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

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

Fun conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family expressions, word histories, linguistics, dialects, word games, books, literature, writing, and more. Be on the show with author/journalist Martha Barnette and linguist/lexicographer Grant Barrett. Share your thoughts, questions, and stories: https://waywordradio.org/contact or words@waywordradio.org. In the US and Canada, call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free 24/7. Send a voice note or message via WhatsApp, 16198004443. From everywhere, call or text +1 (619) 800-4443. Past episodes, show notes, full search, more: https://waywordradio.org. A Way with Words is listener-supported! https://waywordradio.org/donate ❤️ Listen without ads here! https://awww.supportingcast.fm

Episodes

Secret Code - 31 August 2026

August 31, 2026 • 53 mins
“Are we ready to order yet?” Why do restaurant servers use the word “we” when they’re not eating with you or helping you pay the bill? And a story of Cold War intrigue: A young saxophone player’s clever ruse to smuggle information past KGB agents by encoding it in sheet music. Plus: colorful bird names, including bananaquit, ticking doradito, and invisible rail! Also, woods co...
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Blessing Box (Rebroadcast) - 24 August 2026

August 24, 2026 • 53 mins
Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article? Plus, those Little Free Libraries filled with books have inspired another kind of giving: little free pantries stocked with canned foods and other household items for anyon...
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Apple Turnover - 17 August 2026

August 17, 2026 • 53 mins
Critters, co-workers, and clothes: What do you call your favorite mixed-breed dog? There are Heinz 57 mutts and Texas brown dogs in the U.S., while in parts of the Caribbean they’re called potcakes and coconut retrievers. Plus, among firefighters, if you’re not pulling your weight, you’re called a bagger, a term with military origins. And: if your clothes are piled high on t...
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Fair Dinkum (Rebroadcast) - 10 August 2026

August 10, 2026 • 53 mins
A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is now the United States. It’s called The People’s Tongue, and it’s a sumptuous collection of essays, letters, poems, lyrics, and much more, from colonial times to the present. Plus, the story behind the phrase what are the odds? And speaking of odds, what’s the chance that you might see ...
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Wired for Sound - 3 August 2026

August 3, 2026 • 53 mins
If someone tells you it’s flisky or flobby outside, do you need to take an umbrella? A new book about England’s soggy climate includes 188 terms for rainy weather. Americans have their own joking names for local weather, from June Gloom in Southern California to Snowvember on the East Coast. And: Does it seem like automobiles are getting bigger lately? They are indeed, and there&r...
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By a Landslide (Rebroadcast) - 27 July 2026

July 27, 2026 • 53 mins
How do you transform ancient Chinese script for use in the modern age? English uses a keyboard with just 26 letters, but the first Chinese typewriter looked like a small table under a huge disk with more than 4,000 characters. A new book chronicles the innovators who adapted the Chinese writing for use with modern technology. Plus, in poker, why is a pair of aces and a pair of eights known as a dead man’s hand? And some ...
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Mischief Night - 20 July 2026

July 20, 2026 • 53 mins
What’s up with ketchup? The shifting history and spelling of the name of this condiment. For centuries, ketchup was a fishy sauce originating in Asia—the tomatoes came only later! Plus, a new book shows what’s lost when a language dies: when there are no speakers of that language left, it’s not just about losing a dictionary—a complete encyclopedia goes with it. Plus, if someone says, “Bring me a...
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Big Dog (Rebroadcast) - 13 July 2026

July 13, 2026 • 53 mins
If you’re ever near a sundial, step closer and look for a message. Many sundials bear haunting, poetic inscriptions about the brevity of life. Plus, language development in toddlers: why and how little ones pick up the exclamation Uh-oh! And a new Japanese term for making the most of your time in the modern age: The Japanese word taipa comes from English and means “time performance.” Also, a pu...
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Cheese Toasties - 6 July 2026

July 6, 2026 • 53 mins
If you mistype something, that’s a typo. But what do you call it when your voice-to-text program mistypes as you’re dictating? Is that a mico, as in microphone? Plus, the word sycophant has a long and surprising history that goes all the way back to ancient Greece. If you order a cheese toastie in the Midwest, they’ll probably know what you mean. Other places, not so much. Also, the H...
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Hot Gossip (Rebroadcast) - 29 June 2026

