A conversation with Maureen Meister about her new book

Arts and Crafts Architecture across America

Temperature blankets are a visual and tactile mirror of the day's weather. Knitters use specific shades of yarn to match daily temperatures, creating a colorful, cozy record of weather over a given period of time. Plus, a new book chronicles the history and uncertain future of modern dictionaries. And: try replacing the term bucket list with bliss list. It’s a great strategy to help you focus on finding joy in small, meaningful moments every single day. Also, Your epidermis is showing, a puzzle about funny pronunciations, efficacy vs. effectiveness, voiceless labial-velar approximants, gig economy, the meaning of 73 among ham radio operators, go gunnybags, to Elmer someone, the historical present, and better than snuff, but not near as dusty. http://waywordradio.org

Safe as Houses (Full Episode)

Melissa in Charlotte, North Carolina, remembers her grandfather would describe something excellent as  better than snuff, but not near as dusty. The snuff in this case refers to finely ground smokeless tobacco. Variants include finer than snuff, not near as dusty and better than snuff, gooder than taters, as well as gooder than taters, better than snuff, and gooder than snuff, sweeter than a Sunday hymn. All of these arose at a time when snuff was regarded as a healthy, fashionable stimulant, an idea echoed in phrases like up to snuff. http://waywordradio.org

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Miley in The Dalles, Oregon, asks about going gunny bags meaning to “break down” or “go haywire.” Her mother uses this expression, but has no idea where she picked it up. The term gunny sack, referring to a bag made of coarse material such as jute, comes from an East Indian term meaning “sack,” so gunny sack is a pleonasm that means “sack sack.” The Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles includes an entry for gunny-bag meaning to “beat out a fire with gunny sacks,” suggesting frantic improvisation. The mystery writer Judith Jance uses the term go gunnybags quite frequently in her work, and since Miley’s mother is a big fan of Jance’s novels, it’s quite possible that’s where she picked up the phrase. http://waywordradio.org

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Knitters are creating temperature blankets, also known as weather blankets, by assigning colors to daily temperatures and stitching them into finished pieces. Makers involved in The Tempestry Project extend the practice by representing the weather from the past in their fiber art, crafting blankets, scarves, and other items that preserve climate records from previous decades. http://waywordradio.org

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Stefan Fatsis has made a career out of participatory journalism. For his book Word Freak (Bookshop|Amazon) about the world of competitive Scrabble, he became an expert player. For A Few Seconds of Panic. : A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL (Bookshop|Amazon), he trained for a season as a placekicker for the Denver Broncos. So it’s perhaps not surprising that, given his passion for dictionaries, he embedded himself as a lexicographer-in-training at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, writing or revising definitions for such words as microaggression, alt-right, and burkini. He writes about this in UNABRIDGED: The Thrill of (and Threat to) The Modern Dictionary (Bookshop|Amazon). http://waywordradio.org

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In the thriller Down Cemetery Road starring Emma Thompson, a character uses the Britishism safe as houses, meaning “quite safe,” an expression thought to derive either from the sturdiness of a house or the sense of real estate as a secure investment. http://waywordradio.org

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A listener named Lita who grew up in Cuba shares her favorite Spanish idiom for “working hard”: sudando tinta, or literally, “sweating ink.” http://waywordradio.org

1672-Sweating-Ink

In this lively conversation, Brandon, Misty, and Whitney talk with The Most Rev'd Sean Rowe, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church. In this role, he serves as the church’s chief pastor and CEO. Known for his expertise in organizational learning and adaptive change, Rowe is committed to strengthening support for local ministry and mission. This episode offers a wide-ranging conversation, touching upon everything from the role of seminary in spiritual formation, to leadership in a church that is still becoming, to our willingness to engage with God’s imagination. 


Hosts: Brandon Nappi, Whitney Kimball Coe, Misty Krasawski 

Guest: Sean Rowe 

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast 


berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders 

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