We held our first video streaming event supporting the educational mission of Wayword, Inc., the nonprofit that produces A Way with Words on August 27, 2020. Watch below for a personal conversation about language (of course), books, home life...
Many English words have their roots in Greek and Roman myth. Tantalize derives from the story of King Tantalus, condemned to stand forever in a pool that receded whenever he was thirsty, and beneath a bough of fruit that pulled away whenever he...
On our Facebook group, listeners share the first big words they remember learning, including concentrate and physician. This is part of a complete episode.
You may have a favorite word in English, but how about one from another language? Martha likes the Spanish term ojalá because it’s handy for expressing hopefulness, and has an interesting history, deriving from inshallah, Arabic for “God...
Grant shoots holes in a story that just won’t die that about “son of a gun” and babies born aboard sailing ships. Before you get started today, please go to to support the show. Podcast listeners like you will make the show possible in...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski offers a puzzle about kangaroo words. They’re words that contain a synonym of themselves. For example, the word devilish contains what adjective that means the same thing? This is part of a complete episode.