Sun Dog - 15 October 2018

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

A Way with Words

Education, Language Learning, Society & Culture

4.6 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2018

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A clever pun can make the difference between a so-so phrase and a memorable one. The phrase “the last straw” refers to an old fable about too many items in a load, but it takes on a whole new meaning in a public-awareness campaign about the environment. • Why do we use the term mob scene to refer to an unruly crowd? • The Basque language spoken in the westernmost Pyrenees has long posed a linguistic mystery. Its origins are unclear and it’s unlike any other language in the region. • Plus: sundog, ob-gyn, double george, geezum pete, and somersault vs. winter pepper. 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/. Email [email protected]. Twitter @wayword. Our listener phone line 1 (877) 929-9673 is toll-free in the United States and Canada. Elsewhere in the world, call +1 (619) 800-4443; charges may apply. From anywhere, text/SMS +1 (619) 567-9673. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:27.8	You're listening to Away with Words, the show about language and how we use it.
0:33.4	I'm Grant Barrett. And I'm Martha Barnett. I wanted to share an email we got from Carrie Van Ornam,
0:38.7	who lives in Wapaca, Wisconsin. She writes, we were all in the car listening to your show on the way to the
0:45.8	State Fair and Aidan, my 11 year old, brought up a memory from when he was probably
0:51.3	about five years old.
0:53.2	He was describing to me some acrobatic act,
0:56.2	asking me if I can do one.
0:58.2	His words were confusing me.
1:00.2	Mom, can you do a winter pepper?
1:03.0	I was stumped, after much explaining and him showing me a regular
1:07.4	somersault and then saying, but backwards, it finally dawned on me a backwards summer salt is a winter pepper.
1:17.6	Just the opposite of summer is winter and the opposite of salt, his pepper.
1:22.6	That's nice.
1:23.8	Isn't that nice?
1:24.8	And did he earnestly, honestly, believe that that was the word for it or did he just
	...

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