Rabbit, rabbit! In this week’s episode, it’s old terms like “eleemosynary” and “logodaedaly,” and new ones like “catio.” We discuss how to pronounce “coyote,” what Brits may mean when offer...
Does the language you speak shape how you think? The hosts discuss an essay on that topic adapted from the new book Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages by Buy Deutscher This is part of a complete episode.
The distinctive shape of the dragonfly has inspired lots of different nicknames for this insect, including snake doctor, devil’s darning needle, skeeter hawk, spindle, snake eyes, and ear sewer, the last of which rhymes with “mower...
pencil top n.— «Most commercial companies over-prune palms leaving fronds with a V-shape referred to as a “hurricane cut.” Constant removal of these leaves will result in a condition referred to as “pencil top”...
jamiton n.— «We’ve all been there—stuck in traffic, inching along, running late and getting angry when suddenly everyone starts moving. Just like that, the road clears. No flashing lights, no mangled cars, no clue to suggest what went...
dog n.— «Programming and films on digital TV channels are, he complains, routinely disfigured by irrelevant and unnecessary captions and graphic devices and, in particular, by “dogs” (digital on-screen graphics) or...