A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over
Society & Culture
If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in “truth.” To spill the T means to “pass along truthful information.” Plus, we’re serving up some delicious Italian idioms involving food. The Italian phrase that literally translates “eat the soup or jump out the window” means “take it or leave it,” and a phrase that translates as “we don’t fry with water around here” means “we don’t do things halfway.” Also: a takeoff word quiz, why carbonated beverages go by various names, including soda, coke, and pop; fill your boots, bangorrhea, cotton to, howdy; milkshake, frappe, velvet, frost, and cabinet; push-ups, press-ups and lagartijas; the Spanish origin of the word alligator, don’t break my plate or saw off my bench, FOMO after death, and much 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. Twitter @wayword. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Excuse the Hogs - 11 July 2022
Scooter Pooting (Rebroadcast) - 4 July 2022
All That and a Bag of Chips - 27 June 2022
Gold Dance (Rebroadcast) - 20 June 2022
By a Long Shot (Rebroadcast) - 13 June 2022
Familiar Strangers - 6 June 2022
Word Hoard - 30 May 2022
When Pigs Fly (Rebroadcast) - 23 May 2022
Cool Beans (Rebroadcast) - 16 May 2022
You Talk Like a Sausage - 9 May 2022
Love Bites (Rebroadcast) - 2 May 2022
Pushing the Envelope - 25 April 2022
Lasagna Hog (Rebroadcast) - 18 April 2022
Primary Colors - 11 April 2022
Kiss the Cow (Rebroadcast) - 4 April 2022
Deep Fried Air - 28 March 2022
No Cap, No Lie (Rebroadcast) - 21 March 2022
East Overshoe - 14 March 2022
Lead on MacDuff (Rebroadcast) - 7 March 2022
Herd of Turtles - 28 February 2022
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL