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Jul 16

12m 26s

Decoding the Chinese character paradox, ...

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Isn't it ironic? Plus, the man behind the guillotine

1202. This week, we look at the tricky question of what makes something ironic, including situational irony, verbal irony, and "skunked" words, with help from psychologist and author Roger Kreuz. Then, for Bastille Day, we look at how the guillotine got its name (ironically) from ... Show More

Saving Canadian lexicography, with John Chew

1201. In this bonus discussion from January, we look at why Canada has been without a current homegrown dictionary for twenty years and how John Chew is leading the charge to fix it. We look at how John got the job and the unique challenges of funding a dictionary in a bilingual ... Show More

Snowclones: fill-in-the-blank phrases we can’t stop remixing. Plus, is it 'RBIs' or 'RBI'?

1200. This week, we look at snowclones like “X is the new Y,” including where the name came from and why we find them so satisfying. Then, we look at how to make abbreviations like “RBI” plural, including questions about apostrophes, single letters, and periods.The snowclones seg ... Show More

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