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PODCAST

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. Produced by Stefanie Levine.

Fun conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family expressions, word histories, linguistics, dialects, word games, books, literature, writing, and more. Be on the show with author/journalist Martha Barnette and linguist/lexicographer Grant Barrett. Share your thoughts, questions, and stories: https://waywordradio.org/contact or words@waywordradio.org. In the US and Canada, call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free 24/7. Send a voice note or message via

society & culture language learning

All Episodes

53:45

Hell's Half Acre (Rebroadcast) - 25 September 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/09/25

Hundreds of years ago, the word girl didn’t necessarily mean a female child — in the 14th and 15th centuries, it could refer to a child of either sex. Only later did its meaning become more specific. • Some people think that referring to a former spouse as an ex sounds harsh or disrespectful. So what do you call someone you used to be involved with? • The story behind the real McCoy. This term for something “genuine” has nothing to do with the famous feud nor an inventor. • Also, hairy at the

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53:45

Steamed Bun (Rebroadcast) - 18 September 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/09/18

This week: Do you ever find yourself less-than-specific about your age? Listeners share some of their favorite phrases for fudging that number, like: “Oh, I’m 29, plus shipping and handling.” Also in this episode: • Since ancient times, people have hidden messages in clever ways. Nowadays, coded messages are sometimes concealed in pixels. • Uber-silly German jokes: Did you hear the one about the two skyscrapers knitting in the basement? It’s silly, all right. • The origin of hello, the creative

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53:45

Charismatic Megafauna (Rebroadcast) - 11 September 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/09/11

Choosing language that helps resolve interpersonal conflict. Sometimes a question is really just a veiled form of criticism and understanding the difference between “ask culture” and “guess culture” can help you know how to respond. • What words should you use with a co-worker who’s continually apologizing for being late — but never changes her behavior? Finally, charismatic megafauna may look cuddly, but they’re best appreciated from a distance. Plus, in like Flynn, gradoo, champing, pronouncing

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53:45

Knuckle Down (Rebroadcast) - 4 September 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/09/04

A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a certain political persuasion? Also, is there something wrong with the phrase committed suicide? Some say that the word commit is a painful reminder that, legally, suicide was once considered a criminal act. They’ve proposed a different term. Finally, a word game inspired by that alliteratively athletic season, March Madness. Plus, rabble rouser vs. rebel rouser, BOLO, feeling punk, free rein, sneaky

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29:48

What Kids Know and Want to Find Out - 1 September 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/09/01

Our youngest listeners have questions about everything from love to one of their favorite foods. Kids ask why we might end a text with the letters xoxo, what the word "canoodle" means, and how pizza got its name. And it turns out that when it comes to words, sometimes kids know even more than their parents! Listen to all episodes for free: https://waywordradio.org/ Support the show to keep episodes coming: https://waywordradio.org/donate Your responses, questions, and comments are welcomed at

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53:45

Lie Like a Rug (Rebroadcast) - 28 August 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/08/28

The words we choose can change attitudes — and change lives. A swing-dance instructor has switched to gender-neutral language when teaching couples. He says that using words like “leader” and “follower” actually works better than using gendered terms. But not everyone agrees. Plus, a pithy observation about how stray comments can seem meaningless at the time, but can lodge in other people like seeds and start growing. Plus, slang you might hear in Albuquerque, sufficiently suffonsified, make ends

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51:45

Pig Latin (Rebroadcast) - 21 August 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/08/27

This week on "A Way with Words": Grant and Martha discuss the L-word--or two L-words, actually: liberal and libertarian. They reflect different political philosophies, so why do they look so similar? Also, is the term expat racist? A journalist argues that the word expat carries a value judgment, suggesting that Westerners who move to another country are admirable and adventurous, while the term immigrant implies that someone moved out of necessity or may even be a burden to their adopted country

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53:58

Whistle in the Dark (Rebroadcast) - 14 August 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/08/14

The language and melodies of military marching songs connect grown children with their parents who served, as do parents’ love letters from World War II. Plus, “running a sandy” describes an awkward love triangle and Northern Spy is a kind of apple and a bit of abolitionist history. And, whitewater-rafting jargon, wooden spoon, Shakespearean knock-knock jokes, Sunday throat, celestial discharge, and mickey mousing, and more. Read full show notes, hear hundreds of free episodes, send your thoughts

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51:45

Chocolate Gravy (Rebroadcast) - 7 August 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/08/07

Say you have an acquaintance you always see at the dog park or the playground. But one night, you run into them at the movies, and for a moment, it's confusing. Is there a word for that disorienting sense of someone or something being out of place? Yes! Plus: the term sea change doesn't have to do with winds changing direction on the surface of the sea. It's a kind of profound transformation that Shakespeare wrote about. Finally, Martha and Grant have recommendations for the book lovers on your gift

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51:58

Fickle Finger of Fate (Rebroadcast) - 31 July 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/07/31

Clean cursing for modern times, more about communicating after a brain injury, and 1970's TV lingo with roots in the Second World War. A young woman wants a family-friendly way to describe a statement that's fraudulent or bogus, but all the words she can think of sound old-fashioned. Is there a better term than malarkey, poppycock, or rubbish? Also, listeners step up to help a caller looking for a succinct way to explain that a brain injury sometimes makes it hard for her to remember words. Finally,

