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

Sundog (Rebroadcast) - 1 June 2020

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

A Way with Words

Language Learning, Society & Culture, Education

4.62.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2020

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

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. 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

Here listening to Away with Words, the show about language and how we use it.

0:03.4

I'm Grant Barrett. And I'm Martha Barnett. I wanted to share an email we got from Carrie Van Ornam,

0:08.7

who lives in Wapaca, Wisconsin. She writes, we were all in the car listening to your show on the way to the

0:15.8

State Fair and Aidan, my 11 year old, brought up a memory from when he was probably

0:21.2

about five years old.

0:23.2

He was describing to me some acrobatic act,

0:26.2

asking me if I can do one.

0:28.2

His words were confusing me.

0:30.2

Mom, can you do a winter pepper?

0:33.0

I was stumped, after much explaining and him showing me a regular

0:37.4

somersault and then saying, but backwards, it finally dawned on me a backwards summer salt is a winter pepper.

0:47.6

Just the opposite of summer is winter and the opposite of salt is pepper.

0:52.6

That's nice.

0:53.8

Isn't that nice?

0:54.8

And did he earnestly, honestly believe that that was the word for it or did he just

0:58.4

coined it on the spot?

0:59.4

That's really clever.

1:00.4

I don't know. I found it in a joke book.

1:04.8

Yeah. Am I obligated to say that the summer and the salt aren't the same summer and the same salt? Okay, I just did.

1:08.6

Feel free. Well, bravo to Aidan, that's super clever.

1:13.0

We know the kids in your house come up with funny stuff all the time.

1:16.0

We want to hear it, 877 929, 96793,

...

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