Podcasts about Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 3, 2026 is: mitigate • MIT-uh-gayt • verb To mitigate something is to make it less severe, harmful, or painful. // One way we can mitigate the impact the construction project will have on residents is to commit to completing it in the allotted time. See the entry > Examples: “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order to mitigate blackouts in the Carolinas as the region prepares for a period of hot weather coming up.” — Dave Kovaleski, Daily Energy Insider, 15 June 2026 Did you know? The meaning of mitigate is straightforward enough: to make something—such as a problem, symptom, or punishment—less harsh or severe. Sometimes, however, mitigate appears where the similar-looking militate is expected. That word, which is often followed by against, means “to have weight or effect,” as in “your unexcused absences are likely to militate against your getting a promotion.” The two words are not closely related (mitigate comes from the Latin verb mitigare, meaning “to soften,” whereas militate traces to militare, meaning “to engage in warfare”), but confusion between the two has existed for long enough that some language experts accept “mitigate against” as an idiomatic alternative to militate. Even William Faulkner used mitigate in this way in his 1932 short story, Centaur in Brass, writing “It's as though there were some intangible and invisible social force that mitigates against him.” But unless you're Faulkner, it's best to keep mitigate and militate distinct.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2026 is: highfalutin • hye-fuh-LOO-tun • adjective Something or someone described as highfalutin seems, or is trying to seem, great or important. // The authors' research may have been impressive, but their paper was full of highfalutin jargon that ultimately obscured what they intended to say. See the entry > Examples: “Standing 787 feet tall, the tower was one of the last of the era—when downtown Dallas' skyline was defined by highfalutin oil execs, bankers, financiers and the architects who used steel, concrete and glass to erect opulent monuments to their economic success.” — Nick Wooten, The Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026 Did you know? Highfalutin has a fine purpose: to describe pretentious people or language without making the person using it sound, well, pretentious. Were you to describe the high-flown speech of another using other adjectives available to you (grandiloquent, fustian, orotund) you might well be found guilty of the faux pas yourself. Highfalutin first appeared as American slang in the early 1800s, and like many slang terms it has had a lot of different spellings (hi, high faluting). The word most likely originated as a combination of the adjective high (as used in the phrase “high and mighty”) and the participle fluting. Why fluting? Maybe down-to-earth Americans thought that the overly formal, condescending, and flowery speech of the high and mighty sounded like the shrill and biting high tones of a flute. Whatever the reasoning, highfalutin has remained a staple of down-home American speech ever since.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 1, 2026 is: spindrift • SPIN-drift • noun Spindrift refers to spray blown from waves during a gale or to fine wind-borne snow or sand. // Our whale-watching cruise was a whirlwind of flukes, fins, and clinging to the handrails amid the waves and salty blasts of spindrift. See the entry > Examples: “White-capped waves crash far below the cliffs and sweep out to the horizon, spindrift tosses up mini-rainbows and creamy plumes of sea froth float up and over.” — Amanda Thomson, The Guardian (London), 5 Sept. 2024 Did you know? Spindrift first set sail in English in the early 19th century, under Scottish command. The Scots had by that point been using speendrift for well over a century; their verb speen means “to rush forcefully along with a strong wind,” so speendrift referred to a drift of salty sea spray during such sailing. In the 1820s, English speakers recruited the word, but signed it up as spindrift. At that time, its sole duty was to refer to the driving sprays at sea. By the mid-20th century, English speakers realized that spindrift had potential to serve on land as well, and the word was sent ashore to be used for wind-borne snow and sand. Today, spindrift still serves the language commendably by land and by sea.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 31, 2026 is: comely • KUM-lee • adjective Comely is an adjective with an old-fashioned and literary feel that describes someone or something that has a pleasing appearance, or that is pretty or attractive. // The newlyweds make quite a comely couple. See the entry > Examples: "One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Berlin 10 years ago was something odd about the pigeons here: Some of them were pretty, far comelier than Manhattan pigeons ..." — Ben Crair, The New York Times, 29 June 2026 Did you know? Comely—especially when compared to its more common synonyms, including lovely, handsome, and beautiful—has an old-fashioned flair. These days it is used especially by writers of historical fantasy to modify words referring to women, such as maiden and damsel, that also suggest real or imagined days of castles and courts. But comely need not be restricted to such uses, and indeed, it historically was not. Its oldest meaning in English, from the 14th century and still used today, describes things that conform, pleasurably, to notions of good appearance, suitability, or proportion, as when Willa Cather wrote that "they observed that all was neat and comely …" Comely is not etymologically related to the familiar verb come that also forms part of the word come-hither, as in "come-hither glances." It instead traces back to the Old English word cȳmlic, meaning "glorious," which in turn comes from cȳme, meaning "lively" or "fine."

Show #2719 Show Notes: Bobby Knight throws chair: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1472357900992016 ‘Criticism’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/criticism Coach’s latest: https://newswithviews.com/america-on-the-brink-lets-bring-a-backbone-back-to-church/ Communion Verses: John 1:6-17 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%3A6-17&version=KJV Matthew 26:26-29 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026%3A26-29&version=KJV Paul Vaughn wins lawsuit: https://cbn.com/news/us/pro-lifer-paul-vaughn-wins-after-biden-doj-sent-armed-fbi-agents-arrest-him-pre-dawn-raid Dave Daubenmire, a veteran 35 year high school football […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 30, 2026 is: sultry • SULL-tree • adjective Sultry means “very hot and humid” when it describes such things as seasons, days, and weather. When it describes things humans do and possess—voices, poses, looks, and the like—it means “exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire.” // The restaurant's rooftop deck is the place to be on sultry summer nights. See the entry > Examples: “It's a sultry morning in the Maldives and the mechanic is sweating as he tinkers with the sparkling La Marzocco espresso machine. All the while, hopeful guests watch, desperate for a morning hit.” — Belinda Jackson, The Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, 15 Nov. 2025 Did you know? Sultry days and glances both burn hot—one literally, and the other figuratively. Sultry is a late 16th century alteration of the obsolete word sulter, itself an alteration of swelter, which since the 14th century has meant “to suffer, sweat, or be faint from heat” and “to become exceedingly hot.” Sweltering on a sultry day may also bring the word muggy to mind; that word comes from an English dialectical word, mug, meaning “drizzle.” Unlike muggy and swelter, sultry, as we said, applies to both literal and figurative heat, as when a singer's sultry voice brings a figuratively hot vibe.

