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	<title>A Way with Words</title>
	<link>http://www.waywordradio.org</link>
	<description>Public radio's show about words and language and how we use them, with Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:14:09 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>The Thought Plickens (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re inappropriately focused on the minutiae of a project instead of the bigger picture, you&#8217;re said to be bike-shedding. Grant talks about that modern slang term and Martha discusses a word that goes way back in time, right back to &#8220;In the beginning,&#8221; in fact. The word is tohubohu, and it means a &#8220;mess&#8221; [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/the-thought-plickens/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>A Whole Nother (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[For the final word on grammar, many writers turn to the Associated Press Stylebook. But if you find that stylebook too stuffy, you’ll love Fake AP Stylebook, the online send-up that features such sage journalistic advice “The plural of apostrophe is ‘apostrophe’s.’” Grant and Martha share some favorite “rules” from that guide. Also this week: [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/a-whole-nother/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Down A Chimney Up (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Good poetry is even better when you read it aloud. For his anthology, Essential Pleasures, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky selected works with just that in mind. Martha and Grant discuss a poem from the book with lines that are more delicious when spoken. Also this week: If a woman decides to keep her [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/down-a-chimney-up/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Jack Lynch, author of &#8220;The Lexicographer&#8217;s Dilemma&#8221; (minicast)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[You know that grammatical &#8220;rule&#8221; about not ending a sentence with a preposition? Well, who ever decided finishing off a sentence like that is a bad thing? (Personally, we think it&#8217;s one of the silliest things anyone ever came up with.)

Listen here: 
Download audio file (100122-AWWW-Jack-Lynch-minicast.mp3)
Download  the MP3 here (7.2 MB).
 To be automatically [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/jack-lynch/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Picklebacks and Mountweazels (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This week on A Way with Words, Martha and Grant talk about phrases you love to hate, like &#8220;Do you mind if I put you on hold?&#8221; They also talk about mountweazels, jakey bums, picklebacks, and step-ins. And which is the proper term: mothers-in-law or mother-in-laws?

Listen here: 
Download audio file (100118-AWWW-picklebacks-and-mountweazels.mp3)
Download  the MP3 here [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/picklebacks-and-mountweazels/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Ken Jennings: Not-So-Trivial Pursuits (minicast)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Grant interviews Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings about the grueling nature of TV quiz shows, the fine art of writing trivia questions, the special challenges of competing in European quiz contests, and how it feels to answer incorrectly.

Listen here: 
Download audio file (100112-AWWW-Ken-Jennings-Minicast.mp3)
Download  the MP3 here (4 MB).
 To be automatically notified when audio is [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/ken-jennings-not-so-trivial-pursuits/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Nicknames Give Me the Heebie-Jeebies (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Everybody has a nickname, and there&#8217;s usually a story to go with it. Martha and Grant reveal their own nicknames and the stories behind them. Also, is the expression &#8220;heebie-jeebies&#8221; anti-Semitic? And is there a better word than &#8220;retiree&#8221; for someone who moves on from a job late in life?

This episode originally aired April 5, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/nicknames-give-me-the-heebie-jeebies-and-the-vapors/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Squeejawed Red-heads and Grockles (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In this week&#8217;s episode: Just how far back could you go and still understand the English people were speaking? We crank up our trusty time machine to find out. Hint: You&#8217;d probably have a tough time getting around in the eighth century, when English poetry looked like: &#8220;Hwaet we gardena in geardagum.&#8221;


This episode originally aired [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/squeejawed-red-heads-and-grockles/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>See A Man About A Horse (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In this week&#8217;s episode, Martha and Grant discuss not-to-be-believed articles about language from the satirical newspaper The Onion, including one headlined &#8220;Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense from Language Programs.&#8221;

By the way, did you ever notice how &#8220;ONION&#8221; is ZO-ZO if you tilt your head to the right?
This episode first aired January 12th and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/see-a-man-about-a-horse/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Words of the Decade (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Enough about the Word of the Year. How about the Word of the Decade? Bailout? Google? Martha and Grant discuss some candidates. Also in this episode, does speaking a different language make you feel different emotions? What did Don Draper on Mad Men mean when he called Betty a Main Line brat? And why do [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/words-of-the-decade/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Crash Blossoms: When Words Collide (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This week, it&#8217;s headlines that make you do a doubletake, like &#8220;Child&#8217;s Stool Great for Use in Garden.&#8221; Martha and Grant discuss a few of these bloopers, also known as crash blossoms. Also, if you unthaw something, are you freezing it or unfreezing it? Do hotcakes really sell that fast? What&#8217;s the likelihood of getting [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/crash-blossoms-when-words-collide/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Fighting Kewpies, Un-hunh! (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In high school, no one thinks twice about cheering for the Fighting Trojans or the Tigers. But what about the Hickman Kewpies? Or the Maryville Spoofhounds? Martha and Grant talk about some of the odder names for school athletic teams. Also, in this episode: If you&#8217;re queasy, are you nauseous or nauseated? How do you [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/the-fighting-kewpies/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Coinkydinks and Big Boxes (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We all misspeak from time to time, but how about when we mangle words on purpose? Do you ever say fambly instead of family, perazackly for exactly, or coinkydink for coincidence? When Grant recently wrote a newspaper column about saying things wrong on purpose, the response was enormous. Why do many people find such wordplay [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/coinkydinks-and-big-boxes/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Keep Your Tail Over the Dashboard (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This week, McGimpers, geetus, and other underworld lingo from the 1930s. Crime novelist James Ellroy stops by to talk slang terms and reveals his own favorite. Also, is the expression Hear, hear! or Here, here!? Is it bran-new or brand-new? The spooky, creepy story behind the flat hat called a tam. And what does it [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/keep-your-tail-over-the-dashboard/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Word Encounters of the First Kind (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s a frisson you get when you meet a word for the first time&#8212;feeling pleasantly stumped in between wondering, &#8220;What the heck does that mean?&#8221; and hurrying off to find out. Martha and Grant talk about some terms that had just that effect on them: ucalegon and cacoethes scribendi.

This episode first aired April 12, 2008.
Discuss [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/word-encounters-of-the-first-kind/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga! (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[All aboard! This week, a bit about the musical language of railroad conductors&#8217; calls: &#8220;Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga!&#8221; Also, the origin of the military slang term cumshaw, tips for learning Latin, the influence of Spanish immigrants on English, and the funny story behind why plain-talking Texans say, &#8220;We&#8217;re going to tell how the cow ate [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/anaheim-azusa-and-cu-ca-monga-full/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Shivaree (minicast)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[You may remember the call we had from Tony in Encinitas, California. He was curious about the term for an unusual hazing ritual.

Listen here: 
Download audio file (091104-AWWW-shivaree-minicast.mp3)
Download the MP3 here (1.9 MB).
To be automatically notified when audio is available, subscribe to the podcast using iTunes or another podcatching program, or subscribe to the newsletter.
“My [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/shivaree/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Bless Your Heart (full episode)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This week, it&#8217;s backhanded phrases, those snarky remarks that come sugar-coated in politeness, like &#8220;How nice for you,&#8221; &#8220;Oh, interesting!,&#8221; and the mother of all thinly veiled criticism, &#8220;Bless her heart.&#8221; Also this week, free reign vs. free rein, the origin of the one-finger salute, and what it means if a Frenchman has big ankles. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.waywordradio.org/bless-your-heart/</link>
			</item>
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