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

Spill the Tea - 25 March 2019


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If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don't want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in truth. To spill the T means to pass along truthful information. Plus, some delicious Italian idioms involving food. The Italian phrase that literally translates Eat the soup or jump out the window! means Take it or leave it, and a phrase that translates as We don't fry with water around here! means We don't do things halfway! Also: why carbonated beverages go by various names, including soda, pop, and coke, depending on what part of the country you're from. Plus: fill your boots, bangorrhea, cotton to, and howdy; milkshakes, frappes, velvets, and cabinets; push-ups, press-ups and lagartijas; the Spanish origin of the word alligator, don't break my plate or saw off my bench, a takeoff quiz, FOMO after death, and much more.

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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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