A trip to the zoo where he saw the Madagascar lemur called an aye-aye gave Quiz Guy John Chaneski an aye-dea for a puzzle about pairs of words or syllables that each have a long I sound. What two-word phrase denotes what’s often found between two...
Jimmy and his high-school classmates wonder about the pronunciation of words like zooplankton, zoology, and zoological. The traditional pronunciation for many scientific terms that start with zoo- is to use a long o rather than an oo sound. The...
Martha shares an email from a listener from Delray Beach, Florida, about the rewards of looking up unfamiliar words in the dictionary. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Looking Up Unfamiliar Words” You’re listening to A Way with...
Remember a few years ago when Amazon introduced that mysterious device called a Kindle? People worried that electronic readers would replace traditional books. Turns out the death of the hardcover was greatly exaggerated. Also, the expression “bump...
A listener noticed fugacious on a sign at the Orchid House at the San Diego Zoo, where the botanical label refers to flowers that last only briefly, sometimes just a day. The adjective also describes anything passing quickly, including a sudden...
A zoo tour guide wants a specific word to describe how elephants procure hydration. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Watering Animals” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hey. Hi, who’s this? This is Viv Lindquist from San Diego. All...