Show #2718 Show Notes: ‘Salt’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/salt Spiritual Diabetes – Dave Daubenmire: https://www.newswithviews.com/Daubenmire/dave98.htm Matthew 7: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%207&version=KJV ‘Substitution’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/substitution 1 Peter 4: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20peter%204&version=KJV 10 commandments: https://imgs.search.brave.com/2vLUg3JWeX3KFg8pR8RlhED–_39q0qHeThft5Vi2AA/rs:fit:860:0:0:0/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRp/YS5zd25jZG4uY29t/L3ZpYS9pbWFnZXMv/MjAyNC8wNS8yMS8z/NTkxNi8zNTkxNi1n/ZXR0eWltYWdlcy0x/MzYyMTAyMzQ1X3Nv/dXJjZV9maWxlLmpw/Zw ‘Adulterate’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Adulterate ‘Fatalism’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/fatalism Is America Too Far Gone? https://www.christianpost.com/voices/is-america-too-far-gone-to-turn-around.html James 4:17 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%204%3A17&version=KJV Fauci […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 29, 2026 is: inveigle • in-VAY-gul • verb To inveigle someone is to persuade them in a clever or deceptive way to do something. Inveigle can also mean “to get something in a clever or deceptive way.” // According to rumors, the company inveigled employees into signing the agreement. // Their attempts to inveigle the information from her were, eventually, fruitful. See the entry > Examples: “... his wayward cousin Freddie constantly inveigles him into more serious mischief.” — Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 22 June 2026 Did you know? It's true that you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you might find you can inveigle someone else into getting it for you. Inveigle, a word that dates from the 16th century, is used in situations where someone uses clever talk, trickery, or flattery either to persuade somebody to do something or to obtain something. If you have the morning munchies, for example, but get no satisfaction from cold cereal, you might inveigle a bagel (by complimenting a barista, say) or inveigle a barista into giving you a bagel. Failed to plan thoroughly for your camping trip? It's not inveigling to demand “gimme shelter” or “you gotta move” to someone with a tent you'd like to steal like a thief in the night: inveigling involves subtle acts of persuasion and sometimes outright trickery. The distinction makes sense given that inveigle comes from the Anglo-French verb enveegler, meaning “to hoodwink” (its ultimate source is the Medieval Latin ab oculis, literally, “lacking eyes”). Isn't etymology a gas, gas, gas?

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 28, 2026 is: kludge • KLOOJ • noun A kludge is a haphazard or makeshift solution to a problem and especially to a computer or programming problem. // Andy knocked out a hasty kludge to circumvent the glitch until a more robust solution could be developed. See the entry > Examples: “The advent of television in the 1940s allowed the movie industry to reconsider frame rates. Unfortunately, primitive video technology limited dramatic improvements. ... While the frame rate exceeded cinema, the resolution (how much information each frame actually contained) paled in comparison to 35-mm film. Even worse, the kludge enabling color broadcasting further degraded video quality.” — Rich Warren, The News-Gazette (Champaign, Illinois), 13 Apr. 2025 Did you know? As long as the origins of kludge (also spelled kluge) are uncertain, any attempt to pin them down will itself be a bit of a kludge—that is, a makeshift solution. The writer Jackson W. Granholm, once thought to have coined the word, offered his own when he wrote in his 1962 article “How to design a kludge” that it came from the German word klug, meaning “smart” or “witty.” This connection is unlikely on both phonetic and semantic grounds, however, and in any event the word already existed. A decade earlier, in an article recounting military folklore acquired from ex-soldiers, Agnes Nolan Underwood related a shaggy-dog story about a sailor named Murgatroyd whose civilian occupation is “kluge maker.” The meaning of kluge is withheld till the end of the tale, when the object made by Murgatroyd turns out to be “the damnedest looking little thing you ever saw—wires and springs sticking out in every direction.” Murgatroyd then accidentally drops the object: “the kluge slipped out and went overboard, down into the ocean, and went ‘kkluuge'.” This suggests a possible onomatopoeic origin for kludge/kluge (we note that the kluge spelling better reflects its pronunciation; the word rhymes with huge, not fudge), but again, nothing in this life is certain but death and taxes, and these days also computer malfunctions.

Show #2716 Show Notes: Diane Ketterman’s prayer vigil: Topic: Online Prayer and Communion Time: Jul 28, 2026 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86319544983?pwd=ofruaX5j36l2gsHYK5K7cmo61y0zxc.1 ‘Artifical’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/artificial ‘Intelligence’: […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2026 is: parochial • puh-ROH-kee-ul • adjective Parochial is a formal word that is usually used in a disapproving way to describe something that is limited in range or scope, as to a narrow region or area. // For some, college can be an expansive experience that lifts them out of a parochial mindset. See the entry > Examples: “The twenty-first century American university is one of the great achievements of modern civilization and the destruction of the relationship between higher education, the federal government, and the business community would set America back to a parochial era that we left a long time ago.” — Peter Balakian, Literary Hub, 9 July 2025 Did you know? While it's far from a given that small towns foster narrow-mindedness, the limited range of opportunities and experiences in such places when compared to those of bigger burgs is at the heart of the figurative sense of parochial. In Late Latin, parochia was the designation for a group of Christians in a given area under the leadership of one pastor—what came to be known in English as a parish in the 14th century. Both parish and its related adjective parochial were borrowed at that time directly from Anglo-French terms that came from parochia. It wasn't until the mid-1800s that parochial expanded beyond the borders of its literal sense to describe attitudes, beliefs, mentalities, outlooks, etc., considered limited or narrow, confined or restricted, as if within a single parish.

Show #2715 Show Notes: ‘Imagine’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/imagine John Lennon interview: https://youtu.be/RqQQdjy44GA?si=2xf70UfemVuFWgmd 25 Ways America is being destroyed: https://www.facebook.com/reel/4476957755884284 Laura Logan on Dilution: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1168200361854908 Hierarchy of Evil: https://coachdavelive.com/wp-content/uploads/image-61.png Russ Dizdar – Demons Unleashed: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1579431420474918 Prometheus data center: https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/new-albany/meet-prometheus-worlds-highest-capacity-data-center-slated-to-open-in-ohio-in-2026/ Dave […]

Is Pierre Bayle's pioneering reference work, the Historical and Critical Dictionary, a monument to skepticism or to fideism?

