A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over · Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. Produced by Stefanie Levine.
Salad Days (Rebroadcast) - 25 August 2025
·54 min·5 clips
Shakespeare coined 'salad days' in Antony and Cleopatra to describe youthful inexperience.
As heard by us
Pinball slang and phatic speech meet in a warm, sly look at the social work language does.
A Way With Words draws a neat line from pinball jargon such as drain, gobble hole, and live catch to the quieter work of phatic speech. Grant Barrett and Martha Barnett move from game-room slang to the small social phrases that keep conversation easy, and the episode handles…
Why you'd press play
Press play if you like word nerding that starts with pinball slang and ends in everyday politeness.
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