Kevin, a longtime vegetarian in St. Louis, Missouri, queasily recounts how he accidentally ordered sweetbreads in a fancy restaurant, thinking they were some kind of deep-fried bread, only to discover that it’s a kind of meat — a thymus gland...
It’s the Up Goer Five Challenge! Try to describe something complex using only the thousand most common words in English. It’s a useful mental exercise that’s harder than you might think. Also, if you want to make a room dark, you...
Some of the world’s most famous writers had to support themselves with day jobs. Martha and Grant discuss well-known authors who toiled away at other trades. Also this week Eskimo kisses, the frozen Puerto Rican treat called a limber, how the...
Ever hear anyone refer to a wooden dresser as a chester drawers? A woman who grew up in St. Louis only recently learned that not everyone uses this term. Two of the best pieces of information about chester drawers and others can be found in these...
bombproof adj.— «Riders are dressed casually in jeans, workout wear and riding helmets. They’re on horses referred to as “bombproof”—they’re unlikely to injure a rider.» —“Hockey on horseback: St. Louis club introduces...
Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words, public radio's lively language show! Next week's show will be brand new, but this past weekend's show was a juicy repeat in which we talked about the demise of the typewriter, surfing...