A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over
Society & Culture
“What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn’t a cat?” Answer: a kitten! A 1948 children’s joke book has lots of these to share with kids. Plus: an easy explanation for the difference between immigrate with an i, and emigrate with an e. And: The ancient Greeks revered storks for the way they cared for each other. They even had a legal requirement called the Stork Law, which mandated that Greek adults look after their elderly parents. Much later, the same idea inspired a rare English word that means “reciprocal love between children and parents.” All that, plus a brain-busting quiz about scrambled words, Mrs. Astor’s pet horse, dissimilation when pronouncing the word forward, tap ’er light, allopreening, raise the window down, why we call a zipper a fly, and lots more.
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Lasagna Hog - 3 May 2021
Bug in Your Ear (Rebroadcast) - 26 April 2021
Kiss the Cow - 19 April 2021
The Black Dog (Rebroadcast) - 12 April 2021
No Cap, No Lie - 5 April 2021
Beside Myself (Rebroadcast) - 29 March 2021
Lead on, Macduff! (#1565)
Skookum (Rebroadcast) - 15 March 2021
Tribble Trouble - 8 March 2021
Life of Riley (Rebroadcast) - 1 March 2021
Ring-Tailed Tooter - 22 February 2021
Off the Turnip Truck (Rebroadcast) - 15 February 2021
What the Blazes? - 8 February 2021
Loaded for Bear (Rebroadcast) - 2 February 2021
Mudlarking - 25 January 2021
Mrs. Astor's Horse (Rebroadcast) - 18 January 2021
Snaggletooth - 11 January 2021
At First Blush (Rebroadcast) - 4 January 2021
Gift Horse (Rebroadcast) - 28 December 2020
Like a Boiled Owl - 21 December 2020
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