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A Way with Words

A Way with Words A Way with Words is a fun and funny radio program and podcast about language examined through histor Its mission is to change the way you think about language.

A Way with Words is a fun and funny public radio program and podcast about language examined through history, culture, and family. The program is heard by broadcast and podcast across the United States and around the world by more than a half-million listeners each week. It's produced by Wayword, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to promote lifelong learning, better human communication, and the v

alue of a thing well-said or well-written. Call or write with your language questions at any time: (877) 929-9673 (toll-free in the US and Canada) or just email us: [email protected].

Operating as usual

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/snookums-snicklefritz/ The tie between romantic novels and Romance languages, buyi...
11/28/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/snookums-snicklefritz/ The tie between romantic novels and Romance languages, buying gingerbread = buying votes, oripulation, tchotchkes, an ear-tickling quiz, mocap slang, canooper, an outfit you drive, Flaubert on writer’s block, darcin, Snookums, and lots more.

"Say hello to ronnagrams and quettameters: International scientists gathered in France voted on Friday for new metric pr...
11/18/2022
Earth now weighs six ronnagrams: New metric prefixes voted in

"Say hello to ronnagrams and quettameters: International scientists gathered in France voted on Friday for new metric prefixes to express the world's largest and smallest measurements."

Say hello to ronnagrams and quettameters: International scientists gathered in France voted on Friday for new metric prefixes to express the world's largest and smallest measurements, prompted by an ever-growing amount of data.

There's another way to reach us — we've joined the federated social media network Mastodon at https://masthead.social/. ...
11/15/2022

There's another way to reach us — we've joined the federated social media network Mastodon at https://masthead.social/. Find the other ways to get your idea, question, or comment submitted to the show at https://waywordradio.org/contact We're open to having people from people all over the world be on the show!

If grandma had wheels, she'd be this new episode! https://waywordradio.org/if-grandma-had-wheels/ Fun-to-say words, lett...
11/14/2022

If grandma had wheels, she'd be this new episode! https://waywordradio.org/if-grandma-had-wheels/ Fun-to-say words, letters to an OED lexicographer, an alliterative brain teaser, wasper, crack shot, dessert buckle, terms for an adult child, naming weak coffee, the kind of hairpin I am, and more.

Fascinating! A look at ancient Greek and Latin stenography and shorthand used by enslaved people.
11/05/2022
There Are Still Codes Throughout Ancient Roman Literature

Fascinating! A look at ancient Greek and Latin stenography and shorthand used by enslaved people.

For centuries we’ve ignored the marginalia writing of slave stenographers, but focusing on it now could give fresh insight into their lives, and into military and literary history.

Welcome to the listeners of KEZL-FM, serving the Republican River Valley of Nebraska! And congratulations to the staff o...
10/20/2022

Welcome to the listeners of KEZL-FM, serving the Republican River Valley of Nebraska! And congratulations to the staff of KEZL for launching a new radio station! http://kezlfm.com/

New episode!  https://waywordradio.org/touch-grass/ High school slang, history of "hangover," smell what someone steps i...
10/17/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/touch-grass/ High school slang, history of "hangover," smell what someone steps in, Erin vs. Aaron, cute little whiffet, schussel, locoweed, custard wind, a calm puzzle, leaning toward sawyers, the skinny, guyascutus, and lots more.

Who else is in love with Maps on the Web? https://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com Tons of great language stuff! https://bit.l...
10/10/2022

Who else is in love with Maps on the Web? https://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com Tons of great language stuff! https://bit.ly/3SQurrI Origins for "egg" or "chess" in European languages, language families in India, number of letters in African alphabets, languages in Mali, and many more.

Regarding the false etymology making the rounds which says Doc Holliday's movie line, "I'll be your huckleberry," has so...
10/08/2022

Regarding the false etymology making the rounds which says Doc Holliday's movie line, "I'll be your huckleberry," has something to do with casket handles, see this https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/yhcbh2i and our attached advice.

Did you know that you can call "A Way with Words" with your language thoughts, ideas, and questions from other countries...
10/03/2022

Did you know that you can call "A Way with Words" with your language thoughts, ideas, and questions from other countries? 🇨🇦 1 877 929 9673 toll-free in Canada and the US
🇬🇧 UK 020 3286 5677
🇲🇽 Mexico 55 8421 8567
🇺🇳 +1 619 800 4443 from everywhere

Saida in Amsterdam sent in this local building inscription in response to our discussion about such things: "Homo Sapien...
09/27/2022

Saida in Amsterdam sent in this local building inscription in response to our discussion about such things: "Homo Sapiens Non Urinat in Ventum": 'A wise man does not urinate into the wind." https://waywordradio.org/building-inscriptions/

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/funny-papers/ Rinctums — noogies for new haircuts, greeting others with "Christmas...
09/26/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/funny-papers/ Rinctums — noogies for new haircuts, greeting others with "Christmas gift!" at Christmastime, the brilliant pioneer whose name lives on in computing, slumgullion, comb graves, tear up Jack, swotting up your Klingon, building inscriptions, and lots more!

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/go-bananas/ Can using an employee’s first name be condescending? Funny bananas, gl...
09/12/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/go-bananas/ Can using an employee’s first name be condescending? Funny bananas, glacial erratic, a Swahili riddle, defenestration, overmorrow, etui and tweezers, similar similes, Kirchenfenster, an Italian saying, a Spanish one, and more.

Well, glorgy be! It's a new episode! https://waywordradio.org/what-in-tarnation/ Shifting sign language, "been there, do...
08/29/2022

Well, glorgy be! It's a new episode! https://waywordradio.org/what-in-tarnation/ Shifting sign language, "been there, done that," capitalizing "I," restaurant slang, pothery, janky, mafting, tarnation, brogans, gumption, diaeresis, Santa Cruz slang, laughing to see a pudding crawl, and more!

