Light-hearted conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family ex
Why do we call a frankfurter a "hot dog"? It seems an unsettling 19th-century rumor is to blame. Als
The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we wri
The months of September, October, November, and December take their names from Latin words meaning "
In the military, if you’ve lost the bubble, then you can’t find your bearings. The term first referr
How do actors bring Shakespeare's lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the
This week on A Way with Words: Restaurant jargon, military slang, and modern Greek turns of phrase.
Hundreds of years ago, the word girl didn’t necessarily mean a female child — in the 14th and 15th c
This week: Do you ever find yourself less-than-specific about your age? Listeners share some of thei
Questions from young listeners and conversations about everything from shifting slang to a bizarre c
We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools — and many of y
Choosing language that helps resolve interpersonal conflict. Sometimes a question is really just a v
If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Ori
A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a c
When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In s
The words we choose can change attitudes — and change lives. A swing-dance instructor has switched t
Jacuzzi and silhouette are eponyms — that is, they derive from the names of people. An Italian immig
The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be t
If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a
Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bibl
