Paul/LeRoy, Michigan:  Can you explain the many meanings of the word rundown?    An interesting phrasal verb and/or adjective. It may signify colli… Read More

                                           [The Annunciation by Fra Angelico, 1… Read More

Jim from Suttons Bay asked about the word duff, the decayed matter on a forest floor -- specifically, whether it has any connection to the phrase, an old duffer. Though they share a similar… Read More

This appeared recently in a local newspaper (The Leelanau Enterprise): "The character clause is common in local zoning ordinances. But interpreting this part of the ordinance is subjunctive… Read More

 I was preparing to do the Sunday crossword puzzle when my eye was caught by the ads for dogs on the following page. One of the ads was selling a Whoodle, and I thought, what the heck i… Read More

Q. What is the origin of the phrase "naked as a jay bird?"A. You pose an interesting question, particularly because most experts don't have a secure answer. The real puzzle, of cours… Read More

Norman wrote, “Can you provide some clarity on the use of 'fall' and 'fell' with regards to cutting down a tree?  Many folks say, I'm going to fell a tree.  On the othe… Read More

One of the things that my listeners enjoy, as do I, is the fact that many words have multiple meanings that evolved over the centuries. Sometimes the meanings progressed in a logical and ord… Read More

 Two allied questions came up recently regarding silent letters.One listener asked why the word ghost contains the letter h. Originally, in the Old English version of the word, there wa… Read More

Terry wrote to ask about the word lug, which is the name of the container used to haul cherries (the orchard produced 100 lugs of cherries). Additionally, she asked about lugging something u… Read More

I have heard from many listeners who find the initial SO very annoying. You will often encounter the word SO beginning a question or an answer during an interview. Just tune into your favori… Read More

Fred from Elk Rapids called in to vent about a coworker who uses the form stoled as the past tense of the verb to steal, as in “someone stoled my jacket when I wasn’t looking.&rd&hell…Read More

Ginger from Acme, Michigan, asked, “What does anadromous mean, and can you please review its etymology?” An anadromous fish is born in fresh water, heads d… Read More

“Tis the season when mulled wine makes its annual appearance. Mulled wine is heated wine enhanced by sugar, spices, and fruit. The origin of the word is obscure. Some say it refers to… Read More

Doubling a ConsonantHarry from Suttons Bay, Michigan, asked about doubling the consonant on a stem word when adding a suffix. It gets a bit complicated (or tedious), but you should be OK if… Read More

The Dryden Code:A Language Conspiracy UnmaskedI was an English teacher for 29 years. I saw it as my job--my profession--to uphold the standards and distinctions of English that mark the edu… Read More

Laura from Kewadin was curious about the word often. Specifically, she wanted to know why most people don’t pronounce the letter –t–, making the word sound like 'off-en.Thi… Read More

--> A listener asked how 'port' and 'starboard' came into nautical use instead of just saying left and right.At one point in naval history, the steering apparatus was on the right si… Read More

Terry from Suttons Bay wrote “I have seen measles described as infectious in one magazine article and contagious in another. Are the words identical?”There are slight but real d… Read More

Ginger from Acme, Michigan asked if the word align is related to the word line. Indeed it is. Align came from a Middle French term that meant to arrange two or more items in or along a line… Read More

There are two prominent word parts to help us construct words about fishing. One comes to us from the Greek, and the other from Latin.Let’s start with the Greek term, icthus. Icthyolo… Read More

Steve from Maple City asked about a word that appeared in the Traverse City Record-Eagle on March 24. Here is the quote containing the word.   “Raw water pulled into the Tra… Read More

Mike from Cadillac, Michigan, asked about the origin of the word donnybrook. Donnybrook refers to a brawl or free-for-all. By extension, it can mean a public confrontation or dispute withou… Read More

Sandra asked about the label expiration date, found on many products. It is, as we all know, the date beyond which the manufacturer will not guarantee safety or quality. If you really want… Read More

