Light-hearted conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family ex
Is it y'all's? Y'alls? Y'alls's? What do all ya'll think?--A Way with Words is funded by its listene
A Texas listener came across the word "Boche" in a biography of a French statesman, and wants to kno
[This episode first aired December 5, 2009.]In high school, no one thinks twice about cheering for t
How do you pronounce this word that means someone's "strong suit"? And what does it have to do with
Um, are you, like, one of those people who, um, get, like, really annoyed, by, um, you know, like, u
The first of two podcasts this week includes a special message to "A Way with Words" podcast listene
Anagrams, rebuses, cryptograms -- Martha and Grant swap stories about the games that first made them
This week, it's backhanded phrases, those snarky remarks that come sugar-coated in politeness, like
Who was that masked man? Was it the Barefoot Bandit, the Mummy Bandit, or perhaps the Botox Bandit?
[This episode first aired October 17, 2009.]Some teachers are using a controversial tactic to get yo
South African English is a rich mix of Afrikaans, English, and indigenous languages such as Zulu and
[This episode first aired October 10, 2009.]Do you say something happened on accident or by accident
What's the right way to pronounce gyros? Have you ever heard of feeling poozley? Called something gr
Write it Right One hundred years ago, American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce published a c
You know that grammatical 'rule' about not ending a sentence with a preposition? Well, who ever deci
Grant interviews 'Jeopardy!' champion Ken Jennings about the grueling nature of TV quiz shows, the f
[This episode originally aired February 9, 2008.] In this week's episode: Just how far back could y
[This episode first aired January 12, 2008.] In this week's episode, Martha and Grant discuss not-t
Enough about the 'Word of the Year.' How about the 'Word of the Decade'? Bailout? Google? Martha and
[This episode first aired May 10, 2008.] We all misspeak from time to time, but how about when we m
