shorthairedg said:

Did anyone else think “Nest Side Story” as the answer to one of the Snakespeare quiz questions before they heard “West Side Stork?”

Ooh…I like that. I wonder if there’s yet a third option, changing a letter in “Side”?

Good alternate, shorthairedg - or can I call you shorthaired, for short?

Puzzle Guy

“A Milwaukee man is mystified about the use of the word “neé” in his grandmother’s obituary.”

A very picky point: the acute accent should be on the first e: née.
The logic behind this is of course that né is the past participle/adjective of the French verb naître, and the extra “e” is added on for the feminine form. One never rarely sees “né” used in this sense in referene to man, since they don’t generally change their names upon marriage - though I have seen it used to give the real name of someone know under a stage/pen name.

A related faux-pas that grates on me is when people say “divorcée” with the double e even when they refer to a man. Of course “divorcé” also exists and is the masculine form.

An Indianapolis woman calls to say she a great first date with a doctor, but was horrified to hear him suggest they meet at an “expresso” shop. She asks for dating advice: Should she correct the guy, keep quiet about this mispronunciation, or just hope he never orders espresso again? Would you go out on a second date with someone who orders a cup of “EX-presso”?

In my travels in Europe, and particularly in France, I have heard and seen this word. The French, when not simply refering to this drink as “café” tend to say and even write in menus “expresso”. In a way, this makes sense when thinking about the possible origin of the work “to press out”? (I’m guessing here…) from the latin “ex”. Could this be a possible variation of the word?

I agree that “Expresso” is not now a word.

However, I propose that it be considered as a potential new entry in our lexicon.

“Espresso” should continue with its present definition, and should connote espresso made in the traditional way, with a burr grinder, a tamper, steam, a knock-box, and all the like accoutrements.

“Expresso” should connote “espresso” made using one of any number of “short cuts”, including pre-ground “Pods”, “all-in-one super-automatic” coffee machines, and possibly should connote even “espresso” ordered at a drive-through facility.

What do members of the assembled multitude think?

I’ll take my answer off the air…

Allan J. W. said:

Very interesting to hear a person have such an intense aversion to ‘moist’ - and a Facebook group? WOW.

Funny thing is my favorite words are ‘moist‘ and ‘nubbin‘. I’m not a big fan of ‘moister’ - I’ll say ‘more moist’. It’s a sound thing for me.

Maybe it’s like black licorice which I also love. Maybe ‘moist’ is a word that polarizes people. Hmmmm.

She might not like two of Terry Pratchett’s novels, “Going Postal” and “Making Money”, with their main character M… von Lipwig.

To Lister:

I have to, at least slightly, disagree with you about the use of a word like “Expresso” on a first date. I think that frequent slip-ups such as this point to a much larger problem, that could certainly play a large role in a relationship: a general lack of attention to detail. I have to admit that “expresso” especially gets under my skin, but it is really the kind of person that can repeatedly mispronounce words without ever taking the time or putting in the effort to learn the proper way. So, I would agree with you that one minor slip-up is no reason to go running for the hills…BUT, I would see numerous “slip-ups” as a sign of bigger things to come!!