Bob from Traverse City asked about the pinking in pinking shears. Pinking shears are scissors with a serrated cutting edge. A zigzag edge on fabric is less likely to fray than a straight cu… Read More

Tom from Maple City, Michigan, wrote with a question about a word in a recent editionof the Traverse City Record-Eagle. A headline on page 1 read, “A River’s Relic.” Tom c… Read More

Ron from Buckley, Michigan, brought up the word doodlebug and its variant doodlebugging. While it started out as the name for an insect, it quickly branched out into figurative applications… Read More

In answer to Tom’s question whether bunting, the bird, and a bunt in baseball are connected, I have to say that there is no connection. The name of the bird may come from a Scots word… Read More

The GovernatorJim from Northport asked, “Why is gubernatorial the adjective for the noun governor? Why are the B and V interchanged?”Interchanging the two letters began back in… Read More

A listener asked if there is a connection between a bunt – the baseball maneuver – and a bunting – the bird.  There is no connection. The name of the bird may come fr… Read More

Kirk from Boyne City, Michigan, asked about the word catwalk   It appears that it was named after the sure-footedness and agility of a cat, since many catwalks are narrow and some… Read More

Francine from Interlochen, Michigan, asked about the difference between the words outset and onset. They both signify a beginning or a start, but while outset is neutral in its connotation… Read More

During the recent 2018 Traverse City Film Festival, founder Michael Moore invited Jane Fonda to attend in order to receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She did, in fact… Read More

--> --> I’m giving a luncheon presentation to a social group called the Noontiders this coming week in Glen Arbor, Michigan. It will be the usual informative-humorous mi… Read More

For me, words have color, character, They have faces, pouts, manners, gesticulations, They have moods, humors, eccentricities, They have tints, tones personalities.Because people cannot see… Read More

Irene wrote that only recently had she learned that flammable and inflammable are synonyms, not antonyms. Previously, she thought that flammable referred to something that would burn, and t… Read More

Michael, a truck driver from Traverse City, called in a question from Texas while he was on the road. “Why,” he wondered, “does the pronunciation of a word change over tim… Read More

--> Leslie wrote, “This weekend I’ve seen references to plaques commemorating military service, and for the first time I noticed that it’s the same spelling that my… Read More

Celine from Honor, Michigan, asked about the word battery. It’s another word that has many meanings, though the original English word came directly from a French word that meant a bea… Read More

In the short story Reginald on House Parties, by Saki (H.H. Munro), the character Reginald muses on the fact that hosts and hostesses usually know their houseguests only in the most superfi… Read More

Mildred from Kalkaska asked about the difference between frantic and frenetic. Both are practically synonyms (Merriam-Webster defines frenetic as frantic), but there are shades of differenc… Read More

       Scott from Buckley asked about the different names for the venues in which sports are played. Let’s run through amphitheater, arena, coliseum, and stadium.A… Read More

Ned from Lake Ann asked about the difference between flex and flux. The first difference is origin: flex came from a Latin word that meant to bend, while flux came from a Latin word that me… Read More

Both words are constructions using Greek word parts, and both are used almost exclusively by therapists. They are attributed to psychiatrist Michael Balint, and they appeared in the&nb&helli…Read More

Liz from Suttons Bay, Michigan, asked about the word conundrum. Currently, a conundrum is a puzzling question or a problem, but it has a colorful history.In the late 16th and early 17thcent… Read More

Jim from Williamsburg, Michigan, came across the word crackerjack used as a positive term, as in, “that was a crackerjack of a movie.” He wanted to know more about the word.Meani… Read More

Diane from Charlevoix asked if anyone still pronounces the first r in February. My observation is, not many people do.People tend to take the easy way out when pronouncing words like Februar… Read More

Pete from Northport, Michigan, asked about the word hoodwink. It means to trick or deceive, and it has two components.Hood is the obvious segment. A hood is a covering for the head, and it t… Read More

Tom from Maple City asked about the word flop. He was particularly interested in its multiple meanings.Let’s start a little sideways. Flop is onomatopoeia, meaning that the word was fo… Read More