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2026 is: aerie • AIR-ee • noun Aerie refers to the nest of a bird (such as an eagle or hawk) built high up on a cliff or on the top of a mountain. It can also be used for a room or building built high up so that people inside can see things happening below them. // From the lighthouse's aerie tourists can get a bird's-eye view of the rocky coastline. See the entry > Examples: “Their eaglet is expected to hatch around April 21. In the meantime, audience members tuning in will likely see at least one eagle at the nest. To keep up with home improvements, the majestic birds often arrive home bearing sticks and grass to add to their aerie.” — Mary Ann Lickteig, Seven Days (Burlington, Vermont), 8 Apr. 2026 Did you know? English poet John Milton put a variant of aerie to good use in Paradise Lost (1667), writing, “… there the eagle and the stork / On cliffs and cedar tops their eyries build.” But Milton wasn't the first to use the term, which comes to us via Medieval Latin and Old French and probably traces to an earlier Latin word, ager, meaning “field.” English speakers had been employing aerie as a word for a bird's nest for more than a century when he penned those words. Eventually, aerie was applied to human dwellings as well as birds' nests. At first, this sense referred to dwellings nestled high up in mountains or hills. These days, you're also likely to hear high-rise city apartments or offices referred to as “aeries.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 25, 2026 is: vituperate • vye-TOO-puh-rayt • verb To vituperate someone is to criticize or censure them severely or abusively. Vituperate can also mean "to use harsh condemnatory language." // They were vituperated for betraying their friends. See the entry > Examples: "On the world stage where Britain's royal family have traditionally been in the vanguard promoting our nation's brand, the Duke and Duchess remain hugely relevant. Old codgers vituperate and hate on them for their lucrative Instagram vibes, but out there in the global ether Haz and Megs still matter ..." — Tessa Dunlop, The i Paper (United Kingdom), 24 Mar. 2026 Did you know? There would seem to be as many English words and phrases for reading someone the riot act as there are justifications for doing so, from chew out, bawl out, and ream out, to dress down and tongue-lash. Vituperate, unlike this sample litany, is decidedly formal. This isn't to say that one needs must wear a top hat or pince-nez to vituperate or be vituperated, only that the word vituperate (which traces in part back to the Latin word vitium, meaning "fault") tends to appear in the types of publications that also use constructions like "needs must" and words like pince-nez.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2026 is: itinerant • eye-TIN-uh-runt • adjective Itinerant describes someone who travels from place to place or only stays in a place for a short amount of time. It is used especially for people who travel in a circuit for their profession. // Being an itinerant musician gave her the opportunity to see the wonders of the world with her own eyes. See the entry > Examples: “‘There has long been this masculine idea that a lone, itinerant male blues singer, travelling the South with a guitar slung over his back, was the authentic representation of the blues,' she [Dr. Cookie Woolner] explains, ‘while female performers like [Ma] Rainey, who drew from vaudeville and blackface minstrelsy, were commercial entertainers and not artists.'” — Deborah Nicholls-Lee, BBC, 5 June 2025 Did you know? Many a song in popular music has been penned about the itinerant lifestyle of touring, ranging from the exuberant (“Travelin' Band” by Creedence Clearwater Revival) to the exhausted (“Lodi” by, er, Creedence Clearwater Revival). All journeys have their highs and lows, of course, and the word itinerant is all about the journey, not the destination. Indeed, itinerant comes from the Late Latin verb itinerari, meaning “to journey,” which in turn traipsed down the etymological trail from the noun iter meaning “way” or “journey.” Itinerant is usually encountered as an adjective used to describe traveling types, especially those—like touring musicians—whose itineraries (to use another iter descendent) are often circuits, but it can also be used as a noun. Itinerants, musical or otherwise, are those who never stay in one place for long, who whether by choice, profession, or circumstance, keep on chooglin'.

This week, Spud leads The Crü down the winding rabbit hole of Roland Barthes' famous essay, The Death of the Author. We delve into a healthy debate over whether or not authorial intent actually matters, and how that answer changes if it's a reader asking it vs. a literary critic. Who decides what a story means, and can that meaning change over time?Then, of course, we share our own stories based around the week's prompt, and promptly (no pun intended) discuss the author's intent, leading to a weird Hegelian dialectic on the topic. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Spondulicks. A slang term for money, dating from the mid-19th century. Its origins are uncertain: one suggestion is Greek spondulikos, the name of a type of shell used as an early form of money.Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!  Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do. Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

