Martha shares listener email about linguistic “false friends,” those perplexing words in other languages that look like English words, but mean something completely different. A case in point is the detergent popular in the Middle East called “Barf,” the name of which happens to be the Farsi word for “snow.” Skeptical? Behold! This is part of a complete episode.
When Pigs Fly (episode #1571) 06/14/2021: Don't move my cheese! It's a phrase middle managers use to talk about adapting to change in the workplace. Plus, the origin story of the... [more]
Cool Beans (episode #1570) 05/31/2021: If you speak a second or third language, you may remember the first time you dreamed in that new tongue. But does this milestone mean... [more]
Love Bites (episode #1569) 05/17/2021: The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking... [more]
Lasagna Hog (episode #1568) 05/04/2021: Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you're understood and being insulted. "High-involvement" speakers interrupt or talk along with someone... [more]
Kiss the Cow (episode #1567) 04/19/2021: An anadrome is a word that forms a whole new word when you spell it backwards. For example, the word "stressed" spelled backwards is "desserts."... [more]
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