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

Two Shades of Grey (Rebroadcast) - 25 February 2013

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

A Way with Words

Language Learning, Society & Culture, Education

4.62.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2013

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You’ve noticed work seems to expand to fill the time given to complete it. But did you know there’s a term for that? Also this week, the New England exclamation “So don’t I!,” grey vs. gray, building storeys, being squiffy, having chops, getting involved in pull-hauls, nebby Pennsylvanians, and a modern Greek idiom about hiccups and burning ears. 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

At Accardo, you'll save 25% on your first shop and get free delivery, which means if you were to buy a four cheese pizza, you'd basically be getting one of the cheeses for free. Save and splurge at Accardo, the online supermarket. Geographical and other restrictions. Min spend £60 on charge to apply. Discount available on food, new customers only, max saving £20,000. Terms atacado.com. You're listening to Away With Words. I'm Grant Barrett.

0:22.5

And I'm Martha Barnett. Grant, I came across a word the other day in my reading that I'd never seen before. Okay. You know how I am about that. I got so excited. I wanted to share it with you, but I thought I would share it in the form of a little quiz. Okay. Okay. It turns out this word first appeared in the 19th century, and the word is

0:39.6

Squiffy, S-Q-U-I-F-F-Y. Grant is Squiffy, a noun meaning a kitchen implement made from corn husks.

0:49.6

B, an adjective describing someone who's drunk, or C, a proper name for a small breed of dog popular

0:55.9

in Newfoundland, as in he's a purebred squiffy. It's drunk. How did you know that? Because I've

1:02.0

heard it before. Oh, you have? Yeah, squiffy. He's a bit squiffy. It's British. Yeah, yeah, 19th century.

1:10.9

Well, let me ask you one then. Okay. If I say that you have a golden gut, what am I saying about you? That I have excellent taste in food. I can eat anything, a golden gut. No, I'm talking about... Good intuition. Yes. I'm talking about your business acumen, your business intuition. And this term golden gut came to surface because I was looking at the rise of data in the business world.

1:33.3

And more decisions now are being made by people who appreciate data and they care about the data.

1:38.8

And they ignore their gut.

1:40.2

They ignore their golden gut, even if they've been successful in the past.

1:43.5

So you have this paradigm shift where this old method of the boss is always right because his gut and his experience say so.

1:50.0

And the new crowd comes and said, look, but it's not supported by the data.

1:53.9

Right?

1:54.3

There's a great story that they tell about Google.

1:56.8

A guy who left Google said that when he was there, they tested 41 shades of blue by showing this particular element on a page to millions of visitors and figuring out which one got clicked on the most.

2:09.2

And then that's the one that they used.

2:10.3

Oh, my gosh.

2:10.8

And that is completely the opposite of going with your golden gut.

2:14.3

I wonder if they could have.

2:15.7

That's so interesting.

2:17.1

Golden gut. What new words have you That's so interesting. Golden Gut.

2:18.1

What new words have you encountered? 877-929-9673 or email us. The address is words at waywardradio.org.

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