A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

For true word nerds, it's a guilty pleasure. You meet a stranger, and you find yourself listening closely to that person's way of speaking as you try to guess the accent. Martha and Grant confess they play "Name That Accent" all the time in the privacy of their own heads. Recently though, a listener phoned to challenge them to guess where she'd grown up based on her accent. See if you can figure it out! -- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A caller has client who uses what sounds like a strange, three-syllable word: indice. The caller knows that the plural of index is indices. But, he wonders...indice? And should he talk about it with his client? ... Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org/. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode first aired May 5, 2008. ... Have you ever eaten a 'Benedictine sandwich'? Or savored a juicy 'pork steak'? What's a favorite dish you grew up with that may be mystifying to someone from another part of the country? Also, what does it mean to tell someone to 'put a snap on the grouch bag'? A rugby referee from Indiana calls to ask if his sport is the origin of the word 'touchdown' as it is used in American football. How do you pronounce the word 'patronize'? Is one pronunciation used if you say 'Don't patronize me!' and another one if you say 'We patronize local businesses'? Why do we say political campaigns that are in a 'dead heat'? Why 'dead' and why 'heat'? We play bingo on the air with Quiz Guy John Chaneski. His motives are not B9! A woman who went to school in New Orleans reports she was startled the first time she heard residents of the Crescent City talk about 'making groceries' rather than buying them. Grant explains the French origins of that expression. A listener who recently played in a Boggle tournament wants to know why we speak of 'seeding' such a competition. The German word 'uber' has found a place in American English. A New Jersey man says he and his colleagues find it to be more versatile than a Swiss Army knife, as in, 'He is uber in the middle of that situation,' 'That was an uber meeting,' and 'You guys are the language ubers.' An Indianapolis caller wants to know about curious expression she heard from her Aunt Harriet: 'put a snap on the grouch bag.' You would think it means 'Stop complaining!' but she says it refers to making sure your valuables are secure. What's the grudge? Martha and Grant discuss more regional food terms. If you order 'Albany beef' in upstate New York, for example, don't be surprised if you're served fish. This week's Slang This! contestant grapples with the slang terms 'squish' and 'optempo.' What's the trouble with using the expression 'drink the Kool-Aid' to connote blind, unquestioning obedience to a politician? A caller is bothered by the grisly origin of the phrase--a reference to the 1978 mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana--and thinks it's being used inaccurately, in any case. A caller is curious about the odd expression 'to who laid the rail,' which is used to mean, among other things, 'thoroughly, completely, excessively.' ... Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org/. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Puzzle Guys John Chaneski and Greg Pliska team up to make double trouble for Martha and Grant. The four divide into teams, and the object of the game is to make your partner guess words from a list. The only catch? All of the clues have to be one syllable only. It's tougher than you think! --- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A listener has a question about emoticons, those little sideways symbols you type to suggest emotions in informal electronic writing. You know, like using a colon, dash, and a capital P to stick out your tongue like this :-P or using a colon, dash, and small letter d to say 'Yum!' :-d But if you're going to toss emoticons into your prose, the caller asks, how in the world do you punctuate them? --- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's a dittler? What's a dit? A traveling preacher named Fred says he's heard these strange terms in parts of Appalachia used to refer to 'baby chicks' and 'little ducklings.' We share some of our own research about these curious terms. -- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[This episode originally aired March 15, 2008.] Unless you've been hiding out in a galaxy far, far away, you know that this is an election year. Grant and Martha talk about current political slang. Ever hear of 'glass pockets'? Or 'horseracism'? Is there an etymological connection between 'caucus' and 'Caucasian'? A caller wants to settle a friendly argument: Is something not worth debating called a 'moot point' or a 'mute point'? A listener calls from in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to say that in her native Spanish, she can use several different words for 'love' to denote a whole range of feelings, depending on how close she is to the other person. She's frustrated that English seems to lack that same spectrum of words meaning various degrees of love. What's a 'barbecue stopper,' and how does it differ from a 'marmalade dropper'? Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water--Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents a quiz about punny taglines from famous movies. For example, which Johnny Depp film's tagline is 'His story will touch you, even though he can't'? Back to political talk: Is there an etymological connection between the words 'caucus' and 'Caucasian'? A caller wants to know. Grant explains what politicians and watchdog groups mean by the term 'glass pockets.'   A California man complains that the expression 'grow your business' grates on his nerves. A San Diego woman who's homeschooling her children wonders if there's a formula that explains why nouns like 'teacher' and 'writer' end in '-er,' while others, like 'professor' and 'conductor,' end in '-or.' She suspects it has to do with whether the words come from Latin roots or Anglo-Saxon roots. This week's 'Slang This!' contestant shares his favorite slang term, 'teho,' (To Each His Own), then tries to puzzle out the meaning of the terms 'karzy' and 'low-bush moose.' An upstate New York listener of Italian descent is curious about two favorite expressions: 'fuggeddabouddit' and 'bada-bing, bada-boom.' A Texan says his grandmother used to refer to the thigh of a chicken as the 'second joint.' Martha and Grant discuss whether it's a regional term. By the way, if you want to know the French term Martha mentions that roughly translates as 'only a silly person won't eat it,' (literally, 'the idiot leaves it') it's 'le sot-l'y-laisse.' -- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've heard this happen: A singer belts out a song, and then afterward, she starts talking and you're startled to hear what sounds like a completely different accent. What is it about singing that seems to change some people's accents? A caller from Indianapolis wants to know. -- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[This episode first aired March 8, 2008.] You've just read a terrific paperback novel. Would you feel any differently about it if you'd the same words on the glowing screen of an electronic book? Martha and Grant discuss the social and psychological implications of books that run on batteries. A caller remembers an odd phrase from her childhood. If she asked too many questions, her mother would brush them off with the phrase 'layers for meddlers and crutches for lame ducks.' Say what? A Milwaukee listener is curious about an expression he uses to describe underlings who can't seem to do something right: 'You give 'em books, and all they do is eat the covers!' Martha and Grant discuss the rise of the Great Japanese cell-phone novel. Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents the hosts with a wacky puzzle based on two-word phrases containing the sounds 'oo oo,' 'ee ee,' and 'aa aa.' As you might expect, animal hilarity ensues. A retired theater professor wants to know why she keeps hearing the word 'dramaturge' used in surprising new ways. Is 'dramaturged' now a legitimate verb? Can the noun also refer to someone who adapts a play for particular production--and not just to the person who originally wrote it? A caller from Down Under phones to say he's annoyed when honorees declare they're 'humbled' by this or that award. He thinks it's not only illogical, but smacks of insincerity. A fair-haired listener has been puzzled by the origin of a word she's heard all her life: 'Tow-headed.' And no, it has nothing to do with the digits on one's feet. This week's 'Slang This!' contestant, John Schwaller, president of the State University of New York at Potsdam, ponders the possible meanings of the terms 'donk' and 'Baltimore wrench.' He offers his own favorite slang term, 'snow snake.' A Washington, D.C. caller wonders whether there's a difference between the words 'grey' and 'gray.' Do they designate exactly the same thing? Why are they spelled differently. A California man says his mother used to respond to his inquiries about what they were going to do by telling him playfully, 'We're going to Buxtehude!' Decades later, he wonders whether there really is a place called Buxtehude, or where in the world she got that phrase. Grant shares his thoughts about the future of electronic books, and whether dog-eared pages with scribbles in the margins will one day go the way of the papyrus roll. -- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A New York City listener says he's reading lots of thrillers this summer. But a couple of words keep tripping him up. Does a speeding car careen or career? The hosts spell out the differences, and throw in the origin of the word carom for good measure. --- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices