A Way with Words     Episode: Never Too Young (#1456, 2016 Fall Pledge Show) Show number: 160822 Air date:  Evergreen. ON-AIR STATION HOST INTRO: On this special fundraising edition: Serious questions from young voices. Martha and Grant share some favorite calls from their youngest listeners, including conversations about family traditions, teenagers' slang, and questions raised by books these youngsters have been reading. COPY FOR USE BY STATIONS: SUMMARY Serious questions from young voices. In this special fundraising edition, Martha and Grant share some favorite calls from their youngest listeners, including conversations about family traditions, teenagers' slang, and questions raised by books these youngsters have been reading. FULL DETAILS One of the great things about questions from kids is that they make you take a closer look at things you might not have ever thought about. A youngster named Micah wonders why we refer to "toasted bread" as simply toast. A young listener in Yuma, Arizona, wants to know about why her mother uses the word cattywampus to indicate that something is "messed up." Kids sometimes call the show to ask about things that their families pass on to each other – like games, or sayings, and or even pronunciations. A girl in Abilene, Texas, is curious about why family members walking together say the phrase bread and butter when briefly separating to move around an object in their path. A young listener with lots of freckles wonders about the origin of the name of these little specks. The word freckle has very old roots having to do with scattering, as with seeds--an idea that also may be reflected in the German word for "freckles," Somersprossen, or "summer sprouts." A girl in San Antonio, Texas, asks the hosts to settle a family debate: How do you pronounce the word pianist? Traditionally, the first syllable is the one that's accented. Sometimes young listeners call the show after doing research on their own, then finding that the digging they’ve done raises even more questions. A young caller Fort Worth, Texas, says her reading about the term goober, meaning "peanut," indicates that the word was used among contemporaries of George Washington Carver. Goober has even older roots, going all the way back to the Bantu languages of Africa. The word please may mean different things depending on the context. A girl in San Diego, California, argues that the word please on a sign she saw at a swimming pool may mean the behavior it's requesting is optional. What time of day do you eat dinner? A youngster reading Anne of Green Gables notes that in this book, the noon meal was called dinner, not lunch, and the evening meal was called supper. That usage is common in many parts of North America, but for others, dinner means "the evening meal." A high school student reports that his classmates use the term choppin' to mean "flirting." This slang term may be associated with the phrase chop it up, meaning "to have a deep conversation."   This episode was hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. .... CONTACT INFORMATION Grant Barrett Co-host/co-producer of "A Way with Words" http://waywordradio.org cell/office (646) 286-2260 grantbarrett@gmail.com words@waywordradio.org Backup contact information: Stefanie Levine Senior Producer of "A Way with Words" cell/office (619) 890-4275 slevine@waywordradio.org