Light-hearted conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family ex
This week on "A Way with Words": Grant and Martha discuss the L-word--or two L-words, actually: libe
The language and melodies of military marching songs connect grown children with their parents who s
Say you have an acquaintance you always see at the dog park or the playground. But one night, you ru
Clean cursing for modern times, more about communicating after a brain injury, and 1970's TV lingo w
Gerrymandering draws political boundaries to tip elections towards certain political parties. Origin
The only time you'll ever see the sun's outer atmosphere is during a full solar eclipse, when sun it
This week it’s butterflies, belly flowers, plot bunnies, foxes, and cuckoos. Also, writing advice fr
Novelist Charles Dickens created many unforgettable characters, but he’s also responsible for coinin
As a kid, you may have played that game where you phone someone to say, “Is your refrigerator runnin
If you want to be a better writer, try skipping today's bestsellers, and read one from the 1930's in
Baseball has a language all its own: On the diamond, a snow cone isn’t what you think it is, and thr
What’s the best way for someone busy to learn lots of new words quickly for a test like the GRE? Loo
Why do we call a frankfurter a "hot dog"? It seems an unsettling 19th-century rumor is to blame. Als
A caller with a 25-year-old parrot wonders: How much language do birds really understand? Plus, Knoc
Victorian slang and a modern controversy over language and gender. In the early 1900’s, a door-knock
The months of September, October, November, and December take their names from Latin words meaning "
When it comes to learning new things, what’s on your bucket list? A retired book editor decided to t
In the military, if you’ve lost the bubble, then you can’t find your bearings. The term first referr
Books for sale, books for free, and wisdom passed down through the ages. Libraries aren’t just repos
In deafening workplaces, like sawmills and factories, workers develop their own elaborate sign langu