A recurrent theme that both amuses and confuses listeners to Words to the Wise is the existence of multiple meanings for words. Often, words spelled precisely the same in our day have totall… Read More

Greg asked if there was a connection between heroin and heroine.  My immediate reaction was, that doesn’t sound likely. I was wrong.Traditionally, a heroine is a woman who perform… Read More

Tom from Bellaire asked who invented pig latin. The current version of pig latin involves moving the first letter or digraph of a word to the end of the word and adding –ay. “Fir… Read More

Wally from Elk Rapids asked about a word that he hopes he never has to say out loud: tergiversation.It comes from the Latin tergum, the back, and vertere, to turn. Literally, the word means… Read More

Debbie from Elk Rapids called in two word pairs that can confuse a hasty reader. They are deprecate/depreciate and averse/adverse.At the core of the word deprecate is the Latin word for pray… Read More

Tim from Old Mission Peninsula asked about the word fraught. It is often used in an ominous sense: fraught with danger or fraught with anxiety. On the other hand, a situation can be fraught… Read More

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." I’m aware that jurists have spl… Read More

While reading a local newspaper, Vic from Suttons Bay came across an article about the recent earthquake in Mexico. What caught his eye was the following sentence:  “The U.S. Geol… Read More

Corky from Atlanta, Michigan, asked about the word nitwit. It’s a great little insult –dismissive, but stopping short of outright contempt.It means a stupid, silly, or intellectu… Read More

Pat from Elk Rapids asked about the establishment known as a blind pig. It was known as a blind tiger in the south, and it was also referred to as a hole in the wall elsewhere.The whole thin… Read More

Karl asked if the words ludicrous and interlude are based on the same root. The short answer: in spite of the spelling-challenged rapper, yes. Both came from the Latin verb ludere, to play… Read More

Ben from Traverse City asked about the difference between disinformation and misinformation. Let’s start with the base word information. Information is knowledge communicated about som… Read More

Veronica from Traverse City, Michigan, asked for the name of words that are formed by mashing them together. Traditionally, they are called blends. Thanks to Lewis Carroll (Through the Looki… Read More

Jim from Petoskey, Michigan, asked why the humble hot dog has more than one name. As often happens when naming food or drink, territoriality is involved.Those who maintain that the item was… Read More

Jim from Northport wrote: “The other night on Wheel of Fortune, the contest phrase was, till the cows come home. I say that the use of till in that clause is incorrect, while my wife a… Read More

Fran from Suttons Bay was watching reruns of Criminal Minds when she heard the following dialogue:  “The killer wants to inflict fear not only in the victim, but in whomever finds… Read More

Van from Petoskey was curious about the word embarrass. It seems to have come into English from the French, but it has cousins in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. It now means to make a per… Read More

I know there’s no such word as candidity,  but I like the sound of it. A listener asked about the word candor. It now means openness, frankness, and outspokenness. Originally… Read More

The Latin word insula had two meanings, one dry and one wet. It meant a block of buildings separated from surrounding structures, and it also meant an island – a land mass completely s… Read More

Frank from Suttons Bay came across the phrase in perpetuity, and he figured out from context that it means forever. In legal use, it means “not subject to termination.” The phras… Read More

The Science channel carries a program named What on Earth? The program examines mysterious images captured by satellite cameras and tries to determine what is actually being seen. Last week… Read More

Joan from Torch Lake reminded me of a figure of speech that is delightful to encounter. It involves a sentence in which the last half presents a twist in meaning – an unexpected conclu… Read More

Bill from Merritt, Michigan, asked if there are any words that contain all five vowels in order. The answer is yes. Helping matters greatly is the existence of the common suffix –ious/… Read More

My wife and I have been attending the Saturday Live from the Metseries at the State Theater in Traverse City, Michigan. One of the intermission features is an interview with the cast.During… Read More

Nicole from Traverse City asked about the difference between insureand ensure. Then, later that week, at a meeting of the Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging, the same question came… Read More

