Price of Tea - 9 December 2024

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

The words cushy, cheeky, and non-starter all began as Britishisms, then hopped across the pond to the United States. A new book examines what happens when British words and phrases migrate into American English. Also, if you speak a language besides English, how should you pronounce words and names from that language when you’re currently speaking in English? And: in the 13th century, the verb to kench meant “to laugh loudly.” Just saying it out loud is fun. So why not revive it? Plus: smarmy, devil strip, whifflement, katish, school butter, spider web vs. cobweb, aught vs. zero vs. 0, on the season, and earrings for an elephant. This episode ate and left no crumbs.

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