Color Me Surprised - 9 March 2026

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

A Way with Words

Language Learning, Society & Culture, Education

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Over the centuries, the meaning of happiness has traveled a long way. Today we speak of the pursuit of happiness, but it used to be that the word happiness suggested something that occurs only by chance–something that simply… happens. Plus, the joys and challenges of learning a new language in adulthood. And: Ready for an adventure? Then prepare for some boondocking. Or wallydocking. Or maybe even some crackerdocking. You’ll want to know those terms and more if you travel in an RV. Plus, stinky slinky, mishap, fubsy, meckle, dogwalkers’ slang, a consonant-heavy puzzle, som plommen i egget, collect the pearls, Genussstille, companionable silence, gassers, coffee soup, sliding pond vs. slide, duffel bag, and lots more. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; elsewhere in the world, call or text +1 619 800 4443. Send voice notes or messages via WhatsApp 16198004443. Email words@waywordradio.org. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Away with Words, the show about language and how we use it.
0:03.9	I'm Grant Barrett.
0:05.0	And I'm Martha Barnett.
0:06.8	And Grant, sometimes I dream of just getting an RV and hitting the road, you know, just spending a year or two visiting national parks and just driving around.
0:17.7	One of those big recreational vehicles with all the amenities inside. It's your
0:22.4	home away from home. You're kind of like a human tortoise. Yeah, exactly. Do you ever have any
0:28.4	desire to do that? 100% of the time. Okay. Always, but it's so impractical when you have a digital
0:36.2	lifestyle. Well, that's, yeah, that's a good point.ical when you have a digital lifestyle.
0:39.8	Well, yeah, that's a good point.
0:51.8	But, you know, if you and I were to do that, we'd have to bone up on some of the slang that RV enthusiasts use, like stinky slinky pups and gassers.
0:58.6	Stinky, slinky pups, P-U-P-, and gassers. Yeah, these are three different things.
1:04.8	It's not stinky slinky pop. Roll these out for us, Martha. Okay. Well, a stinky slinky is a very common term that refers to the sewer hose of your R. Oh, okay, gotcha.
1:13.2	You have to maintain that.
1:18.4	And a gasser is a motorhome powered by gasoline, you know, one of those that you drive.
1:22.7	As opposed to, what, diesel or a trailer that's pulled behind another vehicle?
1:24.2	Yeah, yeah, I think so.
1:25.0	And then a pup.
2:01.9	A pup is actually an acronym for pop-up camper. Oh, okay. Yeah, I've heard that one before. Yeah. That's cool. I bet there's just pages and pages of this stuff. Yeah. Yeah. And I would love to hear from folks who have done this or are doing it right now. Well, you can call us or text us from anywhere in the United States or Canada. 8779-9-9-6673 or go to our website at wayward radio.org and find all of her past episodes and all of her social media handles. Hello, you have a way with words. Hello. Hello. This is Kiko. Call him from Lorraine, Ohio. Hi, Kiko, welcome to the show. What's up?
2:19.9	My language question was the word happy. I've been told that happiness isn't even a word that existed a long time ago, and that it actually kind of came up as like a marketing ploy or something like that. So I was wondering if you guys can kind of elaborate on that and let me know where the word happiness came from because
2:24.9	everybody wants to be happy and are we chasing something that doesn't even exist?
2:31.0	Happiness as a marketing ploy. Well, Martha, I don't know about that.
2:37.1	I'm so glad you asked about happy and happiness because those two words have been around for centuries,
	...

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