June 29, 2026 • 53 mins
Gossip goes by many names: the poop, the scoop, the lowdown, the dope, the scuttlebutt, the 411, the grapes, the gore, and hot tea. Plus, John Donne’s love poems are among the greatest in the English language, even as they’re famously difficult to unravel. A new biography hails the genius of the man who penned the phrases no man is an island and for whom the be...
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Flash in the Pan - 22 June 2026

June 22, 2026 • 53 mins
It’s the ultimate road trip: A father and son retrace the journey of Odysseus and find a way to navigate their relationship. Plus, the story behind the phrase a flash in the pan: It has nothing to do with cooking or gold mining. Also, what’s a gongoozler? If you’re a gongoozler, you’re a big fan of people-watching. And: umarell, a geography puzzle, Hi Bettys, just a tad,&nb...
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In the Ballpark (Rebroadcast) - 15 June 2026

June 15, 2026 • 53 mins
Novelist Charles Dickens and the musician Prince were very different types of artists, but they also had a lot in common. A new book chronicling their extraordinary careers becomes a larger meditation on perfectionism and creativity itself. Plus, the military origins of the term ballpark estimate. And when two people say the same thing simultaneously, why do we yell jinx!? There’s a magical story behind this word. P...
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Outer Space - 8 June 2026

June 8, 2026 • 53 mins
A writer stumbles upon a tiny, motionless creature on a country road and, against all good advice, takes it home. The resulting memoir, Raising Hare, is a lovely meditation on nature and our relationship to it. And: have you ever invented a fake swear word to hide the real ones from little ears? One family’s secret code was bandoozer—and it almost worked. Plus: what do these words have in common: elver,&n...
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Stub Your Toe (Rebroadcast) - 1 June 2026

June 1, 2026 • 53 mins
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say that someone who’s fortunate has the luck of the Irish? And the latest edition of the Official Scrabble Dictionary will liven up your game! Now you can r...
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Snookums and Snicklefritz (Rebroadcast) - 25 May 2026

May 25, 2026 • 53 mins
A new book about how animals perceive their environment reveals immense worlds beyond our own. A bee can see ultraviolet light, catfish have taste buds all over their bodies, and manatees use highly sensitive lips to examine nearby objects. Also, what’s the relationship between romantic novels and Romance languages? Plus, sometimes buying gingerbread isn’t just about the baked goods. In one part of the United States, bu...
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If Grandma Had Wheels (Rebroadcast) - 18 May 2026

May 18, 2026 • 53 mins
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be in the dictionary and why — including words that might offend Victorian sensibilities. Also why are some words more pleasurable to say than others? And: the German saying that ...
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Match Game - 11 May 2026

May 11, 2026 • 53 mins
Why do speakers of the same language have different accents? A lively new book called Why We Talk Funny offers a linguist’s look at how and why accents develop. And: If you’ve “stood up” at a wedding, were you supporting the marriage or objecting to it? Plus, a new expression making the rounds: “AI breath.” It describes writing that seems as though it was artificially generated. Also, h...
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Touch Grass (Rebroadcast) - 4 May 2026

May 4, 2026 • 53 mins
High school students in Alabama share some favorite slang terms. If someone tells you to touch grass, they’re telling you to get a reality check — but the last thing you’d actually want to touch is dog water! Also, the history of the word hangover, and the many names, in several languages, for the effects of drinking too much alcohol. Plus, Do you smell what I’m stepping in? If you d...
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Catch My Drift - 27 April 2026

April 26, 2026 • 53 mins
If you work in tech support, you might use snarky slang for problems caused by computer users themselves. There’s the acronym PEBCAK, for example, which stands for Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard. And: a lush poem about the sea inspired by kennings, those riddle-like compound terms from Old English. Plus, more vocabulary from RV enthusiasts: If you drive a motor home, what does it mean to be chasing 7...
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Funny Papers (Rebroadcast) - 20 April 2026

April 20, 2026 • 53 mins
There are word nerds, and then there’s the woman who set up a folding chair on sidewalks throughout the country, cheerfully dispensing tips about grammar. She recounts her adventures in a new book. And the story of the brilliant pioneer of computing language whose name lives on in a familiar term. Plus, when you get a new haircut, beware of anyone yelling Rinktums! Noogies may follow! Also, slobgollion and...
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