Word Wise

By Baylor University - College of Arts & SciencesEducation

Word Wise episodes

June 14, 2010 Monster
One of the first instances of the term "monster" is an association with Grendel in the epic Beowolf. Dr. Jim Kenrick, assistant professor of film, explains.
4 min
June 07, 2010 Hallelujah
We don't have a lot of words from the Hebrew language because it reads from right to left. But there's one word that prevailed through time- hallelujah! Dr. Bill Bellinger, professor of Religion, explains.
4 min
May 31, 2010 Ask and Acs
Dr. Clay Butler, a senior lecturer in the English department, talks about metathesis, a process by which two sounds in a word are reveresed. In this episode, we take a look at "ask" and its earlier form "acs."
3 min
May 24, 2010 Comedy and Tragedy
Talk about drama! Dr. John Thorburn, professor of Classics, takes us back to the roots of comedy and tragedy.
3 min
May 17, 2010 Break A Leg!
There have always been good intentions behind this phrase. Dr. Stan Denman, professor of Theatre, talks about how although the phrase has several stories of origin, they all meant good wishes for the actor.
4 min
May 10, 2010 Violence
One definition for violence comes from the Motion Picture Association of America. For their ratings, they once chose to define violence as it related to criminality. Dr. Jim Kendrick, assistant professor of Film and Digital Media, explains.
4 min
May 03, 2010 Story Structure
In Aristotle's Poetics, he establishes a structure in storytelling that applies to character and the plot. This still has applications today as Prof. Chris Hansen, associate professor of Film and Digital Media explains.
3 min
April 26, 2010 Muckraker
Muckraker was first used in a speech by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The term was popularized in the 1906 book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Kevin Tankersley, Journalism lecturer, shares more of the story.
3 min
April 19, 2010 Interrogatives
This episode is devoted to the syntax of how we ask questions. Dr. Lydia Grebenyova, assistant professor of Linguistics, shows us the structure of an interrogative clause across many languages.
3 min
April 12, 2010 Avant -garde
It was never meant to be an art term but it fits well. In the mid-1900s, avant-garde was used to describe those artists on the front line, the cutting edge work of the art world, and those who were ahead of the curve.
3 min

About Word Wise

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['Baylor University - College of Arts & Sciences', "Word Wise explores the history, origin or tall tale behind popular words and phrases. Faculty from Baylor University's College of Arts and…