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10/13/13 9:00am |
Relationships and Words - This program may be about grammar, slang, and word origins, but some of the hosts' favorite calls, featured in this pledge-drive episode, are about relationships -- between husbands and wives, parents and kids, employees and bosses, boyfriends, girlfriends, colleagues and peers.
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10/6/13 9:00am |
Drop A Dime - It's the public radio program about language examined through history, culture, and family. This week, what does it mean to "Drop A Dime". And whether or not you're "A Good Doobie".
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9/29/13 9:00am |
That Old Book Smell - You walk into a used bookstore, or pull down an old volume at the library, and there it is: The smell of old books. If you detect notes of vanilla in that intoxicating scent, there's a reason. Also, why some people think the word "awesome" is overused, why comic sans serif is a font almost universally reviled, and the origin of the phrase around Robin Hood's barn. Plus, chuck it vs. chunk it, and the answers some parents give when a kid asks one too many questions. As in, "Daddy, what's that?" "Why, it's a wiggly-woggler for grinding smoke!"
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9/29/13 9:00am |
That Old-Book Smell - You walk into a used bookstore, or pull down an old volume at the library, and there it is: The smell of old books. If you detect notes of vanilla in that intoxicating scent, there’s a reason. Also, why some people think the word awesome is overused, why Comic Sans is a font almost universally reviled.
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9/22/13 9:00am |
A Hole to China - Have a question about objective pronouns? Whom ya gonna call? Wait--is that right? Or would it be "who ya gonna call"? "Whom" may be technically correct, but insisting on it can get you called an elitist. It's enough to make you nervous as a polecat in a perfume parlor! And if you really want to dig a hole all the way to China, don't start anywhere in the continental United States--you'll come out at the bottom of the ocean! Plus, how to pronounce the name of the Show-Me State, catfishing, gallon smashing, and what it means to conversate.
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9/15/13 9:00am |
Whistling Dixie - Today's most popular dog names are Max and Bella. In the Middle Ages, though, dogs would answer to names like Amiable. Or Nosewise. Or even . . . Clench. And is the term redneck derogatory? Some folks proudly claim that name. They say it's high time they were redneckcognized. Also, the origin of the phrase rule of thumb, whistling Dixie, the eephus pitch, terms for flabby underarms, and craptastic substitutes for swear words, like Sacapuntas!
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9/8/13 9:00am |
Gnarly Food - It's the Up Goer Five Challenge! Try to describe something complex using only the thousand most common words in English. It's a useful mental exercise that's harder than you might think. Also, if you want to make a room dark, you might turn off the lights. But you might also cut them off or shut them. You probably know the experience of hearing or seeing a word so long that it ceases to make sense. But did you know linguists have a term for that? Plus, cumshaw artists, the history of Hoosier and beep, and the debate over whether numbers are nouns or adjectives.
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9/1/13 9:00am |
Bump and Grind - 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 and grind" doesn't always mean what you think. Plus, the origin of jet black, the roots of fugacious, a game called Goin' to Texas, and how to punctuate the term y'all. And is there anything express about espresso?
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8/25/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 08/25/2013 - Gracious Plenty: When somebody sneezes, you say, Bless you or Gesundheit. But suppose that person coughs. Are you supposed to say something--or are they? Plus, Mexican standoffs, gracious plenty, linguistic false friends, southpaw vs. northpaw, the slang of rabbit fanciers, a quiz about animal noises, and where to find a purple squirrel. And what's so humbling about winning an award?
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8/18/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 08/18/2013 - Cute As a Button: Did you ever wonder why we capitalize the pronoun "I," but not any other pronoun? There's a reason, and it may not be what you think. Also, the origin of the phrase "like white on rice," and the linguistic scuttlebutt on the word scuttlebutt. Plus, a pun-laden word game, hold your peace vs. hold your piece, nixie on your tintype, and no skin off my nose.
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8/11/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 08/11/2013 - |
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8/4/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 08/04/2013 - Looking for a book to read with the kids, or maybe a guide to becoming a better writer? Plus, why are leg cramps called charley horses? And where'd we get a phrase like "pie in the sky"? If you happen to be tall, you've no doubt heard plenty of clueless comments from strangers. A listener who's 6-foot-8 shares his favorite snappy comebacks. Plus, a word quiz for math lovers, bathroom euphemisms, johnny-on-the-spot, and the biggest palmetto bugs in the land!
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7/28/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 07/28/2013 - Can reading poetry make you a better writer? Grant and Martha discuss how reading poetry improves your prose. Also, how linguists guess where you come from based on how you speak. And what do you call someone who picks the chocolate out of the trail mix?
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7/21/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 07/21/2013 - Take an entertaining romp through the English language on A Way With Words.
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7/14/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 07/14/2013 - Enjoy the call-in program all about language, A Way With Words.
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7/7/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 07/07/2013 - Take an entertaining romp through the English language on A Way With Words.
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6/30/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 06/30/2013 - Enjoy the call-in program all about language, A Way With Words.
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6/23/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 06/23/2013 - Take an entertaining romp through the English language on A Way With Words.
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6/16/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 06/16/2013 - Enjoy the call-in program all about language, A Way With Words.
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6/9/13 9:00am |
A Way With Words show on 06/09/2013 - Take an entertaining romp through the English language on A Way With Words.
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