What the Blazes (Rebroadcast) - 31 January 2022

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

🗓️ 31 January 2022

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What kind of book do people ask for most often in prison? Romance novels? No. The Bible? No. The most requested books by far are … dictionaries! A number of volunteer organizations gather and distribute used dictionaries to help inmates with reading, writing, and schoolwork. Plus: For some low-tech family fun, how about egg-tapping? Traditionally played after on Easter, the game involves smacking a hard-boiled egg against an opponent’s. The person who ends up with an uncracked egg wins. And: Just how common is it to give a goofy name to a household appliance? Even your garbage disposal might get a moniker! Also, chelidon, knock the stink off, pony keg, pineapple posture, sprunny, wash-ashores, trailblazer, a punny puzzle about song titles, a Norwegian idiom that means “empty-headed,” a bagpipe serenade, and more. Dinna fash! 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/contact. Be a part of the show: call 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; worldwide, call or text/SMS +1 (619) 800-4443. Email words@waywordradio.org. Twitter @wayword. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to Away with Words, the show about language, and how we use it.
0:03.8	I'm Grant Barrett.
0:04.8	And I'm Martha Barnett.
0:06.5	We heard from Amanda Fair in Evansville, Indiana, and she writes,
0:10.8	I saw my parents over the weekend, and my dad used to phrase that I hadn't heard in
0:15.3	a while.
0:16.3	And when he said it, I actually had to take a step back and think about what he was talking
0:20.1	about.
0:21.1	My entire childhood, they called our garbage disposal, George.
0:26.0	I also referred to our garbage disposal as such for most of my life.
0:30.1	But when I moved out, I fell away from it.
0:32.6	As far as I knew, they didn't have a disposal with a brand that was similarly named, but
0:37.0	they used it as a proper noun and a verb, like, just put it down, George, or I'm done,
0:41.6	you can George it, or we need to run George, it has a smell.
0:45.3	Make sure you run cold water when you turn on George.
0:48.3	Amanda says she still chuckles when she thinks about it, but she's curious whether this
0:52.7	might be, say, a small German family inside joke.
0:57.2	And if there are any other strange names that people call their household objects.
1:01.7	So they named their garbage disposal, George, like, is the monster under the sink eating
1:07.7	their refuse.
1:08.7	Right.
1:09.7	Wow.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from A Way with Words, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of A Way with Words and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.