Why 'forte' has three pronunciations. What is 'playing the dozens'? Ornish
1156. This week, we look at the pronunciation chaos surrounding "forte" and "pianoforte," from the French fencing term meaning "strong point" to the Italian musical direction meaning "loud." Then, we ...
3 Feb 14min
How can there be hundreds of words for snow? with Dr. Charles Kemp
1155. This week, we look at whether it’s actually true that Inuit languages have hundreds of words for snow with Dr. Charles Kemp. We look at how researchers used a database of 18 million volumes to f...
29 Jan 13min
Scarecrows and other 'cutthroat' compounds. Reading versus listening. Squirrel Hill Tunnel.
1154. This week, we look at "headless" nouns like "scarecrow," "pickpocket," and "breakfast." We look at why these "cutthroat compounds" break the normal rules of English grammar. Then, we look at the...
27 Jan 16min
What is a baker’s dozen? Making O-words plural. Wrong pew.
1152. This week, we look at what a baker's dozen is and why it's actually 13. We also look at other "dozen" phrases, like "devil's dozen" and "banker's dozen." Finally, we tackle the inconsistency of ...
20 Jan 13min
Building the Online Etymology Dictionary, with Doug Harper
1151. This week, we look at the deep history of words with Doug Harper, creator of Etymonline. We look at the "gravitational" link between digging a grave and having a grave problem, the surprising 18...
15 Jan 33min
Using ‘impact’ as a verb. ‘Sympathy’ versus ‘empathy.’ Big help, Irving.
1150. This week, we look at "impact" as a verb and why it's a pet peeve for so many editors and readers. Then, we look at the linguistic shift between sympathy and empathy, exploring how "sympathy" be...
13 Jan 15min
Rare books, burned letters, and Johnson’s dictionary, with John Overholt
1149. This week, we look at the life and legacy of Samuel Johnson, the man behind the 1755 Dictionary of the English Language. We talk with John Overholt, curator at Harvard’s Houghton Library, about ...
8 Jan 32min