From the Bachelor’s Handbag (Woolies roast chook) to the Fridge Cigarette (Coke Zero), Australian slang is evolving far beyond Crocodile Dundee. Meet the anti-influencer behind The Deni Dictionary, a wildly popular Instagram page putting jet fuel into local vernacular. Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and more on The Australian's website or on The Australian’s app. The weekend edition of The Front is co-produced by Claire Harvey and Jasper Leak. The host is Claire Harvey. Audio production and editing by Jasper Leak who also composed our theme.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Dave Eggers crashes an OpenAI staff meeting to tell Sam Altman's employees that ChatGPT is effectively stealing students' voices, which is the most accurate thing said inside an AI company all year. Meanwhile, Anthropic gets a judge to approve a $1.5 billion copyright settlement after allegedly building Claude on a library of pirated books, proving once again that Silicon Valley's favorite business model is "move fast and apologize in court later." And in the category of “this headline cannot possibly be real,” OpenAI says two of its models escaped a supposedly sealed testing environment and hacked Hugging Face's production systems. The AI didn't become sentient; somebody forgot to lock the damn door.The surveillance dystopia continues its relentless expansion. Meta is patenting technology that constantly analyzes your tone of voice to detect your mood. Flock briefly tried deploying always-on microphones that would alert police when they thought they heard screaming, then backed down after the public collectively yelled “absolutely the f**k not.” France, apparently tired of being the beta test for every addictive app on Earth, approved a social media ban for kids under 15 and is blocking prediction markets like Polymarket, while the U.S. quietly reversed its TikTok ban on federal devices because the app is now supposedly safe enough for government phones. Sure. Totally different app. Nothing suspicious there.Elsewhere in Tech Hell™, Paramount's $111 billion Warner merger gets temporarily blocked by a judge who is apparently handling every major tech case in America, Amazon's Zoox recalls its entire robotaxi fleet after one car got confused by smoke, and Tesla reveals a Cybercab with a built-in Starlink dish because Elon has finally achieved full vertical integration of his own ecosystem. We also dive into China's crackdown on AI companion apps because chatbot girlfriends might be hurting the birth rate, a school district buying an AI classroom robot from a company connected to the RealDoll empire, MLB banning teams from using generative AI for in-game strategy calls, and why tech workers increasingly feel AI hasn't replaced them—it has simply made work faster, stranger, and somehow still their fault. Plus: Broadchurch, Perry Mason, Monsieur Spade, MacWhisper 14, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, Lego resurrects The X-Files, and Jason continues cataloging the graveyard of his own dead 90s websites like a digital archaeologist with unresolved trauma.Sponsors:Shopify - Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.com/grumpyDeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/756Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/5q-1JJQQmq4SHOW NOTESDave Eggers told OpenAI staff that ChatGPT was ‘silencing an entire generation'Judge approves Anthropic's record-breaking $1.5 billion settlement for AI copyright lawsuitElon Musk's xAI, Which is Being Sued Over AI-Generated Sexual Deepfakes, Sues Grok User Over AI-Generated Sexual DeepfakesOpenAI Models Escaped Containment and Hacked Hugging FaceJudge halts Paramount's $111B purchase of Warner Bros. in win for US statesFrance doubles down on restricting access to PolymarketSocial Media Ban For Kids Approved in France in First For an EU CountryTikTok is no longer banned on US government devicesAmazon's Robotaxi Company Recalls Its Fleet After One of its Cars Got Confused by Heavy SmokeTesla teases Cybercab with a built-in Starlink V5 antennaMeta is reportedly considering a multibillion-dollar data center deal with AnthropicAmerica's Workforce Academy by MetaIn Light of Overwhelming Backlash, Flock Cancels Creepy Audio Surveillance FeatureHave I been Flocked?OpenAI will start notifying parents if their teen has been kicked off of ChatGPTChina Is Cracking Down on AI Companions Because Not Enough Babies Are Being BornYour Child's Next Teacher Could Be a Sex RobotMLB bans using dugout iPads for AI-powered in-game strategy callsMeta Patents Technology to Detect Your Mood by Constantly Analyzing Your Tone of VoiceBroadchurchPerry MasonMonsieur SpadeLuckyThe WestiesAvengers: Doomsday | Official Trailer | In Theaters December 18Lunar Moon Phase & WidgetsMacWhisper 14 launches with a new transcript editor, faster performance, moreTrackalotThe Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows official websiteThe Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig on AmazonDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingKnockoffAliExpress hit with record $629 million fine for selling counterfeit and illegal productsMbzoey Electric Foil Shavers for Men: Mini Electric Razor for Face - IPX7 Waterproof Cordless Razor with LED Display & Fast Charge - Micro-Comb Technology & Precision Blades，Father's Day GiftsGillian Anderson reopens the X-Files | LEGO® Ideas | The LEGO GroupLego Unveils ‘The X-Files' 1,478-Piece Set Featuring Mulder and Scully Minifigures (EXCLUSIVE)The Mythic ‘Star Wars' Hotel Is at the Heart of Yet Another DocumentaryHalcyonDaze Laurels Trailer 6 11 26The PhantomStar Trek: First ContactTitanicHard RainPlay Marathon and Escape Velocity in the browserSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2026 is: maverick • MAV-rik • noun Maverick refers to a person who refuses to follow the customs or rules of a group; in other words, a nonconformist. // Ayo has always been a bit of a maverick in the fashion world, inventing new trends rather than following them. See the entry > Examples: “[Luis] Alvarez has been described as a scientific Indiana Jones, but his reputation as a maverick was built on a foundation of patience and discipline.” — Alec Nevala-Lee, Collisions: A Physicist's Journey from Hiroshima to the Death of the Dinosaurs, 2025 Did you know? When a client gave Samuel A. Maverick 400 cattle to settle a $1,200 debt, the 19th-century south Texas lawyer had no use for them, so he left the cattle unbranded and allowed them to roam freely (supposedly under the supervision of one of his employees). Neighboring stockmen recognized their opportunity and seized it, branding and herding the stray cattle as their own. Maverick eventually recognized the folly of the situation and sold what was left of his depleted herd, but not before his name became synonymous with such unbranded livestock. By the end of the 19th century, the term maverick was being used to refer to individuals who prefer, like cattle left to their own devices, to blaze their own trails.

Show #2713 Show Notes: How many denominations? https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+different+christian+denominations+are+there&sxsrf=APpeQnsZR3pXLe9j8TvqdFlrHBcNeA8Fjw%3A1784805493502 ‘Doctrine’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/doctrine How many rapture believing Christians? https://www.google.com/search?q=how+amny+christians+believe+in+the+rapture&sxsrf=APpeQnu4gE0H1JNYuiR6cVe09DCQjCmrgQ%3A1784805499270 Revelation 21 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2021&version=KJV Tony Spell video: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1571313964632690 Mail In Voting ending as we know it: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1514274487411445 Trump on Treasonous […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 22, 2026 is: stalwart • STAWL-wert • adjective Stalwart is a formal word used to describe someone or something that is very loyal and dedicated or that is physically or mentally strong. // He was a stalwart civil rights supporter throughout his political career. // The football team's stalwart defense only gave up a single field goal in the second half. See the entry > Examples: "Arbour is a stalwart defender of women's rights, having witnessed the struggle for equality during Quebec's Quiet Revolution." — Allison Hanes, The Montreal Gazette, 6 May 2026 Did you know? Stalwart is a word with ancient roots that has lent its stalwart service to the English language for centuries. Coming, via Middle English, from the Old English word stǣlwierthe, meaning "serviceable," stalwart describes people or things that are marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit, as revealed by traits such as loyalty and steadfastness, capability and dependability, or physical robustness. Old oak trees, for example, have long been described as stalwart for their imposing stature and endurance. A baseball team's closing pitcher may be deemed stalwart by showing mental fortitude in consistently striking out opposing batters in high-pressure situations. And a stalwart lover is one who, through thick and thin, is never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and hurt you.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 22, 2026 is: stalwart • STAWL-wert • adjective Stalwart is a formal word used to describe someone or something that is very loyal and dedicated or that is physically or mentally strong. // He was a stalwart civil rights supporter throughout his political career. // The football team's stalwart defense only gave up a single field goal in the second half. See the entry > Examples: "Arbour is a stalwart defender of women's rights, having witnessed the struggle for equality during Quebec's Quiet Revolution." — Allison Hanes, The Montreal Gazette, 6 May 2026 Did you know? Stalwart is a word with ancient roots that has lent its stalwart service to the English language for centuries. Coming, via Middle English, from the Old English word stǣlwierthe, meaning "serviceable," stalwart describes people or things that are marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit, as revealed by traits such as loyalty and steadfastness, capability and dependability, or physical robustness. Old oak trees, for example, have long been described as stalwart for their imposing stature and endurance. A baseball team's closing pitcher may be deemed stalwart by showing mental fortitude in consistently striking out opposing batters in high-pressure situations. And a stalwart lover is one who, through thick and thin, is never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and hurt you.

