Mystery Drawer (Rebroadcast) - 21 October 2024

神秘抽屉(重播) - 2024年10月21日

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

社会与文化

2024-10-21

53 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis. Plus, the story behind the slang interjection word!, meaning “believe me!” The original version involved the idea that a person’s word was their bond. And the expression empty wagons make the most noise suggests that the person who boasts the loudest may actually be the least knowledgeable. It’s a phrase that’s had many versions over the centuries — including one that goes all the way back to ancient Rome! All that, and nebby, beat-feeting, red-headed stepchild, corotole, undermine, fankle, a wacky puzzle about Greek names, and more. Read full show notes, hear hundreds of free episodes, send your thoughts and questions, and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org/contact. Be a part of the show: call 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; worldwide, call or text/SMS +1 (619) 800-4443. Email words@waywordradio.org. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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单集文稿 ...

  • You're listening to Away With Words, the show about language and how we use it.

  • I'm Grant Barrett.

  • And I'm Martha Barnett.

  • Grant, you'll remember our conversation with Dana in Reno, Nevada,

  • who wanted a word for that moment when you're playing cards or a board game and you draw what would have been the perfect card or tile for the previous turn.

  • Oh, yeah, a little too late, but she wanted something she could shout in anger.

  • Yeah, yeah.

  • And so, of course, our listeners stepped up.

  • We heard from Linda Gamble-Hoyer from Nellieford, Virginia.

  • who said, my idea for that term is tardy tile.

  • In a card game, you'd call it a tardy card,

  • and she says it should be delivered explosively to vent your frustration.

  • TARDY CARD!

  • I like that one.

  • I like that one.

  • Chris Moore in Kerry, Illinois says he calls it a squander.

  • His whole family calls it a squander.

  • Oh, that's a squander.

  • That was a total squander.

  • Yeah, I like that word, squander.