A Way with Words
Series produced by A Way with Words
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.
220 Pieces
Order by:
Newest First |
Oldest First
A documentary film called My Beautiful Stutter" follows youngsters at a summer camp specifically for stutterers. It's a place for finding acceptanc...
- Added: Nov 16, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 19
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange ...
- Added: Nov 08, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
We use the term Milky Way for that glowing arc across the sky. But how people picture it varies from culture to culture. In Sweden, that starry ban...
- Added: Nov 01, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
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...
- Added: Oct 25, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don't they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaini...
- Added: Oct 18, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 17
What happens in a classroom of refugee and immigrant youngsters learning English? Their fresh approach to language can result in remarkable poetry ...
- Added: Oct 11, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
This week on "A Way with Words": When there's no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? S...
- Added: Oct 04, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 17
An ornithologist says there's a growing movement to change the name of a pink-footed bird currently called the flesh-footed shearwater. The movemen...
- Added: Sep 27, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city's youngest reader...
- Added: Sep 20, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 17
There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little 7-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding -- and all in Latin. A ne...
- Added: Sep 13, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child's letter to the Toot...
- Added: Sep 07, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 16
Youngsters want to know: What's the difference between barely and nearly, and what's so clean about a whistle, anyway? Plus, adults recount some mi...
Bought by KUAT, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, KTSW 89.9, Tri States Public Radio, and RADIOLEX
- Added: Sep 04, 2021
- Length: 23:35
- Purchases: 5
The adjective canine refers to dogs, and feline refers to cats. But how does English address other groups of animals? Plus, cabin fever has been ar...
- Added: Aug 30, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means "money." In the same way, cat beer isn't alcoholic -- some pe...
- Added: Aug 24, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 17
You know that Yogi Berra quote about how Nobody ever comes here; it's too crowded? Actually, the first person to use this was actress Suzanne Ridge...
- Added: Aug 17, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 17
Throwing cheese and shaky cheese are two very different things. In baseball, hard cheese refers to a powerful fastball, and probably comes from a s...
- Added: Aug 03, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 19
One secret to writing well is . . . there is no secret! There's no substitute for simply sitting down day after day to practice the craft and learn...
- Added: Jul 26, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
Old. Elderly. Senior. Why are we so uncomfortable when we talk about reaching a certain point in life? An 82-year-old seeks a more positive term to...
- Added: Jul 19, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 18
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it's the young Mary Aning, who went on to become a famous 19...
Bought by KUAT, KTXK, KTSW 89.9, WYAP, KNVC Carson City Community Radio and more
- Added: Jul 12, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 17
People who hunt treasure with metal detectors have a lingo all their own. Canslaw means the shreds of aluminum cans left after a lawnmower ran over...
- Added: Jul 05, 2021
- Length: 54:00
- Purchases: 17
