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A fun radio show and podcast about language examined through family, history, and culture.

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Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater

Posted by Grant Barrett on July 17, 2017 · Add Comment

A lecturer in business law in St. Cloud, Minnesota, is astonished to discover his students are unfamiliar with throw the baby out with the bathwater, meaning “to accidentally get rid of the good while getting rid of the bad.” You can find out pretty much everything you could ever possibly want to know about this [...]

Giving Juan’s Clothes to Pedro

Posted by grantbarrett on November 16, 2013 · Add Comment

The idiom “rob Peter to pay Paul,” means “to borrow someone from someone in order to repay someone else.” In Nicaragua, the same idea is expressed by a phrase that translates as “take Juan’s clothes to give them to Pedro.” This is part of a complete episode.

International Full-Deckisms

Posted by grantbarrett on March 5, 2011 · Add Comment

Simon Ager’s site Omniglot.com is stacked with full-deckisms from around the world. In English-speaking countries, someone who’s not quite with it is said to be “two sandwiches short of a picnic.” In Germany, however, this is described with the question “Are you still ticking on time?” An earlier episode of “A Way with Words” addressed [...]

Overegging the Pudding

Posted by grantbarrett on February 20, 2011 · Add Comment

If someone has overegged the pudding, they’ve overstated the case. This may explain why a lawyer from Lawrence, Kansas, found the phrase in a judicial opinion. This is part of a complete episode.

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Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater

Giving Juan’s Clothes to Pedro

International Full-Deckisms

Overegging the Pudding