A Way with Words

A Way with Words is a lively hour-long public radio show about language, on the air since 1998. Author Martha Barnette and dictionary editor Grant Barrett take calls about slang, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well. Join them on the air in the U.S. at 1-877-929-9673, in London at +44 20 7193 2113, in Mexico City at +52 55 8421 9771, via email at words@waywordradio.org, on the web at http://waywordradio.org/, on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wayword, and via Skype to the user name "wayword."

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Jan Freeman, Write it Right - 4 March 2010

Mar 4, 2010 1:39pm

Write it Right One hundred years ago, American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce published a curmudgeonly book of writing advice called Write It Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults. ...

Sufficiently Suffonsified - 1 March 2010

Feb 28, 2010 4:01pm

What's in a pet's name? Martha and Grant swap stories about how they came up with names for their dogs. Also this week: Have you ever been called a 'stump-jumper'? How about a snicklefritz? And what's the last word in the dictionary? Depending on which dictionary you consult, it might...

Spendthrift Snollygosters - 22 Feb. 2010

Feb 21, 2010 4:01pm

This week, it's the language of politics. Martha and Grant discuss two handy terms describing politicians: "far center" and "snollygoster." Also, a presidential word puzzle, "false friends," "spendthrifts," and a long list of "17th-century insults." So listen up, all you "flouting milksops," "blockish grutnols," and "slubberdegullions"! ...

The Language of Less Than Three - 15 Feb. 2010

Feb 14, 2010 4:00pm

Whoever wrote "The Book of Love" neglected to include the handy emoticon <3, which looks like a heart if you turn your head sideways. Grant and Martha talk about how that bit of affectionate shorthand can function as a verb, and about the antiquated words for kiss, "osculate" and "exosculate." ...

The Thought Plickens - 8 Feb. 2010

Feb 7, 2010 9:01pm

If you're inappropriately focused on the minutiae of a project instead of the bigger picture, you're said to be 'bike-shedding.' Grant talks about that modern slang term and Martha discusses a word that goes way back in time, right back to 'In the beginning,' in fact. The word is 'tohubohu,'...

A Whole Nother - 1 Feb. 2010

Jan 31, 2010 9:01pm

For the final word on grammar, many writers turn to the Associated Press Stylebook http://www.apstylebook.com/. But if you find that stylebook too stuffy, you'll love 'Fake AP Stylebook' http://twitter.com/fakeapstylebook, the online send-up that features such sage journalistic advice 'The plural of apostrophe is 'apostrophe's.'' Grant and Martha share some favorite...

Down A Chimney Up - 25 Jan. 2010

Jan 24, 2010 8:30pm

Good poetry is even better when you read it aloud. For his anthology, 'Essential Pleasures' http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Pleasures-Anthology-Poems-Aloud/dp/0393066088, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky selected works with just that in mind. Martha and Grant discuss a poem from the book with lines that are more delicious when spoken. Also this week: If...

Jack Lynch, Author of The Lexigrapher's Dilemma - 22 Jan. 2010

Jan 22, 2010 2:55pm

You know that grammatical 'rule' about not ending a sentence with a preposition? Well, who ever decided finishing off a sentence like that is a bad thing? (Personally, we think it's one of the silliest things anyone ever came up with.) In his new book, The Lexicographer's Dilemma The Evolution of...

Picklebacks and Mountweazels - 18 Jan. 2009

Jan 17, 2010 9:02pm

This week on 'A Way with Words,' Martha and Grant talk about phrases you love to hate, like 'Do you mind if I put you on hold?' They also talk about 'mountweazels,' 'jakey bums,' 'picklebacks,' and 'step-ins.' And which is the proper term: mothers-in-law or mother-in-laws?Some words and phrases you...

Ken Jennings: Not-So-Trivial Pursuits (minicast) - Jan. 12, 2010

Jan 11, 2010 9:01pm

Grant interviews 'Jeopardy!' champion Ken Jennings about the grueling nature of TV quiz shows, the fine art of writing trivia questions, the special challenges of competing in European quiz contests, and how it feels to answer incorrectly.You can hear him try to puzzle out the answer to our slang quiz...