A Way with Words

GroupAccount image
A Way with Words is an hour-long weekly, national call-in show about culture, history, and family examined through the lens of language. Author Martha Barnette and dictionary editor Grant Barrett take calls and questions about slang, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well. Funny, informative, and fast-paced, each hour-long episode includes a word puzzle and slang quiz.

If you decide to carry the program regularly, please email Grant Barrett <grant@waywordradio.org> so he can add you to the email notification list.

A Way with Words is also available on Content Depot/PRSS.

Pieces

Piece image
Survey time! Do you call that kind of cap a beanie, a toboggan, or a stocking hat, or something else? What about rubber-soled athletic shoes? Do yo...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KREV-LP, and KUOW


  • Added: Feb 09, 2012
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Why do spelling bees include such bizarre, obsolete words like cymotrichous? And why is New York called the Big Apple? Also, the stinky folk medici...

Bought by KREV-LP and KUOW


  • Added: Feb 02, 2012
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
What do pigs have to do with piggyback rides? Martha and Grant have the answer. They also get a lesson from a listener in the fine art of speaking ...

Bought by KREV-LP and KUOW


  • Added: Jan 25, 2012
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
If your friend says she's coming to town "Sunday week," exactly when should you expect to see her? And what do you call those typographical symbols...

Bought by KREV-LP and KUOW


  • Added: Jan 19, 2012
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's . . . "witches' knickers"? Well, what do YOU call those stray plastic bags littering the landscape? Also, what it m...

Bought by KREV-LP and KUOW


  • Added: Jan 12, 2012
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
How about some wind pudding with a dollop of air sauce? What's in a tavern sandwich? Do pregnant women really crave pickles and ice cream? Grant an...

Bought by KREV-LP and KUOW


  • Added: Jan 04, 2012
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Yo! Who you callin' a jabronie? And what exactly is a jabronie, anyway? Also, what do vintage school buses and hack writers have in common? Grant a...

Bought by KUOW


  • Added: Dec 29, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
Why do some puns strike us as clever, while others are plain old groaners? Martha and Grant puzzle over this question. Also, the difference between...

Bought by KREV-LP, WCAI / WNAN, and KUOW


  • Added: Dec 22, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
What's YOUR choice for the Word of the Year for 2011? What word or phrase best sums up the ideas, events, and themes that speakers of English have ...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KREV-LP, and KUOW


  • Added: Dec 15, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
If you've ever eaten Flavor-Crisp Chicken, it was probably served with JoJo potatoes. And speaking of fried chicken, ever wonder why colonel isn't ...

Bought by KUOW


  • Added: Dec 08, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
Is it cool for parents to use their children's slang? What's wrong with the term "illegal alien"? Grant and Martha discuss possible alternatives. T...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KREV-LP, and KUOW


  • Added: Nov 30, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Ever eaten golden catheads for breakfast? Yum! A listener shares this Southern term for big, fluffy biscuits. Also, how did people greet each other...

Bought by WRNC-LP and KUOW


  • Added: Nov 23, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
"Well, butter my buns and call me a biscuit!" Martha and Grant talk about great catch phrases from old-time radio comedies. Also, why do we speak o...

Bought by WRNC-LP and KUOW


  • Added: Nov 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Nothing brightens up an email like an emoticon. But is it appropriate to include a smiley face in an email to your boss? Also, what do time managem...

Bought by WRNC-LP, WRVG - Georgetown College Student Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio, and KUOW


  • Added: Nov 09, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 4
Piece image
Why do auctioneers talk so fast? Martha and Grant discuss the rapid-fire speech of auctioneers, and how it gets you to bid higher. Also, why so ma...

Bought by KUOW and WRVG - Georgetown College Student Radio


  • Added: Nov 02, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Ever drop a reference that just makes you sound, well, of a certain age? Grant and Martha discuss slang that's often lost on a younger or older gen...

Bought by KUOW


  • Added: Oct 26, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
We all know that the color pink is for boys and the color blue is for girls--at least, that's how it was 100 years ago. Grant and Martha share the ...

Bought by KUOW and WTIP


  • Added: Oct 20, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Remember those children's classics, the Velveteen Rabbi and The Little Price? The Twitterverse is abound with these books with a letter missing. An...

  • Added: Oct 12, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
Piece image
Have you been dining on a budget lately? Martha recommends the necessity mess, potato bargain, and other tasty regional foods that won't break the ...

Bought by KXOT Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 05, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
Ever been to an ABC party? How about a darty? The hosts discuss these and other slang terms heard around campus. They also talk about mulligrubs an...

Bought by WRNC-LP


  • Added: Sep 29, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 1