From Washington DC, this is Lexicon Valley, a podcast about language.
I'm Bob Garfield with Mike Volo, and today we shall discuss a word which,
like the thing it describes, changes based on the conditions around it.
Hey, Mikey.
Hey, Bobby.
How you doing?
Splendid.
Thank you and your own self.
Great.
Great.
Shall we jump right in and identify this magical, shape-shifting word?
Patience, my friend.
First, I want to talk Obviously about Izel Jenkins.
Izel Jenkins.
Who is that now?
Izel Jenkins, a defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles football team in the late 1980s.
He was specifically a cornerback,
which means he had to race down the field covering the wide receivers and try to intercept passes from the quarterback.
Okay.
And?