This week on "A Way with Words," it's all about terms of endearment: If your loved one is far away for a long time, you're probably tired of just saying "I miss you" over and over. For variety's sake, there are some creative alternatives to that phrase. Also, what do you call the kind of friend you can go without seeing for years, then pick right back up with, as though no time has passed? Martha calls them her "Anyway friends," because they always resume the conversation with the transitional term "Anyway . . ." And if a characteristic is "ingrained and long-established," do you say it is "deep-seated" or "deep-SEEDED"? Plus, Cajun slang, burning platforms, cutting circumbendibus, under the weather, smell a mouse, yard sales on ski slopes, how to pronounce mayonnaise and won, and the curse of knowledge.
FULL DETAILS
If someone clapped out the rhythm of a song you knew, would you recognize it? It's pretty unlikely, given what's called the curse of knowledge—to the person with the song in their head, it's obvious, but you can't expect anyone else to hear it. This is among many fascinating concepts discussed in Steven Pinker's new book, The Sense of Style, which some are calling the new Strunk and White.
You may pronounce mayonnaise at least a couple of different ways. Although it's clear the word came into English via French, its origin is a matter of some dispute.
After we spoke a couple weeks ago about eponymous laws, a listener who works as a janitor gave us one of his own: Given any two rolls of toilet paper, the larger roll will get smaller before the smaller gets used up.
When something's just the beatin'est (or beatingest or beatenist), that means it's splendid, or puzzling. The term is most commonly heard in the South and South Midlands of the United States.
Pun alert: if you have a bee in your hand, what's in your eye? Beauty. Think about it.
Our Quiz Master John Chaneski leads us on a puzzle hunt, starting in a world capital that's a homophone for a type of music or food. (Hint: This Asian capital hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics.)
When we're not feeling well, we might say we're under the weather. But then, given that weather happens above our heads, aren't we always under it? The idiomatic phrase under the weather simply means the weather's affecting our bodies.
There should be a word for the kind of friend you can go without seeing for years, then reconnect with as though no time has gone by. Martha calls those her "Anyway" friends, because they just pick right up with "Anyway . . . "
Skiing is fun until you wipe out, flinging two skis, two poles, and perhaps your lunch, all over the place. They call that a yard sale.
Of all the Cajun slang we've heard, "I'm gonna unclimb this derrick and give you your satisfy" is among the best of it. Cajun speech is unique for having retained elements of French syntax that even French-speaking Canada doesn't use anymore.
The burning platform is a trendy phrase in business at the moment, used for a crisis that demands immediate action. It refers to a guy on an oil rig that caught fire, and he had the choice of staying on the rig and facing certain death, or jump into the icy water on the slim chance that he might survive.
Steven Pinker's new book, The Sense of Style, which Martha cites among her all-time favorite books about writing, has just the right message: don't worry so much about the errors, because you'll make them, and if writing isn't fun, you're doing it wrong.
If the phrase I miss you feels drained of meaning after using it over and over, try this line from To Kill a Mockingbird as a substitute: "I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you."
Deep-seated is the proper term for ensconced, rather than deep-seeded, although the confusion makes sense, given the imagery of seeds taking root.
Contrary to what your dictionary might tell you, there's no one right way to pronounce won.
Cutting circumbendibus is that thing you do when you spot someone you really don't want to talk to, so you dart across an alley or do anything to avoid saying hello.
Unlike smelling a rat, smelling a mouse isn't necessarily a bad thing—you could smell a mouse, thereby sussing out that someone has good news to share, or just a fun prank to play.
In French, there are colloquialisms translating to "the mayonnaise is setting" and "to make the mayonnaise rise."
This episode was hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett.
....
Support for A Way with Words comes from Common Ground, the new word game for nimble and knowledgeable minds. More information about how language lovers can find Common Ground at commongroundthegame.com.
--
A Way with Words is funded by its listeners: http://waywordradio.org/donate
Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
United States and Canada toll-free (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673
London +44 20 7193 2113
Mexico City +52 55 8421 9771
Donate: http://waywordradio.org/donate
Site: http://waywordradio.org/
Podcast: http://waywordradio.org/podcast/
Forums: http://waywordradio.org/discussion/
Newsletter: http://waywordradio.org/newsletter/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wayword/
Skype: skype://waywordradio
Copyright 2014, Wayword LLC.