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53:45

Flop Sweat - 24 July 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/07/24

Gerrymandering draws political boundaries to tip elections towards certain political parties. Originally, the word was pronounced “GARY-mandering” with a hard “g.” But why? And why did it change? • Mark Twain and Helen Keller had a devoted friendship. When he heard accusations that she’d plagiarized a story, Twain wrote Keller a fond letter assuring her that there’s nothing new under the sun. • A well-crafted subject line makes email more efficient. One that contains just the word “Question” is

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52:37

Smile Belt - 17 July 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/07/17

The only time you'll ever see the sun's outer atmosphere is during a full solar eclipse, when sun itself is completely covered. That hazy ring is called the corona, from the Latin word for "crown" -- just like the little crown on a bottle of Corona beer. Plus, the phrase "throw the baby out with the bathwater" contains a vivid image of accidentally tossing something -- and so does the phrase "to fly off the handle." But where did we get the expression "to hell in a handbasket"? The origin of this

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52:37

A Shoo-In - 10 July 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/07/10

This week it’s butterflies, belly flowers, plot bunnies, foxes, and cuckoos. Also, writing advice from Mark Twain and a wonderful bit of prose from Sara Pennypacker's book Pax. And are there word origins? Well, does a duck swim? We'll hear the stories of polka, smarmy, bully pulpit, and the exes and ohs we use to show our affection. Plus! Sarcastic interrogatives, the echo questions we give as answers to other people's no-duh queries. Listen to all episodes for free: https://waywordradio.org/

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53:45

Stars and Garters (Rebroadcast) - 3 July 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/07/03

Novelist Charles Dickens created many unforgettable characters, but he’s also responsible for coining or popularizing lots of words, like “flummox” and “butterfingers.” Also, the life’s work of slang lexicographer Jonathon Green is now available to anyone online. And, the art of accepting apologies. If a co-worker is habitually late but apologizes each time, what words can you use to accept their latest apology but also communicate that you never want it to happen again? Read full show notes, hear

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53:45

Noon of Night - 26 June 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/06/26

As a kid, you may have played that game where you phone someone to say, “Is your refrigerator running? Then you better go catch it!” What’s the term for that kind of practical joke? Is it a crank call or a prank call? There’s a difference. • If someone has a chip on his shoulder, he’s spoiling for a fight — but what kind of chip are we talking about? Potato? Poker? Hint: the phrase arose at a time when working with wood was more likely. • A conversation with an expert on polar bears leads to a

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54:03

Boss of Me (Rebroadcast) - 19 June 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/06/19

If you want to be a better writer, try skipping today's bestsellers, and read one from the 1930's instead. Or read something besides fiction in order to find your own metaphors and perspective. Plus, just because a city's name looks familiar doesn't mean you should assume you know how the locals pronounce it. The upstate New York town spelled R-I-G-A isn't pronounced like the city in Latvia. Turns out lots of towns and streets have counterintuitive names. Finally, why do we describe being socially

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53:45

Sunny Side Up (Rebroadcast) - 12 June 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/06/12

Baseball has a language all its own: On the diamond, a snow cone isn’t what you think it is, and three blind mice has nothing to do with nursery rhymes. And how do you describe someone who works at home while employed by a company in another city? Are they telecommuters? Remote workers? One writer wants to popularize a new term for this modern phenomenon: working in place. Also, a powerful essay on white privilege includes a vivid new metaphor for the pain of accumulated slights over a

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53:45

Naked as a Jaybird - 5 June 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/06/05

What’s the best way for someone busy to learn lots of new words quickly for a test like the GRE? Looking up their origins can help. Or, record yourself reading the words and definitions and play them back while you’re doing other chores. • Book recommendations for youngsters, military slang, and the one-word prank that sends Army recruits running — or at least the ones who are in on the joke! • FANBOYS, technophyte, galoot, land sickness, to have one’s habits on, zonk, and a sciurine eulogy. Read

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51:45

Hot Dog Cold Turkey - 29 May 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/05/29

Why do we call a frankfurter a "hot dog"? It seems an unsettling 19th-century rumor is to blame. Also, if someone quits something abruptly, why do we say they quit "cold turkey"? This term's roots may lie in the history of boxing. Plus, a transgender listener with nieces and nephews is looking for a gender-neutral term for the sibling of one's parent. Finally, the words "barber" and "doctor" don't necessarily mean what you think. They can both be weather words, referring to very different types of

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53:45

Spur of the Moment (Rebroadcast) - 22 May 2017

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers... ·

2017/05/22

A caller with a 25-year-old parrot wonders: How much language do birds really understand? Plus, Knock-knock. Who's there? Boo. Well… you can guess the rest. But there was a time when these goofy jokes were a brand-new craze sweeping the nation. Also, the words coffee and sugar both come from Arabic, as does ghoul. There's a spooky story about its origin. Also, freckle, diamond in the rough, spur of the moment, literary limericks, the pronunciation of divisive, and a cold vs. the flu. Read full show

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