Judson from Texas asks about the phrases long suit and strong suit, after seeing long suit used where he would expect “strong suit.” Both come from card games such as bridge and whist: a long suit is a hand with several cards of the same suit, while...
Our Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game for all of us who fancy the blank tiles in Words With Friends. Given a word and two blank tiles, place one on either end to form a new word. For example, at least two new words can be made by adding a letter to...
When you’re playing Scrabble or Words with Friends, do you ever try random letters and hope they stick? One listener managed to play the word haverel that way. It’s an old term from Scotland and Northern England meaning “someone...
“Well, Butter My Buns and call me a biscuit!” Martha and Grant talk about great catch phrases from old-time radio comedies. Also, why do we speak of a meteoric rise? Don’t meteors plummet? What do you keep in a Fibber McGee drawer...
What do you call an expert speller? A “Words With Friends” enthusiast wants to know. Martha tells her that a great speller is called an orthographer or orthographist, from the Latin roots ortho- meaning “straight” or...
Need a Scrabble word with q or z? Grant shares some of his favorite legal Scrabble words: qi (the circulating life force in Chinese philosophy), qat (a leaf chewed in some cultures for stimulating effects), and za (a shortening of the word...
