A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over The Fighting Kewpies, Un-hunh! (rebroadcast) - 28 June 2010
Jun 28, 2010
51:45
[This episode first aired December 5, 2009.]
In high school, no one thinks twice about cheering for the Fighting Trojans or the Tigers. But what about the Hickman Kewpies http://service.columbia.k12.mo.us/hhs/about/? Or the Maryville Spoofhounds http://www.maryville.k12.mo.us/? Martha and Grant talk about some of the odder names for school athletic teams. Also, in this episode: If you're queasy, are you "nauseous" or "nauseated"? How do you pronounce the word "sorry"? And why do conservative Democrats call themselves "Blue Dogs"?
Grant and Martha discuss strange names for high school sports teams. Know another example? Talk about it in the forum http://www.waywordradio.org/discussion/.
How do you pronounce the word "sorry"? SORE-ee? SAHR-ee? A Connecticut woman says her family pronounces this word four different ways, and is hoping her way is correct.
Is there a name for those vocal sound we make when shrugging our shoulders or wordlessly affirming something with an "mm-hm"?
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a puzzle called "There's An App For That." The challenge is to guess what new word is formed by tacking the letters A-P-P on to another one. For example, what new word appears when you add A-P-P to the word that means "a soothing balm or salve."
How'd we get the term "colorblind," and when it did come to be mean "indifferent to race"?
"Really???" Really! A college student in Provo, Utah, says he's hearing this expression of sarcastic incredulity more and more—even catching himself saying this to his cellphone when it dropped a call. He suspects it comes from "Saturday Night Live." Does it? Really? Here's a great example of that show's use of the expression.
A Connecticut cop says his dad, a retired professor of English and comparative literature at Yale, has been reading his son's police reports. They disagree about whether "complainant" is a legitimate word, or whether it should be "complainer."
Here's a riddle: "I'm weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter. What am I?" Martha has the answer.
Grant shares online sites that can help you solve a difficult crossword puzzle"or anagram words to help you get the highest scores in Scrabble. WordNavigator http://wordnavigator.com/ and Wordsmith.org's anagram server http://wordsmith.org/anagram/.
A veteranian says her colleague insists that "nauseous" means "contagious." Is that right? And if you're queasy, are you "nauseous" or "nauseated"?
A Burlington, Vt. man says his mother and grandmother used the expression "journey proud" to denote being restless, nervous, or excited, especially on the eve of an upcoming trip.
"I'll be there at three-ish." "That shirt is bluish." "It wasn't a house—but it was house-ish." OK, but what in the world does "ish" mean, exactly?
Conservative Democrats are sometimes called "Blue Dog Democrats." Grant explains why. Check out the work of George Rodrigue http://www.georgerodrigue.com/, the Blue Dog artist.
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Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:
Email: words@waywordradio.org
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Copyright 2010, Wayword LLC.
In high school, no one thinks twice about cheering for the Fighting Trojans or the Tigers. But what about the Hickman Kewpies http://service.columbia.k12.mo.us/hhs/about/? Or the Maryville Spoofhounds http://www.maryville.k12.mo.us/? Martha and Grant talk about some of the odder names for school athletic teams. Also, in this episode: If you're queasy, are you "nauseous" or "nauseated"? How do you pronounce the word "sorry"? And why do conservative Democrats call themselves "Blue Dogs"?
Grant and Martha discuss strange names for high school sports teams. Know another example? Talk about it in the forum http://www.waywordradio.org/discussion/.
How do you pronounce the word "sorry"? SORE-ee? SAHR-ee? A Connecticut woman says her family pronounces this word four different ways, and is hoping her way is correct.
Is there a name for those vocal sound we make when shrugging our shoulders or wordlessly affirming something with an "mm-hm"?
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a puzzle called "There's An App For That." The challenge is to guess what new word is formed by tacking the letters A-P-P on to another one. For example, what new word appears when you add A-P-P to the word that means "a soothing balm or salve."
How'd we get the term "colorblind," and when it did come to be mean "indifferent to race"?
"Really???" Really! A college student in Provo, Utah, says he's hearing this expression of sarcastic incredulity more and more—even catching himself saying this to his cellphone when it dropped a call. He suspects it comes from "Saturday Night Live." Does it? Really? Here's a great example of that show's use of the expression.
A Connecticut cop says his dad, a retired professor of English and comparative literature at Yale, has been reading his son's police reports. They disagree about whether "complainant" is a legitimate word, or whether it should be "complainer."
Here's a riddle: "I'm weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter. What am I?" Martha has the answer.
Grant shares online sites that can help you solve a difficult crossword puzzle"or anagram words to help you get the highest scores in Scrabble. WordNavigator http://wordnavigator.com/ and Wordsmith.org's anagram server http://wordsmith.org/anagram/.
A veteranian says her colleague insists that "nauseous" means "contagious." Is that right? And if you're queasy, are you "nauseous" or "nauseated"?
A Burlington, Vt. man says his mother and grandmother used the expression "journey proud" to denote being restless, nervous, or excited, especially on the eve of an upcoming trip.
"I'll be there at three-ish." "That shirt is bluish." "It wasn't a house—but it was house-ish." OK, but what in the world does "ish" mean, exactly?
Conservative Democrats are sometimes called "Blue Dog Democrats." Grant explains why. Check out the work of George Rodrigue http://www.georgerodrigue.com/, the Blue Dog artist.
--
A Way with Words is funded by its listeners: http://waywordradio.org/donate
Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:
Email: words@waywordradio.org
Phone: United States and Canada toll-free (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673London +44 20 7193 2113Mexico City +52 55 8421 9771
Donate: http://waywordradio.org/donateSite: http://waywordradio.org/Podcast: http://waywordradio.org/podcast/Forums: http://waywordradio.org/discussion/Newsletter: http://waywordradio.org/newsletter/Twitter: http://twitter.com/wayword/Skype: skype://waywordradio
Copyright 2010, Wayword LLC.
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