The word mantle and its many meanings came up on the program recently. It originated with the Latin word mantellum, a cloak. One way or another, the divergent meanings of mantle all include… Read More

Matthew from Cadillac asked if the horns of a goat, say, and the horns played in an orchestra are connected etymologically. The short answer is yes.The English word derived from various Germ… Read More

Tend is a word all by itself. It means to bestow attention, to have a purpose, or to advance. It is based on the Latin word tendere, to stretch. That verb also contained the senses to strain… Read More

Alexandra Arens asked why the ornamental flower holder placed at the bottom of a vase is called a frog. There is some uncertainty. It seems to be a slang term from the early 20thcentury, and… Read More

Bill from Merrit asked about the phrase “to foot the bill.” It means to pay the bill, often covering the debts of others, as a good host will.Foot refers to the bottom end of som… Read More

I heard from Dan in Traverse City. “I often hear the term on the schneid used in reference to a losing streak in hockey. Mickey Redmond, broadcast analyst for the Detroit Red Wings, us… Read More

                                                      … Read More

Buzz from Traverse City called in a pet peeve. He said he flinches when he sees a sentence such as the following: “The book is entitled the Art of Fishing.” He maintains that the… Read More

[Credit: Library of Law and Liberty]Since President Obama is finishing his second term, he is known as a lame duck president. The phrase refers to any politician who has lost an election or… Read More

Pat Phelan wrote, “I am curious as to why people say bare with me when you are talking to them? I find it happens more often during a telephone conversation rather than in person; offh… Read More

Jim from Traverse City called in a question about firearm terminology. He pointed out that the body of a handgun is called a frame, but in a rifle, it’s called the receiver.Receiver in… Read More

                                                      … Read More

Adam asked about a phrase that now sounds a bit old fashioned, “When we were kids,” he wrote, “we’d say that so-and-so’s father was in the clink, meaning in jai… Read More

Sybil asked about the words suppression and repression. Both are based on a Latin verb that meant to press, to weigh down, to stifle. The word compression shares the same root.Based on the t… Read More

ExculpatoryMyron from Big Rapids asked about the word exculpatory. It is usually found in the phrase, exculpatory evidence. In a criminal trial, that would be evidence that tends to excuse t… Read More

Scott asked about the origin of the threat, “I’ll beat the living piss out of you.” It actually started out as, “I’ll beat your daylights out” or “I… Read More

Judy from Elk Rapids asked why we use the adjectives first, second, and third instead of oneth, twoth, and threeth. After all, the rest of the numerical adjectives (fourth, fifth, sixth, etc… Read More

Last Sunday’s Traverse City Record-Eagle ran this teaser in a box at the top of page 1: “World’s fastest man ‘Bolts’ into action at the Olympics.” The ref… Read More

Bob from Traverse City asked about the nautical terms starboard and port—specifically, he wondered why sailors don’t simply use the words right and left.Right and left are relati… Read More

Geoffrey wrote, “Yesterday I was at the local saddle and bridle store (Square Deal Country Store) and I thought, this is the tack store.  So my wife and I are wondering about… Read More

Danielle Arens asked about the phrase, “putting on the dog.” It means to dress fashionably and somewhat formally in order to impress your audience. There is no unanimous opinion… Read More

Marge from Suttons Bay cited a story in the Record-Eagle that spoke of an intoxicated  woman who was “cuffed in the buff.” That sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss.She wa… Read More

Roger Funkhauser wrote to me at [email protected] and asked. “Is it more proper to use ‘ice tea’ instead of ‘iced tea’ or doesn’t it make a difference?"It… Read More

Bill from Merritt, Michigan, mused on the word scale, which can encompass diverse meanings from relative size to the covering on a fish to a musical progression. As with many words having mu… Read More

Gifford Haddock asked about a word that appears in Acts 26:14. The word is goads, and it appears in this context: “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to m… Read More

Fred asked about the word foist. It shows up in settings such as this: “Don’t let them foist their shoddy goods on you.” In this sense, it means to palm off or surreptitiou… Read More