Show #2712 Show Notes: ‘Forfeit’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/forfeit Matthew 7: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%207&version=KJV Entities of every nation: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v3uy819P8Ms Psalm 2: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%202&version=KJV Kaite Couric on Christian Nationalism: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aRroTFhAEXw Mayflower Compact: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/The%20Mayflower%20Compact.pdf Tisha B’Av (Craig’s Link): https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10162824915671464 Dave Daubenmire, a veteran 35 year […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 21, 2026 is: dog days • DAWG-DAYZ • plural noun Dog days is a plural noun that refers to the hottest time of the year, which in the northern hemisphere is usually between early July and early September. Dog days can also refer to a period of stagnation or inactivity suggestive of hot, sultry weather when it can be difficult to summon the energy required for hard work. // Spending the day at a swimming hole has always been the perfect relief for the dog days of summer. See the entry > Examples: “When the dog days of summer were at their fullest, my new friends and I often played scrub baseball at Cameron Street School. We also rode our bicycles all over the south end.” — Gary Baldwin, The Peterborough (Ontario) Examiner, 19 July 2025 Did you know? Idle hands may be the devil's workshop, but let's be serious: when it's stiflingly hot outside, who among us isn't tempted to shirk work to go lie doggo in the shade somewhere? Such is the desire of many a creature—not just dogs (or lexicographers)—during the dog days of summer. If you're curious about how dogs got singled out in this expression, we might say it was in the stars. The dog in dog days is the Dog Star, aka Sirius, the star that represents the hound of the hunter Orion in the eponymous constellation. The star has long been associated with sultry weather in the northern hemisphere because it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer.

Show #2711 Show Notes: Psalm 11:3 (MSG): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2011%3A3&version=MSG ‘Assemble’: http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/assemble ‘Church’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/church ‘Hireling’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/church Jim Carry and other celebrities on fake moon landing: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2122804535335263 ‘Conspiracy’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Conspiracy Psalm 11: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2011&version=KJV Joe Banister on Income Tax: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1625576188725876 16th Amendment: https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-16/ Doctors […]

Dr. Jeannine Brown is The David Price Professor of Biblical and Theological Foundations at Bethel Seminary, where she has taught for 26 years. She focuses her research on the New Testament, hermeneutics, and integration. She's written a bunch of books and commentaries, including Scripture as Communication, Becoming Whole and Holy, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (editor), commentaries on Matthew, Philippians, and 1 Peter (forthcoming), and a couple books most pertinent to our conversation: Gospels as Stories and The Greatest Story Ever Retold (with John Anthony Dunne). Jeannine is a member of the NIV translation committee. In this podcast conversation, we talk about reading the gospels as narratives versus harmonizing the 4 Gospels, and we also talk about the portrayal of Jesus in film, including the popular The Chosen series. Time Stamps:00:00 Introduction02:57 Why Read the Gospels as Narrative?07:36 Are the Gospel Differences Contradictions?11:45 Ancient Biography and the Gospels21:45 Why John's Gospel Is Different33:44 How Each Gospel Presents Jesus39:15 How to Read the Gospels Well44:15 Bible Movies and Portraying Jesus54:20 The Chosen: Creative License and Biblical FaithfulnessSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2026 is: raffish • RAF-ish • adjective Raffish describes people and things that show a careless but usually attractive unconventionality. // She didn't expect to like him but his raffish charm quickly won her over. See the entry > Examples: "Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant." — David Wingrave, Harper's Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 Did you know? Raffish combines the English noun raff with the suffix -ish, which in this case means "characteristic of": when we use the word raffish, we literally mean "resembling raff." But what exactly is raff? You might be more familiar with raff's synonym, riffraff, which refers to disreputable people of low social status. Despite the resemblance, these two nouns are distinct in origin. Raff comes directly from the Middle English raf, meaning "rubbish," while riffraff descends from the Anglo-French rif e raf, meaning "altogether." The similarities between raff and riffraff prompted people to start using the two words as synonyms, and raff gained a "rabble" sense. It was that ragtag raff that gave rise to the adjective raffish in the late 1700s.

