Oyez, oyez! All rise for another newsletter from "A Way with Words"! We took another listen to an episode concerning "orient" vs. "orientate," "sockdologizing," and "my dogs are barking." Hear it...
There’s nothing like an oddly phrased headline to brighten your day. How about “Actor Sent to Jail for Not Finishing Sentence”? Or “Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped”? Same for signs that make you do a double take, like...
whale eye n.— «When a dog turns his head away from you but his eyes are turned as far to the side as possible in your direction, the whites of his eyes take on that crescent shape. When a dog’s eyes take on this appearance, professionals...
clapter n.— «You can prompt applause with a sign. My friend, SNL writer Seth Meyers, coined the term clapter, which is when you do a political joke and people go, “Woo-hoo.” It means they sort of approve but didn’t really like...
Welcome to another edition of the A Way with Words newsletter! On the air this past weekend we chatted with listeners about the driving games "padiddle" and "slug bug," about the pronunciation of "aunt," about the...
day soldier n.— «But they will continue to provide insurgents, I’m sure. What has to happen here is to drive a wedge between the extremist leadership and what I call the “day soldiers,” [insurgents] those who sign up not...