We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions

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

Light-hearted conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family ex

Episodes

Total: 775

There's more of everything!

2017/12/21

We’ve got a curious problem here at A Way with Words. Over the last decade, we’ve grown the show fro

Take a look back at some notable words and phrases from 2017: Remember path of totality? How about m

In this episode, books for word lovers, from a collection of curious words to some fun with Farsi. •

Donate to support A Way with Words https://waywordradio.org/donate .... Making the show takes money,

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

A new online archive of Civil War letters offers a vivid portrait of the everyday lives of enlisted

If you're not using a dictionary to look up puzzling words as you read them, you're missing out on a

Some countries have strict laws about naming babies. New Zealand authorities, for example, denied a

Of all the letters in the alphabet, which two or three are your favorites? If your short list includ

Decisions by dictionary editors, wacky wordplay, and Walt Whitman's soaring verse.  How do lexicogra

A highly anticipated children’s book and the epic history behind a familiar vegetable: fans of illus

Where would you find a sports commentator talking about high cheese and ducks on a pond? Here’s a hi

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

Choosing language that helps resolve interpersonal conflict. Sometimes a question is really just a v

A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a c

Our youngest listeners have questions about everything from love to one of their favorite foods. Kid

The words we choose can change attitudes — and change lives. A swing-dance instructor has switched t