A Way with Words

Series produced by A Way with Words

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A Way with Words is a national, lively, hour-long public radio show about language, on the air since 1998. Author/journalist Martha Barnette and linguist/lexicographer Grant Barrett take listener calls about slang, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well. There are no carriage fees.

Learn more about the show, its hosts, and its history, and read station and listener testimonials on the A Way with Words website.


221 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Fair Dinkum (#1612)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
This week on "A Way with Words": A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is...

Bought by KTXK, WYAP, KTSW 89.9, WNIN, Red River Radio Network (E. Texas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Mississippi) and more


  • Added: Mar 27, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Put on the Dog (#1494)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Ever wonder whatever happened to responding to "Thank you" with the words "You're welcome"? A listener asks why so many radio interviews end with t...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WYAP, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9 and more


  • Added: Mar 20, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Excuse the Hogs (#1596)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
When a teenager went a week without talking as part of a school project, he noticed a surprising side effect: Instead of rehearsing a response to w...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WPCA-LP, KTSW 89.9, WYAP and more


  • Added: Mar 13, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
By a Landslide (#1611)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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 typewrit...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTXK, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WYAP, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Mar 06, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
All That and a Bag of Chips (#1595)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
We tend to take the index of a book for granted, but centuries ago, these helpful lists were viewed with suspicion. Some even worried that indexes ...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTXK, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KTSW 89.9, WYAP and more


  • Added: Feb 27, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Big Dog (#1610)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], RADIOLEX, WYAP, KTSW 89.9 and more


  • Added: Feb 20, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Familiar Strangers (#1594)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
This week on "A Way with Words": If you take up texting and social media late in life, there's a lot to learn! A 20-something wants advice getting ...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9, WYAP and more


  • Added: Feb 13, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Hot Gossip (#1609)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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 Donn...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KTSW 89.9, WYAP, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Feb 06, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Word Hoard (#1593)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Ever wonder what medieval England looked and sounded like? In Old English, the word hord meant "treasure" and your wordhord was the treasure of wor...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WPCA-LP, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9 and more


  • Added: Jan 30, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
In the Ballpark (#1608)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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 th...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WYAP, RADIOLEX, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KTSW 89.9 and more


  • Added: Jan 23, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
You Talk Like a Sausage (#1592)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Do you refer to your dog or cat as "somebody"? As in: When you love somebody that much, you don't mind if they slobber. In other words, is your pet...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9, WYAP, WEKU and more


  • Added: Jan 16, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Old College Try (#1607)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
In just seconds, online text generators and chatbots can produce whole paragraphs of sophisticated prose. But what do advances in artificial intell...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KUAT, KAWC / Border Radio - KOFA, WEKU, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Jan 09, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Pushing the Envelope (#1591)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Sure, there's winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dram...

Bought by KUAT, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WYAP, WNIN, WSLR and more


  • Added: Jan 02, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Primary Colors (#1590)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence still had to communicate about routine matters, from gardening to equipment repair. So they develope...

Bought by KUAT, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), KTXK, KREV-LP, WPCA-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 26, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Deep-Fried Air (#1589)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about . . . eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious lif...

Bought by KUAT, KTSW 89.9, KTXK, WSLR, WPCA-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 19, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Stub Your Toe (#1606)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children's literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences th...

Bought by KUAT, KTSW 89.9, WYAP, WPCA-LP, WSLR and more


  • Added: Dec 12, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Big Bang (#1605)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
A savory Sicilian sausage roll is always a hit for the holidays. This dish goes by a long list of names that are equally delicious to say. Plus, wh...

Bought by KUAT, KTSW 89.9, WPCA-LP, WYAP, WSLR and more


  • Added: Dec 05, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
East Overshoe (#1588)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Some people work hard to lose their accent in order to fit in when they move somewhere else. But others may be homesick for the sounds they grew up...

Bought by KUAT, KTSW 89.9, KREV-LP, WPCA-LP, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Nov 28, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Snookums and Snicklefritz (#1604)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
A new book about how animals perceive their environment reveals immense worlds beyond our own. A bee can see ultraviolet light, catfish have taste ...

Bought by KUAT, KTSW 89.9, KTXK, WPCA-LP, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Nov 21, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Herd of Turtles (#1587)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discove...

Bought by KUAT, KREV-LP, KAWC / Border Radio - KOFA, RADIOLEX, WYAP and more


  • Added: Nov 14, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 20

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