What exactly do you mean when you use the words couple, few, and several? Do they conjure specific numbers? The hosts disagree. This is part of a complete episode.
“Fish or cut bait.” What does it mean, exactly? Stop fishing and cut your line, or stop fishing and do something else useful, like cutting bait? This is part of a complete episode.
In an earlier episode, we discussed linguistic false friends, those words in foreign languages that look like familiar English words, but mean something quite different. Martha reads an email response from a listener who learned the hard way that in...
Someone who says, “I’ll be there directly,” may not necessarily get there right away. How did the meaning of directly change in some parts of the country to mean “by and by”? This is part of a complete episode.
What does the O’ in Irish names like O’Malley or O’Riley mean? This is part of a complete episode.
“I’ll be there at three-ish.” “That shirt is bluish.” “It wasn’t a house— but it was house-ish.” OK, but what in the world does ish mean, exactly? This is part of a complete episode.