Following up on our conversation about what to say when coming up behind a stranger so as not to startle them, a Sacramento, California, listener raises another question about communicating quickly with someone in your vicinity: Is there a gesture drivers can use to acknowledge and apologize for an error, such as accidentally cutting someone off in traffic? Perhaps the American Sign Language sign for “Sorry”?This is part of a complete episode.
After an international team of scientists and staffers spent six months at a research station in Antarctica, their accents changed ever so slightly, according to an acoustic analysis by German researchers. The slang terms they shared include dingle...
Is the booty as in shake your booty related to a pirate’s booty? The booty that means “derriere” is an alteration of botty, which is itself an alteration of bottom. The booty that means “loot” or “plunder”...
Subscribe to the fantastic A Way with Words newsletter! Martha and Grant send occasional messages with language headlines, event announcements, linguistic tidbits, and episode reminders. It’s a great way to stay in touch with what’s happening with the show.
Single blink on the hazard lights.