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cover of episode Mrs. Astor's Horse - 29 July 2019

Mrs. Astor's Horse - 29 July 2019

2019/7/29
logo of podcast A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

Shownotes Transcript

"What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn't a cat?" Answer: a kitten! A 1948 children's joke book has lots of these to share with kids. Plus: an easy explanation for the difference between immigrate with an i, and emigrate with an e. And: The ancient Greeks revered storks for the way they cared for each other. They even had a legal requirement called the Stork Law, which mandated that Greek adults look after their elderly parents. Much later, the same idea inspired a rare English word that means "reciprocal love between children and parents." All that, plus a brain-busting quiz about scrambled words, Mrs. Astor's pet horse, dissimilation when pronouncing the word forward, tap ’er light, allopreening, raise the window down, why we call a zipper a fly, and lots more.

Read full show notes, hear hundreds of free episodes, send your thoughts and questions, and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org/). Email [email protected]). Twitter @wayword). Our listener phone line 1 (877) 929-9673) is toll-free in the United States and Canada. Elsewhere in the world, call +1 (619) 800-4443); charges may apply. From anywhere, text/SMS +1 (619) 567-9673. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation.

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