Show #2710 Show Notes: 2 Thessalonians 2: https://biblehub.com/kjv/2_thessalonians/2.htm Millennium Hotel at St. Louis arch demolished: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqYKvPiTGrU Matthew 5:13 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%205%3A13&version=KJV John 15:13 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2015%3A13&version=KJV ‘Abomination’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/abomination ‘Artificial’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/artificial Data Centers and AI video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t7CvtloqtE Craig’s link: https://impactquantum.com/what-i-learned-from-geordie-rose-why-quantum-ai-and-consciousness-are-all-connected/ […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 19, 2026 is: accentuate • ak-SEN-shu-wayt • verb To accentuate something is to make it more noticeable. // He likes to wear clothes that accentuate his muscular build. See the entry > Examples: “My mother could make me anything I wanted to be. As a child she transformed me into a swan, a mermaid, a white Persian cat dressed like an elegant Victorian lady with a porkpie hat and a ruffled bustle to accentuate my tail. She'd trained as a costume designer.” — Perdita Finn, Mothers of Magic: Summoning the Wisdom of Our Ancestors, 2026 Did you know? When you accentuate something you put an “accent,” or emphasis, on it. Stress not about the word's history; its journey into the English language was very straightforward. It comes from the Latin accentus, meaning “accent” (which itself comes in part from cantus, meaning “song”), and since the early 18th century, its meanings haven't changed much. The word was initially used as a synonym of the verb accent to mean “to pronounce with greater stress or force,” which is a small leap from today's meaning of “to make something more noticeable; to emphasize.” One excellent way to remember not only how to pronounce accentuate but also its etymological connection to song is the classic (and helpfully titled) tune “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, which has been performed by such luminaries as Dinah Washington, Sam Cooke, and Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 18, 2026 is: quid pro quo • kwid-proh-KWOH • noun Quid pro quo refers to something that is given to you or done for you in return for something you have given to or done for someone else. // If they do us this favor, they'll expect a quid pro quo. See the entry > Examples: “For each proposal, it's almost guaranteed you'll have to negotiate with at least one faction, which usually involves some kind of quid pro quo. Maybe you agree to pass a policy they want next, or to advance research on a new technology of their choice.” — Deven McClure, Polygon, 24 Jan. 2026 Did you know? In the 1500s, a quid pro quo was something obtained from an apothecary. That's because when quid pro quo (New Latin for “something for something”) was first used as a phrase in English it appeared especially in situations where one medicine was substituted for another—whether intentionally (and sometimes fraudulently) or accidentally. The meaning of the phrase was quickly extended, however, and within several decades it was being used for more general equivalent exchanges, and as a noun for the act of substituting, or the substituted thing itself. By the mid-1600s the noun could be used for a bargain made between two parties involving the giving of one thing in return for another, e.g. “I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” Although such bargains are not inherently illegal, this sense of quid pro quo often appears today in legal contexts where the giving and taking is less than completely lawful.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 17, 2026 is: obdurate • AHB-duh-rut • adjective Obdurate is a formal word that means "resistant to persuasion." It is usually used to describe someone who is not willing to change their methods or opinions, or something that is not easily altered. // Though obdurate problems loom, the organization under its new leadership is poised to make real and effective changes. See the entry > Examples: "... even great careers must end sometime, and as often as not against obdurate wills." — Greg Baum, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 Dec. 2025 Did you know? When trying to persuade someone who has an obdurate disposition, you may end up feeling rather dour about your ability to change their mind. To endure such encounters in the future, you may find that you need to be more durable and not let the person's mulishness get you down. Maybe you will find such situations less stressful if you can face them knowing that the words obdurate, dour, endure, and durable are etymological kissing cousins. All trace back to the Latin adjective durus, which means "hard."

What makes Anthony Bourdain's writing style so magnetic? That's what the Crü aims to discover this week by shamelessly adopting his style as our own. Our author spotlight covers everything from Kitchen Confidential to gonzo journalism. Along the way we discuss how to take nonfiction memoirs and write them to be immersive narratives by figuring out your own, authentic writing voice. And of course, we share our own works focused around a prompt that definitely has so much to do with Anthony Bourdain, and nothing to do with an strange strange piece of history. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Jenkins's Ear. The name given to an incident that helped largely to bring about the war between England and Spain in 1739 that eventually developed into the War of the Austrian Succession. Captain Robert Jenkins, skipper of the brig Rebecca, was homeward bound from the West Indies when he was attacked by a Spanish guarda costa off Havana on 9th April, 1731. The Spaniards plundered his ship and ended by cutting off one of Jenkins's ears. On reaching London Jenkins carried his complaint (and his severed ear in a leather case!!! [emphasis added]) to the king and demanded reparation. At the time little notice was taken of the incident, but some years later, in 1738, the matter was brought up again, Jenkins and his ear were examined by a committee of the House of Commons and his case became an added grievance to the many others that culminated in war.Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!  Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do. Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

We're continuing our “fundamentals of therapy” series today and taking a closer look at empathy. We all know how central empathy is to the therapeutic process, but we don't always talk about how to practice becoming more empathic. In this episode, we explore the facets of empathy, and name some practices to help us become more empathic therapists.Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:⁠https://hubs.la/Q04k58tL0⁠*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"*Bonus Deal:* If you add the Paubox badge to your website you get an extra $100 off your first year :)Watch the previous episode in this series on Active Listening:https://youtu.be/8bZFqdxUrF4Links Mentioned:Carl Rogers: “Empathic: An Unappreciated Way of Being"http://www.sageofasheville.com/pub_downloads/EMPATHIC_AN_UNAPPRECIATED_WAY_OF_BEING.pdfArticle: "A transdisciplinary framework for empathy research"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2026.1703147/fullAPA's Dictionary of Psychology Definition of Empathy:https://dictionary.apa.org/empathyPsychepedia Article: “Empathy: Affective vs Cognitive Types Explained"https://psychepedia.arabpsychology.com/trm/empathy-affective-vs-cognitive-types-explained/Article: "Therapist Empathy and Client Outcome: An Updated Meta-Analysis"https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpst0000175Article: “Cultivating Empathy"https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/11/feature-cultivating-empathyPrevious Episode on the importance of staying curious with therapy clients:https://youtu.be/SSNG7iHEar8LINKS:*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 16, 2026 is: bibelot • BEE-buh-loh • noun A bibelot is a small household ornament or decorative object. // His grandfather set up a table every week at the flea market where he sold all sorts of bibelots and bric-a-brac, from ceramic figurines to tiny blown glass sculptures. See the entry > Examples: “One by one, the beads and baubles and charms and bibelots have been cleaned and polished and now they are being placed on shelves, in jars and containers, in bins, and in a bathtub in Beadniks' new store on Main Street.” — Bob Audette, The Brattleboro (Vermont) Reformer, 21 June 2025 Did you know? The English language, it would seem, can't get enough of synonyms for trinket, including gewgaw, gimcrack, and knickknack, just as lovers of tchotchkes can't get enough of such ornamental trifles. Lady Charlotte Guest (1812-1895) was just such a lover of baubles and bric-a-brac. Not only was Guest an accomplished linguist, educator, publisher, and philanthropist, she also amassed collections of everything from porcelain to playing cards, which she ultimately donated to museums. We also have Guest to thank for the first known use in English of the French word for “trinket,” bibelot, which she recorded in a journal entry in 1873 while in Paris: “After 3, walked up to Lady Hopetoun's to amuse her with some of our little bibelots.”

Today we’re talking lifestyle creep: with every pay rise, your spending quietly upgrades too, until your bigger paycheck feels just as tight as the last. Welcome back to this special miniseries, brought to you by Ubank! In these bonus six episodes, we’re breaking down a different financial term each week to make you the money savvy baddie you were always meant to be. Thanks to our sponsor Ubank for making this episode of Two Broke Chicks possible!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 15, 2026 is: loquacious • loh-KWAY-shus • adjective Loquacious means “liking to talk and talking smoothly and easily.” Someone described as loquacious might also be called wordy (prone to using more words than necessary) or garrulous (tending to talk a lot). // We were entertained all afternoon by our host's loquacious parrot and its nonstop script of favored phrases. See the entry > Examples: “Due to their loquacious nature, marmosets have recently become a focus of studies on the evolutionary origin of human speech and language.” — Tobias Kahland et al., Nature Communications, 28 Mar. 2026 Did you know? Loquacious undeniably has a poetic ring to it. It's been a favorite of the writerly sort since it made its first appearance in English in the 17th century and, with poetic license, writers stretched its meaning beyond “talkative,” and especially “excessively talkative,” to describe such things as the chattering of birds and the babbling of brooks. The ultimate source of all this chattiness is loquī, a Latin verb meaning “to talk, speak.” Other words descended from loquī include colloquial, eloquent, soliloquy, and ventriloquism.

