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
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3) Good Egg, Bad Apple - 1 September 2025
If you like to use emojis, you have some 3800 to choose from—and the organization that approves them is about to announce even more. But do we really need a purple splatter emoji? Or one that looks li...Show More
4) Salad Days (Rebroadcast) - 25 August 2025
A documentary film called My Beautiful Stutter" follows youngsters at a summer camp specifically for stutterers. It's a place for finding acceptance, support, and confidence for navigating the larger ...Show More
5) Tall Drink of Water - 18 August 2025
Why is it harder to talk if we don’t move our hands? Even when we’re talking on the phone we feel the need to gesture to aid communication. A new book offers a look at the relatively new field of gest...Show More
6) Your Imaginery Boyfriend (Rebroadcast) - 11 August 2025
We use the term Milky Way for that glowing arc across the sky. But how people picture it varies from culture to culture. In Sweden, that starry band goes by a name that means "Winter Street," and in H...Show More
7) Mox Nix - 4 August 2025
You might be surprised to learn that a “hoosier” isn’t necessarily from Indiana. In St. Louis, Missouri, the term hoosier has a whole other meaning. And: Scotland is the home of the Golden Spurtle wor...Show More
8) Beefed It (Rebroadcast) - 28 July 2025
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don't they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ev...Show More
9) Imaginary Friends - 21 July 2025
Alright, alright, alright! How do some catchphrases become part of the larger vernacular—to the point where people don’t always know the original reference? And the island of Ocracoke off the coast of...Show More
10) Forty Eleven Zillion (Rebroadcast) - 14 July 2025
This week on "A Way with Words": When there's no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO -- "you're on you...Show More