English spelling is a hot mess, even for native speakers. But as a new book shows, would-be spelling reformers, including Benjamin Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt, eventually just gave up. Also, what do you call your fellow parent in front of the children? Do you use the same word when the kids aren't around? And: Baseball announcers may refer to a fastball as high cheese, but the reason has nothing to do with dairy products. Plus, "Mairzy Doats," straight and narrow vs. straightened arrow, a puzzle about sound switcheroos, cuando la rana crie pelos, a cute kid coinage, geehaw, quid, teknonomy, and books with great opening lines. http://waywordradio.org

Straight and Narrow (Full Episode)

Have you lived in your home so long that you don’t notice its flaws? In Sweden, they have a name for this condition: It’s hemmablind—literally, “home blind.” A popular Swedish TV program shows what you can do about it. Plus, unlocking the mysterious word conclave. And: How did the expression “throw in the towel” come to mean “give up”? Also, pully, visiting firemen, the origin of conclave, how to pronounce grimace, the reason to substitute a different word for substitute, a word challenge involving the letter Y, Shiver me timbers! and Kiss the dealer! http://waywordradio.org

Eat My Hat (Full Episode)

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 North Carolina has a distinctive dialect all its own. A new book shows how tourism is changing how the locals talk.  Plus: Are you binge-watching or stinge-watching? If you’re stinge-watching your favorite TV series, you’re savoring it over a long period of time. Also, smearcase, names for imaginary friends, a disem-voweled puzzle, steen o’clock, the rocky origin of cloud, dreepy, nicknames for days of the week, bag raising, and how to pronounce the word mobile when it refers to that toy that hangs above a crib. http://waywordradio.org

Imaginary Friends (Full Episode)

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 world championship, but what exactly IS a spurtle? Some of the finest kitchens are stocked with spurtles. Plus, a love poem from a now-extinct language still echoes through the centuries. Also, boire en wifi and other synonyms for airsipping, an anagrammatic word challenge, thivel, good times at the hosie, Proto-Indo-European, sprit, bully pulpit, the vocabulary of Schuylkill County in Pennsylvania, water sommelier, and a punny riddle. http://waywordradio.org

Mox Nix (Full Episode)

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 gesture studies. And: Ever wonder why we describe the American flag as “red, white, and blue?” Why not “blue, white, and red?” Plus, everyone should have a hellbox for tossing their discards! But where exactly would you find one? Also: a tall glass of water, since dirt was young, since King Hatchet was a hammer, since Hector was a pup, a brain teaser about multiple letters, sold down the river, an alliterative drinking game, upper-case vs. lower-case, why we say red, white, and blue and not blue, white, and red, and how to pronounce pecan. http://waywordradio.org

Tall Drink of Water (Full Episode)

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 like Sasquatch? Plus: If you’re retired, you may jokingly call yourself a “geezer.” In the UK, though, the term is downright derogatory. Also, why good eggs make much better company than bad apples. And how to pronounce macabre, the difference between mass nouns and count nouns, an Italian phrase about foolishness, alight from the front, Japanese pager slang, a brain teaser for bookworms, vermilion, crimson, carmine, and cochineal, and You thought like Nelly. http://waywordradio.org

Good Egg, Bad Apple (Full Episode)

How do social media algorithms shape the way we communicate? A new book argues that the competition for clicks is changing the way we speak and write, from the so-called “YouTube accent” to the surprising evolution of the word preppy. Also: A Massachusetts woman complains that a digital highway sign that says Use Ya Blinkah is well-intentioned, but goes too far in making fun of the local dialect. Plus, if you’re puzzling over something--no problem. Just use your Clyde! Also, squatcho and squatchee, wuzzle and fuzzle, juke and jook, gnurr and oosse, the millennial pause and the Gen Z shake, eye dialect, an adverbial brain teaser, the Coanda effect, how to ask for rooiboos tea, and a clever neologism that means “dread.” http://waywordradio.org

Cat Bristle (Full Episode)

Why would some Spanish speakers use adaptations of certain English words when perfectly good Spanish words for the same thing already exists? Plus, handy terms in a dictionary of the Sussex dialect from 150 years ago: Back then, a “dezzick” was “a day’s work” and “January butter” was another term for “mud.” And: You can’t judge a book by its cover, but the outer sides of its pages may impress you. A new trend in publishing features colorful patterns and images that look gorgeous when the book is closed. These decorations are called spredges, from the words “sprayed” and “edges.” Also: brass tacks, beevers, a punning puzzle for cinephiles, shmutzing, lonche, go chalk, archaic names for ladybugs, close-toe vs. close-toed vs. closed-toe, denominalization, mucksig, and God Almighty’s cow. http://waywordradio.org

Brass Tacks (Full Episode)

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”? That’s the cute little cuddle formed when several of these ring-tailed primates cozy up to each other. A new book will leave you marveling over the mysteries of lemurs, wombats, and other creatures. And: If you’re exhausted after a long day, and you get tired of saying you’re tired, you can always say you’re “forswunk.” Also, sweating buckets, sudar como un pollo, a game featuring imaginary national anthems, fair to middling, sirop de poteau, Se cree la mamá de Tarzán, dilly-dally, cackermander, jassum, swink, skunked, and a 5-year-old’s hilarious misunderstanding. http://waywordradio.org

Big as a Breadbox (Full Episode)

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: What's the difference between an orchard and a grove? Is it correct to speak of an apple grove or an orange orchard? Also, some fun slang from Newfoundland: Sit too long on a hard seat, and your badonkadonk will wind up “dunch.” Plus: duckish, woo-woo, a puzzle about werewolves, waxing eloquent about whiskey, muldoon, names coined by famous authors, huerta and horticulture, zerbert, and a hundred feet of chow line. http://waywordradio.org

Chow Line (Full Episode)

A Way with Words is a fun and funny public radio program about language examined through history, culture, and family. Its mission is to change the way you think about language. The program is heard by broadcast and podcast across the United States and around the world by more than a quarter-million listeners each week. It's produced by Wayword, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to promote lifelong learning, better human communication, and the value 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: words@waywordradio.org.

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