Is there an express in espresso? Nope. Cafe espresso is literally “pressed-out coffee.” So the name espresso has nothing to do with the speed with which espresso is made. The term express, on the other hand, as in express train, derives...
Is it really possible to change your style of speaking so that you stop using the verbal fillers um and you know? Yes, you can. Martha relates her experience with dialect-coach-to-the-stars Sam Chwat. He was adamant that by catching ourselves every...
Martha and Grant share listeners’ emails about language changes in the mouths of train conductors and military drill instructors. This is part of a complete episode.
A trip to the California State Railroad Museum has Grant musing about the way language can change in the mouth of a single individual— in this case, railroad conductors. He recommends a collection of sound files from metros and subways around the...
streeter n.— «Elements like the Word Train appear at first glance quite un-Timesian, but at second, they provide a philosophical jolt—what is the Word Train, after all, but a variation on the classic “streeter,” that roundup of quotes...
rivet counter n.— «North End Train Center has some intense customers who Colley likes to call “rivet counters.” These are collectors who won’t buy an item unless it is absolutely correct and to perfect scale.» —“Small...