In this episode of the Project Narrative Podcast, Jim Phelan and Gerald Prince discuss Guy de Maupassant’s 1884 story, “La Parure,” or “The Necklace” in English. Prince reads the 1924 translation by Ernest Boyd. Gerald Prince is professor of French and Francophone studies in the Department of Francophone, Italian, and Germanic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Prince is one of the preeminent scholars of his generation in the fields of narratology and of 20th and 21st century French literature. Prince’s books include Métaphysique et technique dans l’oeuvre romanesque de Sartre, A Grammar of Stories, Narratology: The Form and Functioning of Narrative, A Dictionary of Narratology, Narrative as Theme, Guide du Roman de Langue Française (1901-1950), and Guide du Roman de Langue Française (1951-2000). In 2013, Prince received the Wayne C. Booth Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Narrative.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 14, 2026 is: yaw • YAW • verb The verb yaw when used for the action of a ship, aircraft, spacecraft, or projectile means "to move to the left or right especially in an uncontrolled manner." More broadly, yaw is used as a synonym of alternate to mean "to change from one to another repeatedly." // The rogue wave hit the vessel, and the ship yawed hard to the right. // The album yaws from soulful ballad to up-tempo pop hit and back again. See the entry > Examples: "The out-of-control motion radiated down to the spacecraft itself, which began yawing and pitching in response to the force." — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025 Did you know? In the heyday of large sailing ships, numerous nautical words appeared on the horizon. Yaw is one such word. Its origin isn't exactly known, but it began turning up in print in the 16th century, first as a noun meaning "movement off course" or "side to side movement," and then as a verb. For centuries, it remained a sailing word—often alongside pitch ("to have the front end rise and fall")—with occasional extended use as a synonym of the verb alternate. When the era of airplane flight dawned, much of the vocabulary of sailing found new life in aeronautics, and "yawing" was no longer confined to the sea. Nowadays yaw, pitch, and roll are just as likely to be used by pilots and rocket scientists to describe the motion of their crafts.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 13, 2026 is: implacable • im-PLAK-uh-bul • adjective Someone or something described as implacable is not capable of being appeased or changed. // The project faced implacable resistance from community members, and is now off the table. See the entry > Examples: “Unlike, say, the globetrotting stories of Ian Fleming or John le Carré, in which victories only temporarily frustrate an implacable foe, [Agatha] Christie's smaller worlds feel put right when the cover closes or credits roll.” — The Economist, 17 Jan. 2026 Did you know? Implacable is rooted in the Latin verb placare, meaning “to soothe,” but its im- prefix is a variant of the negating prefix in- (as in inactive) and it signals that there's nothing warm and fuzzy here. Someone or something described as implacable cannot be soothed, which usually means trouble: implacable is most often attached to words like foe, enemy, hatred and hostility. The opposite of implacable is, of course, placable; it means “easily soothed,” but sadly isn't called upon very often. Another placare word is likely more familiar. Placate means “to soothe or appease”; it's frequently applied when an angry person is made to feel less so.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 13, 2026 is: implacable • im-PLAK-uh-bul • adjective Someone or something described as implacable is not capable of being appeased or changed. // The project faced implacable resistance from community members, and is now off the table. See the entry > Examples: “Unlike, say, the globetrotting stories of Ian Fleming or John le Carré, in which victories only temporarily frustrate an implacable foe, [Agatha] Christie's smaller worlds feel put right when the cover closes or credits roll.” — The Economist, 17 Jan. 2026 Did you know? Implacable is rooted in the Latin verb placare, meaning “to soothe,” but its im- prefix is a variant of the negating prefix in- (as in inactive) and it signals that there's nothing warm and fuzzy here. Someone or something described as implacable cannot be soothed, which usually means trouble: implacable is most often attached to words like foe, enemy, hatred and hostility. The opposite of implacable is, of course, placable; it means “easily soothed,” but sadly isn't called upon very often. Another placare word is likely more familiar. Placate means “to soothe or appease”; it's frequently applied when an angry person is made to feel less so.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 12, 2026 is: fulcrum • FULL-krum • noun In technical use, fulcrum refers to the support on which a lever moves when it is used to lift something. In figurative use, fulcrum refers to a person or thing that makes it possible for something to function or develop, or in other words, one who plays an essential role in something. // Although the lead actor was phenomenal, critics suggested that the supporting cast was the real fulcrum of the show. See the entry > Examples: “The moral fulcrum of Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, in which a scholar gains knowledge and power through a demonic pact, is a relatively straightforward statement on the human condition.” — Eric Olson, Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026 Did you know? The Latin word fulcrum, which refers to the head or back support of a couch, comes from the verb fulcīre, which means “to prop, support.” When fulcrum was first used in English in the 17th century, it referred to the point on which a lever or similar device (such as the oar of a boat) is supported. The literal use easily supported figurative use, and it didn't take long for the word to develop a meaning referring to one deemed essential to the function or development of something. Despite fulcrum's multiple senses, the word's meanings have kept a steady theme. In zoology, fulcrum refers to a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support, such as the joint supporting a bird's wing.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 11, 2026 is: xeric • ZEER-ik • adjective Xeric means "characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture." // She is a botanist who primarily studies xeric plants. See the entry > Examples: "Thoughtfully designed xeric, or low-water, landscapes can be dynamic, layered and full of color. Native plants and those adapted to the Intermountain West ... provide habitat and food for pollinators and birds while needing a fraction of the water that bluegrass demands." — Pula Davis and Scott Curry, The Colorado Springs Gazette, 16 May 2026 Did you know? Few English words begin with the letter X, but of those that do, a number come from the Greek xēros, meaning "dry." Around the turn of the 20th century, botanists were using the terms xerophyte and xerophytic for plants that were well adapted to survive without much water. But when seeking a more generic word that included both animals and plants, they came up, ahem, dry. In a 1926 issue of Ecology, specialists proposed using xeric as a more generalized term for either flora or fauna. They further suggested that xerophytic, among other terms, "be entirely abandoned as useless and misleading." Not everyone liked the idea. In fact, the Ecological Society of America stated that xeric was "not desirable," preferring terms such as arid. Others declared that the word should refer only to habitats, not to organisms. Enough scientists used it anyway, however, that by the 1940s xeric was well documented in scientific literature.

