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.


220 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Salad Days (#1582)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
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A documentary film called My Beautiful Stutter" follows youngsters at a summer camp specifically for stutterers. It's a place for finding acceptanc...

Bought by KUAT, RADIOLEX, KAWC / Border Radio - KOFA, KTSW 89.9, WYAP and more


  • Added: Sep 26, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 19
Funny Papers (#1601)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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 g...

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


  • Added: Sep 19, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Your Imaginary Boyfriend (#1581)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9, WSLR, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio) and more


  • Added: Sep 12, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Go Bananas (#1600)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
A caller wonders if she's being hypersensitive about the way her boss addresses her in emails. Can the use of an employee's first name ever reflect...

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


  • Added: Sep 05, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Beefed It (#1580)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, WSLR, RADIOLEX, WNIN, WPCA-LP and more


  • Added: Aug 29, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
What in Tarnation (#1599)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
This week on A Way with Words: Language is always evolving, and that's also true for American Sign Language. A century ago, the sign for "telephone...

Bought by KUAT, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9, WYAP, WSLR and more


  • Added: Aug 22, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Forty-Eleven Zillion (#1579)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, KTSW 89.9, RADIOLEX, WYAP, WSLR and more


  • Added: Aug 15, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Blue Streak (#1598)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
How long can a newly married woman be called a bride? Does bride apply only as long as her wedding day, or does it extend right on through the coup...

Bought by KUAT, KVSC, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9, WYAP and more


  • Added: Aug 08, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Mystery Date (#1577)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, KTXK, WYAP, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9 and more


  • Added: Aug 01, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
I Don't Have the Spoons (#1597)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Whether it's a Rubik's cube or a round of Wordle, why do so many of us find puzzles irresistible? A new book celebrates the allure and psychologica...

Bought by KUAT, KTXK, WYAP, KTSW 89.9, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Jul 25, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Sour Pickle (#1576)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, KTSW 89.9, RADIOLEX, WYAP, WNIN and more


  • Added: Jul 18, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Not My Circus (#1575)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, KTXK, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KTSW 89.9, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Jul 11, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
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 KUAT, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KTXK, KTSW 89.9, WYAP and more


  • Added: Jul 04, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Scooter-Pooting (#1574)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, KTXK, WYAP, WNIN, WSLR and more


  • Added: Jun 27, 2022
  • 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 KUAT, RADIOLEX, KTXK, KTSW 89.9, WSLR and more


  • Added: Jun 20, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Gold Dance (#1573)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
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...

Bought by KUAT, KNCT FM, WSLR, KTSW 89.9, RADIOLEX and more


  • Added: Jun 13, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
By a Long Shot (#1572)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within 10 miles. Could you do it? W...

Bought by KUAT, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9, WYAP, KNCT FM and more


  • Added: Jun 06, 2022
  • Length: 54:30
  • Purchases: 19
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 KUAT, KTXK, KTSW 89.9, RADIOLEX, WYAP and more


  • Added: May 30, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 19
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 KUAT, KTXK, RADIOLEX, KTSW 89.9, WYAP and more


  • Added: May 23, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 19
When Pigs Fly (#1571)
From: A Way with Words
Series: A Way with Words
Piece image
Don't move my cheese! It's a phrase middle managers use to talk about adapting to change in the workplace. It comes from a popular 1990s business b...

Bought by KUAT, KTXK, KTSW 89.9, RADIOLEX, WYAP and more


  • Added: May 16, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18

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