining to travel and security. An example is vaporwake, that term for the airborne trail we leave of our natural scent, perfumes, and the odor of any drugs or weapons we may be carrying. Another example...
Crack of chicken is Elizabeth in Dallas’s phrase for an absurdly early hour, a playful mashup of crack of dawn and rooster-or-chicken expressions such as when the cock crows, up with the chickens, and go to bed with the chickens. The variant crack...
