Sundog (Rebroadcast) - 17 July 2023

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

🗓️ 17 July 2023

⏱️ 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. 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 a wave with words, the show about language and how we use it.
0:03.4	I'm Grant Barrett.
0:04.3	And I'm Martha Barnett. I wanted to share an email we got from
0:07.4	Carrie Van Ornam, who lives in Wapaka, Wisconsin.
0:11.6	She writes,
0:12.7	we were all in the car listening to your show on the way to the state fair,
0:16.8	and Aiden, my 11-year-old, brought up a memory from when he was probably about five years old.
0:23.1	He was describing to me some acrobatic act, asking me if I can do one.
0:28.0	His words were confusing me.
0:30.1	Mom, can you do a winter pepper?
0:33.4	I was stumped.
0:34.8	After much explaining, and him showing me a regular summer salt,
0:38.8	and then saying, but backwards, it finally dawned on me.
0:42.9	A backwards summer salt is a winter pepper.
0:47.5	Just the opposite of summer is winter and the opposite of salt is pepper.
0:52.5	That's nice.
0:53.4	Isn't that nice?
0:55.0	And did he earnestly, honestly, believe that that was the word,
0:57.6	or did he just coin it on the spot?
0:59.3	That's really clever.
1:00.2	I didn't know he much found it in a joke book.
1:02.0	Yeah.
	...

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