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

A Way with Words

A Way with Words is a fun and funny radio show and podcast about language. Co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett talk with callers from around the world about linguistics, slang, new words, jokes, riddles, word games, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, books, literature, folklore, and speaking and writing well. Email your language questions for the show to words@waywordradio.org. Or call with your questions toll-free *any* time in the U.S. and Canada at (877) 929-9673. From anywhere in the world: +1 (619) 800-4443. Hear all past shows for free: http://waywordradio.org/. Also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wayword.

Episodes

Niblings and Nieflings (Rebroadcast) - 23 November 2020

Nov 23 2020 • 3093 MIN

How do actors bring Shakespeare's lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the text? One way is to emphasize the names of people and places at certain points. That technique is...

Sock it to Me - 16 November 2020

Nov 16 2020 • 3085 MIN

In the 15th century, the word respair meant "to have hope again." Although this word fell out of use, it's among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, base...

Kite in a Phonebooth (Rebroadcast) - 9 November 2020

Nov 9 2020 • 3092 MIN

Stunt performers in movies have their own jargon for talking about their dangerous work. They refer to a stunt, for example, as a gag. Across the country in Brooklyn, the slang term brick means "co...

Strawberry Moon (Rebroadcast) - 2 November 2020

Nov 2 2020 • 3090 MIN

We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools -- and you replied with a resounding "Yes!" Here's why: Cursive helps develop fine motor skills, improves mental...

Good Vibrations - 26 October 2020

Oct 26 2020 • 3088 MIN

Asthenosphere, a geologist's term for the molten layer beneath the earth's crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Plus: What the ...

Spill The Tea (Rebroadcast) - 19 October 2020

Oct 19 2020 • 3098 MIN

If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don't want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in truth. To spill the T means to pass along truthful ...