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/blue-streak/ When a bride is and isn't one, duck milking, get the goody out, frunk...
08/15/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/blue-streak/ When a bride is and isn't one, duck milking, get the goody out, frunk and froot, minor league word game, left in the lurch, a da Vinci riddle, an onomastic puzzle, Pepper Alley, where folks say food store, and lots more.

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/i-dont-have-the-spoons/ The irresistibility of puzzles, explaining chronic illness...
08/01/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/i-dont-have-the-spoons/ The irresistibility of puzzles, explaining chronic illness, wet dress rehearsal, ditloids, eat a peck of dirt, an ooh and ah game, pronouncing "aunt," racing heats, dialect prejudice, and more. So good, your tongue will slap your brains out!

The "A Way with Words" video event is Thursday! Register for free to get the link: https://waywordradio.org/cookout Join...
07/18/2022

The "A Way with Words" video event is Thursday! Register for free to get the link: https://waywordradio.org/cookout Join your "A Way with Words" hosts for an hour of language goodies and a live question-and-answer session!

It's been a while — let's get together! Join your "A Way with Words" cohosts for another fun, free, live, online video c...
07/11/2022

It's been a while — let's get together! Join your "A Way with Words" cohosts for another fun, free, live, online video cookout. You, us, and chit-chat about language. Thursday, July 21, 7 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. PT, 23h00 UTC. Register to get the link: https://waywordradio.org/cookout

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/excuse-the-hogs/ Focusing on listening, deplane, turning -cles words into gods, pr...
07/11/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/excuse-the-hogs/ Focusing on listening, deplane, turning -cles words into gods, pronouncing "Missouri," cryptic crossword clues, jabroni, Chatham House rule, dress the bed, nux and nucleus, chewing book covers, railroad jargon, and lots more.

Starting Sunday, July 3, you can hear "A Way with Words" throughout South Dakota, from Spearfish to Vermillion, on South...
06/28/2022

Starting Sunday, July 3, you can hear "A Way with Words" throughout South Dakota, from Spearfish to Vermillion, on South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Sundays at 9 a.m. Central, 8 a.m. Mountain. Welcome! https://www.sdpb.org/

New episode: https://waywordradio.org/all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips/ Answering the phone, indexes, pronouncing "bona fides...
06/27/2022

New episode: https://waywordradio.org/all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips/ Answering the phone, indexes, pronouncing "bona fides," ort buckets, crisp = cranky, one foot in the milk bucket, fan club brain game, French gestures, Dutchman, million-dollar family, dungarees, nuking food, and more.

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/familiar-strangers/ Teaching your boomer to use memes, road buddies, sangwich, tha...
06/06/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/familiar-strangers/ Teaching your boomer to use memes, road buddies, sangwich, thalweg, stick season, quare, jimmycane, words from Nahuatl, camera and camaraderie, an eeeeeease brain tease, dollar and Neanderthal, umarell, "menos burros, más elotes," and more.

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/word-hoard/ Medieval English, shotgun houses, apology gestures for drivers, feakin...
05/30/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/word-hoard/ Medieval English, shotgun houses, apology gestures for drivers, feaking hawks, feather merchants, gradoo, spondulicks, echar un zorrito, tocayo and cuate, a take-off quiz, an onomatopoeic Old English word for "sneeze," and more.

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/you-talk-like-a-sausage/ Can an animal be a "somebody"? Plus, English spelling his...
05/09/2022

New episode! https://waywordradio.org/you-talk-like-a-sausage/ Can an animal be a "somebody"? Plus, English spelling history, Irish words alive in English, line vs. rope, when "evening" means "afternoon," pronouncing "hammock," an Iranian-American playwright, a word puzzle, and lots more.

Address

P. O. Box 632721
San Diego, CA
92163

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Comments

Watching "Call the Midwife" and a character used the phrase "spend a penny." Thanks to context, I completely understood but still looked it up. ☺️ This show enlightens me on so many euphemisms I never knew before.
Exactly how “old” is the “switcheroo”?

I’ve only ever hear “the old switcheroo”

Was the switcheroo ever new?

Inquiring minds want to know.
Pallet, palette, palate… cognates?
Wow! This is as interesting and entertaining as your show. You may have invented some of the words!
I was kind of surprised that you didn't mention the gym-class pinny (being related to pinafore) last week... glad someone wrote in to remark upon it!
Are there any native Finnish speakers here?
Can you please tell me if RUOANLAITTOJUOMA is a real word actually used by the Finns?
Or is it fake?
Thank you!
Our latest episode is all about , , and ! 👏😀

🎙✨ Listen to Lisa Cypers Kamen and guests Martha Barnette (A Way with Words) and Beth Kobliner here: https://harvestinghappinesstalkradio.com/use-your-words-wisely-idioms-expression-and-meaning/
I was listening to the latest podcast segment about naming a device in your home. Our first robotic sweeper was named Rhett, as in Rhett Butler.
Is it Visavi or visa vi? I had a college professor who constantly said something was, "visavi this or visavi that."
I was born and raised here in Minneapolis, Minnesota and I don't know if I've ever actually heard "ope!" in the wild. It seems like I've only become aware of it via social media in the last couple of years. (It's supposed to be something we say around here when we accidentally bump into someone or something like a variation on "oops"?)
When you are organized...
Do you "have your ducks in a row"?
Or maybe you "have your p**p in a group"?
Or what similar phrases do you have out there?
This totally reminds me of the most recent episode on "sunoffagunn".
x

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