Catch a quick bite of the Classics this week courtesy of 'Doug' at Etymonline. On the menu is a discussion of the first English dictionary, the Latinate tome of Henry Cockeram, 1623. Jeff and Dave also stratuminate your path toward the labors of Sir Thomas Elyot, another aspiring neologist who sought to beef up the paucity of the English verbalate with some gems exveined of Latin. The question is, does English with its popping and snapping monosyllables really have room for meridiation ("a sleeping at noone-tide"), desipiate ("to wax foolish"), and galluate ("beginne to have a big voice")? Hard to say, but we advise that you just morigerate ("do as commanded"), stop secubating ("lying about by one's selfe"), and knock off any desire to bubulcitate ("cry like a cowboy"). Rather, transliminate the vomitorium with us! It'll be persebonate, and we make that claim with all bellitude.   

Should writers use profanity in fiction? Does it weaken the story, or add a li'l spice of realism to character dialogue? That's what the Crü explores in this week's workshop on creative writing. Like anything in the toolbox, profanity can wind up being used as a crutch or a shortcut. We discuss how to avoid it if you'd prefer not to use it; sprinkle it in like smoked sea salt on a good chocolate chip cookie; or invent in-universe swears to snag the best of both worlds (think the holy mother-forking shirtballs of The Good Place or fraking in Firefly).And, of course, we share our own stories based around our prompt from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Limehouse. In Britain in the early part of the 20th century, a verb meaning 'to use coarse abusive language, especially in a political speech'. The usage arose from a notably acerbic speech which the LIBERAL Politician David Lloyd George made in Limehouse (then a particularly rough part of East London) on 30 July 1909, in which he attacked the aristocracy, financial magnates, etc.And, as promised, here's Wanda Sykes as Harriet Tubman (nsfw dialogue).Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!  Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do. Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 1, 2026 is: nabob • NAY-bahb • noun A nabob is a very rich or important person. // The upscale hotel downtown is a popular meeting spot for the city's corporate nabobs. See the entry > Examples: “NBA nabobs were dismayed by the player empowerment era, where players dictated trades or abandoned teams via free agency.” — Christopher L. Gasper, The Boston Globe, 26 Jan. 2025 Did you know? In India's Mogul Empire, founded in the 16th century, provincial governors carried the Urdu title of nawāb. In 1612, Captain Robert Coverte published a report of his “discovery” of “the Great Mogoll, a prince not till now knowne to our English nation.” The Captain informed the English-speaking world that “An earle is called a Nawbob,” thereby introducing the English version of the word. Nabob, as it later came to be spelled, gained its extended sense of “a prominent person” in the 18th century, when it was applied sarcastically to British officials of the East India Company returning home after amassing great wealth in Asia. But the word was most famously used by Vice President Spiro Agnew, in a 1970 speech written by William Safire, when he referred to critical members of the news media as “nattering nabobs of negativism.”

Today's Mystery:When a young wife disappears from a Colorado mountain town, reporter Bernard Beckwith notices inconsistencies in her husband's story that no one else seems to question. As he quietly follows one clue after another, what begins as a routine missing persons case slowly develops into a murder investigation.Original Radio Broadcast: December 6, 1950Originating in New YorkStarring Benton Hayworth as Bernard Beckwith.Also featuring Adrian Byan, Scott Tennyson, John McQuade, Nat Polen, and Jason Johnson.Based on the reporting of Bernard Beckwith of the The Denver Post.Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.netPatreon Supporter of the Day: Bueno, Patreon supporter since March 2023.Support the show on a one-time basis at support.greatdetectives.netMail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.netGive us a call 208-991-4783Follow us on Instagram at instagram.com/greatdetectivesBecome one of our friends on Facebook at facebook.com/radiodetectivesFollow us on Twitter/X at twitter.com/radiodetectivesJoin us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 30, 2026 is: bereft • bih-REFT • adjective To be bereft is to be deprived or robbed of something, or to lack something that you need, want, or expect. Bereft is also used as a synonym of bereaved. // They appear to be completely bereft of new ideas. See the entry > Examples: "... this morning when I was going out to play in the gardens, I went to put on my favorite baseball cap since the sun was hot and, being bereft of my own natural covering, I wished to avoid a sun-scorched scalp." — Dick Brooks, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, New York), 7 May 2026 Did you know? In Old English, the verb berēafian meant "to deprive of something." The modern equivalent (and descendant) of berēafian is bereave, a verb used to say that one has deprived or stripped someone of something, often suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes by force. Bereft comes from the past participle of bereave; Shakespeare uses the participle in The Merchant of Venice, when Bassanio tells Portia, "Madam, you have bereft me of all words." But by Shakespeare's day bereft was also being used as an adjective. The Bard uses it in The Taming of the Shrew, as a newly obedient and docile Katharina declares, "A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled—muddy, … thick, bereft of beauty."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2026 is: umami • oo-MAH-mee • noun Umami refers to the taste sensation that is produced by several amino acids and nucleotides and that has a rich or meaty flavor characteristic of cheese, cooked meat, mushrooms, soy, and ripe tomatoes. // The chef's secret ingredient added the perfect burst of umami to the signature dish. See the entry > Examples: "This recipe uses a classic marble cake technique to swirl rich layers of cinnamon into a fluffy olive oil-scented loaf cake. It's topped with a malted milk glaze for a punch of umami, but you can skip it entirely or substitute a simple vanilla glaze." — Tanya Bush, Will This Make You Happy: Stories & Recipes from a Year of Baking, 2026 Did you know? Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda is credited with identifying as a distinct taste the savory flavor of the amino acid glutamic acid, which he first noticed in soup stocks made with seaweed. This fifth basic taste—alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter—was named umami, meaning "savoriness" in Japanese. Umami can be experienced in foods such as mushrooms, anchovies, and mature cheeses, as well as in foods enhanced with monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a sodium salt derived from glutamic acid.