Ho, ho, ho! In this week's episode, we discuss whether the term "Oriental" is offensive. We also talk about "not one iota," "take a gander," "learning curve," and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...
Martha and Grant offer gift recommendations for language lovers: Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages, by Guy Deutscher. OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word, by Allan Metcalf. Lost in...
Hi, all! In last weekend's archive episode, we discussed the musical language of railroad conductors’ calls. Also, the military slang term cumshaw, tips for learning Latin, the influence of Spanish on English, hell-to-the-no...
This week, it’s headlines that make you do a doubletake, like “Child’s Stool Great for Use in Garden.” Martha and Grant discuss a few of these bloopers, also known as crash blossoms. Also, if you unthaw something, are you...
sorry gift n.— «Because guilt over spending is playing a big role in the sales downturn, he teaches salespeople to suggest a “sorry gift”—of another timepiece—for a wife who might be disappointed that her husband just dropped a sizable...
If you have a word lover on your gift list, Martha and Grant have book recommendations for you. For adults, Martha recommends linguist Geoffrey Nunberg’s collection of essays, The Years of Talking Dangerously. For kids, Grant’s been...