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Hard Words Are Hard (Rebroadcast) - 24 August 2015

Hard Words Are Hard (Rebroadcast) - 24 August 2015

FromA Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over


Hard Words Are Hard (Rebroadcast) - 24 August 2015

FromA Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

ratings:
Length:
54 minutes
Released:
Aug 24, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

This week on "A Way with Words": The SAT is changing things up, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Just because words like membranous are no longer in the verbal section doesn't mean kids aren't learning important vocabulary. And speaking of useful terms, shouldn't we have an English word for "the parents of your child's spouse"? Actually, there is one. And if your daughter gets divorced, should she call her former husband her . . .  wasband? Plus, Sheboyganisms like fry out and hot tamales, please find attached and other e-mail language, the two meanings of inertia, Z-plurals, and mispronounced words.FULL DETAILSPrecocious readers need not be ashamed of mispronouncing words like misled or epitome—it's never too late to actually hear it pronounced properly for the first time, although it can be a little embarrassing.When the term ex-husband sounds too prickly of a descriptor, try wasband. Nothing's hungrier than a woodpecker with a headache. Think about it for a second—it does makes sense.In the scientific sense, inertia is the tendency for things to continue doing what they're doing, like staying in motion. But the common meaning of inertia almost always refers to the tendency to do nothing, making inertia something that must be overcome in order to get things done. If you want to check the weather without leaving the sofa, just call in the dogs and see if they're wet.Quiz Guy John Chaneski is back with his classic License Plate Game. He'll give you three letters, and you have to come up with the shortest possible word that contains them in that order.To some, the phrase please find attached might sound like musty old language for the e-mail age. It's always smart to be formal when the context is all business, but there are other phrases that convey the same meaning, such as I've attached and Here is the document you requested.Why shouldn't it be a term of endearment to call someone a cherry Lifesaver? Cherry's the best flavor!If you grew up reading Hardy Boys books, chances are you knew the term indicted long before you ever heard it pronounced.The expressions such as and such clauses as are both acceptable. The P/U dialect, common in the South, is marked by distinct emphasis on the first syllable of words such as police and umbrella.Parents of a toddler may wonder if Uh-oh should count as their child's first word. Yep, and it's actually pretty common first word for little kids, since mishaps are things they learn about early on.We need a common word for "the parents of your son-in-law or daughter-in-law." Although English has the word affines, it's rarely used outside of such fields as anthropology or psychiatry. Other languages have more commonly used terms for "your child's in-laws," such as Yiddish machatunim or machetunim, and Spanish consuegros. The SAT is cutting depreciatory and membranous from the verbal section of the test, but don't go insane in the membrane—there's been no depreciation in knowledge among the youth.Z-plurals are plurals that would end with an s but get a z instead, for style pointz.In and around Sheboygan, Wisconsin, barbecues are known as fry outs even though nothing's fried. And a hot tamale is more like a sloppy joe sandwich.This episode was hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett.--A Way with Words is funded by its listeners: http://waywordradio.org/donateGet your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:Email: words@waywordradio.orgPhone: United States and Canada toll-free (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673London +44 20 7193 2113Mexico City +52 55 8421 9771Donate: http://waywordradio.org/donateSite: http://waywordradio.org/Podcast: http://waywordradio.org/podcast/Forums: http://waywordradio.org/discussion/Newsletter: http://waywordradio.org/newsletter/Twitter: http://twitter.com/wayword/Skype: skype://waywordradio Copyright 2015, Wayword LLC.
Released:
Aug 24, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

A fun weekly radio show about language seen through culture, history, and family. Co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett talk with callers who have questions and stories about linguistics, old sayings, word histories, etymology, regional dialects, slang, new words, word play, word games, grammar, family expressions, books, literature, writing, and more. Your language questions: https://waywordradio.org/contact or words@waywordradio.org. Call toll-free *any* time in the U.S. and Canada at 1 (877) 929-9673. From elsewhere in the world: +1 619 800 4443. All past shows are free: https://waywordradio.org/. On Twitter at https://twitter.com/wayword.