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A Murphy, a Melvin, and a Wedgie (#1283)

Series: A Way with Words
From: A Way with Words
Length: 00:54:00

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This week on "A Way with Words": It's fun Facebook groups for grammar lovers! Also, Martha and Grant talk about apostrophes, and when to use the word "bring" instead of "take". And what's the difference between a wedgie and murphy? Read the full description.

Yfronts_medium_small When it comes to joining Facebook affinity groups, grammar lovers have lots of choices. Take, for example, the group whose motto is "Punctuation saves lives." It's called  "Let's Eat Grandma!'" or "Let's eat, Grandma!" Martha and Grant talk about their favorite tongue-in-cheek Facebook groups for grammar lovers. Also this week" when to use apostrophes, whether to distinguish between bring and take, and the difference between a murphy and a wedgie.

Ever notice how you can sing the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" to the theme from "Gilligan's Island" -- or for that matter, to "The House of the Rising Sun"? Turns out there are many more examples of this. Is there a word for this musical phenomenon?

A Connecticut listener says her Generation Y friends make fun of her when she describes something happening in fits and starts. Is it that antiquated a phrase? Where does it come from, anyway?

Quiz Guy Greg Pliska has a quiz about famous trios. Try this one: "Steve Martin, Martin Short, and ___________?"

If someone gives you crazy props or mad props, they're congratulating you. A Chicago college student wants to know what props means in this context.

What's the difference between bring and take?

When someone grabs your underwear from behind and gives it a good, vertical yank, it's called a wedgie. A caller knows that term, but wonders whether and how a wedgie differs from a murphy or a melvin.

Grant quizzes Martha about the meaning of several rhyming verb and noun phrases: cuff and stuff, the cherries and blueberries, chew and screw, eat it and beat it, and flap and zap.

A Lawrenceville, Georgia, woman wonders: If chalkboards go the way of the buggy whip, what simile will replace the expression nails on a chalkboard?

Grant answers a listener's email question about the meaning of the musical phrase chicky-wah-wah.

A caller from Veroqua, Wisconsin, is fascinated by hoarfrost and wonders about the origin of its name. Grant explains its relation to the English term hoary.

The mother of a boy named Hendrix wonders how to punctuate the possessive of his name. Should she add an apostrophe or apostrophe with an "s"? Hendrix' or Hendrix's?

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Piece Description

When it comes to joining Facebook affinity groups, grammar lovers have lots of choices. Take, for example, the group whose motto is "Punctuation saves lives." It's called  "Let's Eat Grandma!'" or "Let's eat, Grandma!" Martha and Grant talk about their favorite tongue-in-cheek Facebook groups for grammar lovers. Also this week" when to use apostrophes, whether to distinguish between bring and take, and the difference between a murphy and a wedgie.

Ever notice how you can sing the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" to the theme from "Gilligan's Island" -- or for that matter, to "The House of the Rising Sun"? Turns out there are many more examples of this. Is there a word for this musical phenomenon?

A Connecticut listener says her Generation Y friends make fun of her when she describes something happening in fits and starts. Is it that antiquated a phrase? Where does it come from, anyway?

Quiz Guy Greg Pliska has a quiz about famous trios. Try this one: "Steve Martin, Martin Short, and ___________?"

If someone gives you crazy props or mad props, they're congratulating you. A Chicago college student wants to know what props means in this context.

What's the difference between bring and take?

When someone grabs your underwear from behind and gives it a good, vertical yank, it's called a wedgie. A caller knows that term, but wonders whether and how a wedgie differs from a murphy or a melvin.

Grant quizzes Martha about the meaning of several rhyming verb and noun phrases: cuff and stuff, the cherries and blueberries, chew and screw, eat it and beat it, and flap and zap.

A Lawrenceville, Georgia, woman wonders: If chalkboards go the way of the buggy whip, what simile will replace the expression nails on a chalkboard?

Grant answers a listener's email question about the meaning of the musical phrase chicky-wah-wah.

A caller from Veroqua, Wisconsin, is fascinated by hoarfrost and wonders about the origin of its name. Grant explains its relation to the English term hoary.

The mother of a boy named Hendrix wonders how to punctuate the possessive of his name. Should she add an apostrophe or apostrophe with an "s"? Hendrix' or Hendrix's?

Broadcast History

For broadcast starting Friday, March 25, 2011. This episode first aired March 13, 2010.

Transcript

When it comes to joining Facebook affinity groups, grammar lovers have lots of choices. Take, for example, the group whose motto is "Punctuation saves lives." It's called "Let's Eat Grandma!'" or "Let's eat, Grandma!" Martha and Grant talk about their favorite tongue-in-cheek Facebook groups for grammar lovers. Also this week" when to use apostrophes, whether to distinguish between bring and take, and the difference between a murphy and a wedgie.

Ever notice how you can sing the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" to the theme from "Gilligan's Island" -- or for that matter, to "The House of the Rising Sun"? Turns out there are many more examples of this. Is there a word for this musical phenomenon?

A Connecticut listener says her Generation Y friends make fun of her when she describes something happening in fits and starts. Is it that antiquated a phrase? Where does it come from, anyway?

Quiz...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

The show clock:

Billboard: 1:00
Segment 1: 13:00
Music Bed: 1:00
Segment 2: 19:00
Music Bed: 1:00
Segment 3: 19:00
TRT: 54:00

Stations typically take NPR news at the top of the hour and start our show at :06 with Breaks at :19 and :39 and out at :59.

Here's a typical episode rundown:

--Billboard
--Seg 1
----Intro: 2-3 minutes
----Caller questions: 10-11 minutes
--Break 1:00
--Seg 2
----Word Challenge 4-6 minutes
----Caller questions 13-15 minutes
--Break 1:00
--Seg 3
----Slang Quiz 5-7 minutes
----Caller questions 11-13 minutes
----Credits: 1:00

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

This week on "A Way with Words": It's fun Facebook groups for grammar lovers! Also, Martha and Grant talk about apostrophes, and when to use the word "bring" instead of "take". And what's the difference between a wedgie and murphy?

OUTRO:

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
You've Made Me So Very Happy O'Donel Levy Killer Jazz Funk From The Groove Merchant Vault. LRC Ltd. 00:15
Step One Jimmy McGriff Step One. Solid State 01:00
Nose Job James Brown Ain't It Funky Now. King Records 00:10
Easter Parade Jimmy McGriff Step One. Solid State 01:00
Theme From Shaft Isaac Hayes Shaft: Music From The Soundtrack. Stax 00:17
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George & Ira Gershwin Song Book. UMG Recordings 00:47

Additional Files

Additional Credits

Hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. Produced by Stefanie Levine. Engineered and edited by Tim Felten. Production assistance by Jennifer Powell, James Ramsey, and Josette Herdell. Recorded at Studio West in Rancho Bernardo, California, and at KQED Radio in San Francisco.

Related Website

http://www.waywordradio.org