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

Sweet Spot - 12 February 2024


Listen Later

If you’re in a book club, how do you decide what books to read? There are lots of different ways, depending on your group’s goals. And is it ever wise to correct someone who mispronounces a word? Sometimes you have to decide if it’s better to be right–or simply get along. Plus, some research suggests that when presented with photos from nature, humans naturally focus on animals instead of plants. Botanists even have a term for this tendency: plant blindness. Also, tight as a drum, a funny quiz about slightly altered Stephen King titles, sweet spot, lemniscate, kehrätä, mais garde donc, fourth-person pronouns, meronymy, shambles, semantic bleaching, opening lines of Turkish fairy tales, and the business end.

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

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

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

2,198 ratings


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

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,884 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,993 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,601 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,831 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,172 Listeners

The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman

The Allusionist

3,004 Listeners

Selected Shorts by Symphony Space

Selected Shorts

2,883 Listeners

Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Gastropod

3,644 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,439 Listeners

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio by Milk Street Radio

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio

3,014 Listeners

Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor

2,234 Listeners

Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone by Lipstick Nancy, Inc. & Glassbox Media

Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone

4,079 Listeners

Proof by America's Test Kitchen

Proof

1,885 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,747 Listeners

How To Do Everything by NPR

How To Do Everything

392 Listeners