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

By a Landslide - 13 March 2023


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How do you transform ancient Chinese script for use in the modern age? English uses a keyboard with just 26 letters, but the first Chinese typewriter looked like a small table under a huge disk with more than 4,000 characters. A new book chronicles the innovators who adapted the Chinese writing for use with modern technology. Plus, in poker, why is a pair of aces and a pair of eights known as a dead man’s hand? And some people credit Winston Churchill with the phrase Never pass up the chance to sit down or go to the bathroom. There’s no evidence he ever said that, but a similar bit of advice once circulated among British royalty. Plus, getting pipped, puzzling over proverbs, vittles vs. victualsdo the messages vs. do the errandssakura-fubuki, a friendly word for your ex’s new sweetie, and the German word that translates as “mouse cinema.”

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 [email protected]. Twitter @wayword. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation.

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A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all overBy Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. Produced by Stefanie Levine.

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