The 2 Best A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over Podcast Episodes
1) Loaded For Bear - 16 September 2019
One way to make your new business look trendy is to use two nouns separated by an ampersand, like Peach & Creature or Rainstorm & Egg or ... just about any other two-word combination. A tongue-in-chee...Show More
2) There's Something About A Way with Words... - 14 September 2016
Please donate to A Way With Words. Visit http://waywordradio.org for more info. Thanks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
3) No Bones - 17 November 2025
Whippoorwills, bob whites, and chickadees. How do we decide the names of birds and what to call their calls? Plus, the last syllables of Arkansas and Kansas are pronounced differently, but they come f...Show More
4) East Overshoe (Rebroadcast) - 10 November 2025
Some people work hard to lose their accent in order to fit in when they move somewhere else. But others may be homesick for the sounds they grew up with and want to try to reclaim them. How can you re...Show More
5) Herd of Turtles (Rebroadcast) - 3 November 2025
Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discovers a new species of bat, then names it after a poet h...Show More
6) Chow Line - 27 October 2025
Does language acquisition correspond with being ambidextrous? A woman notices her polyglot husband takes notes with his right hand for certain languages, then switches to his left for other ones. And:...Show More
7) Big as a Breadbox - 20 October 2025
The Hawaiian word aloha is both a greeting and a goodbye, as well as a profound acknowledgement of the oneness with all living things. Plus, what’s a lemur ball? A new book will leave you marveling ov...Show More
8) Mittens in Moonlight (Rebroadcast) - 13 October 2025
Need a slang term that can replace just about any noun? Try chumpie. If you're from Philadelphia, you may already know this handy placeholder word. And there's Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhatt...Show More
9) Diamond Dust (Rebroadcast) - 6 October 2025
Diamond dust, tapioca snow, and sugar icebergs -- a 1955 glossary of arctic and subarctic terms describes the environment in ways that sound poetic. And a mom says her son is dating someone who's non-...Show More
10) Brass Tacks - 29 September 2025
Why would some Spanish speakers use adaptations of certain English words when perfectly good Spanish words for the same thing already exist? Plus, handy terms in a dictionary of the Sussex dialect fro...Show More