Memory, Aging, and the Lingering 'Anyways'

1146. This week, we look at the history of Braille, from the tragic accident that inspired Louis Braille's six-dot system to the "War of the Dots"—a decades-long conflict over competing reading standards in the U.S. Then, we look at the origin of the phrase "pitch black," revealing how the intensifier "pitch" refers to an ancient, dark wood tar and how the word traces its roots back to Old English.

1145. In this bonus segment from October, I talk with Ben Zimmer about "hella" and how even yearbook messages can be digitized to help preserve the language record. Ben shares the full story of this slang term, and we also talk about the detective work that led to the OED using Run DMC's use of "drop" in “Spin Magazine” as a citation.

1144. This week, we look at the origin of the letter X as the variable for the unknown in algebra. Then, we look at the phrase "how come," explaining why it's more informal than "why" and how its grammar subtly differs from other question words.

1143. This week, we look at the 2025 words of the year with Jess Zafarris and Danny Hieber. We look at viral slang like "six seven" and cultural terms like "rage bait" and "fatigued." We also look at the dramatic rise of "slop" to describe low-quality AI content and how words like "parasocial" are changing function.

1142. This week, we look at the history of the phrase "pride and prejudice," which was used frequently before Jane Austen’s 1813 novel. Then, we look at whether Parson Brown from “Winter Wonderland” was a real person, and why his name is sometimes replaced with a “circus clown.”