Ducks on the pond, frozen rope, tumblebug, and high cheese are baseball slang. Ducks on the pond means runners on base, frozen rope is a line drive, a tumblebug is a fielder who makes a catch and adds theatrical flair, and high cheese is a fastball...
The words we choose can change attitudes — and change lives. A swing-dance instructor has switched to gender-neutral language when teaching couples. He says that using words like “leader” and “follower” actually works better...
During a full solar eclipse you can see the sun’s glowing outer atmosphere, called the corona. In Latin, the term corona means “crown” or “garland.” It’s the source of coronation, as well as the coronary arteries...
A man in Rupert, Vermont, says his wife affectionately calls him a big galooly. It’s unclear where that word might have come from, although it might derive from galoot. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Galooly...
A college student in Bowling Green, Kentucky, wonders about the origin of the word emoji. Although you might guess that the name for these little pictures inserted into text messages contains the English word emotion, that’s just a coincidence...
To make ends meet means to make money last through the end of a calendar period. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Make Ends Meet” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Randy. Hi, Randy, where are you calling...
