Exploring Linguistic Nuance and Cultural Context in Word Evolution

Key Quotes

"Now as you might guess, Martha and her fellow dictionary editors soon find themselves doing a different kind of sleuthing that is trying to unravel a murder mystery that's gone unsolved for years. Now this book is an enjoyable romp and it includes a lot of words that you might not have come across before like the word conjubobble."

Martha Barrett introduces Susie Dent's murder mystery novel, "Guilty by Definition," highlighting its unique premise of lexicographers solving a murder. Barrett notes that the book is not only an enjoyable story but also serves as a vehicle for introducing readers to less common words, such as "conjubobble."

"It's complicated because that word smooze was borrowed from Yiddish as you probably know probably more than once and in the first original meaning it did mean to chat or to gossip and so it really is really just about having conversation just shooting the breeze with people but the second sense which we show which shows up in English almost immediately so we're talking about 1880s forward for both meanings is coexisted this one where smoozer is somebody who wants something maybe a politician is a smoozer a salesperson is a smoozer and it's the smoozer where in particular the noun form of somebody who smoozes that really has this dichotomy."

Grant Barrett explains the dual nature of the word "smooze," originating from Yiddish. Barrett details its original meaning of casual conversation and its later, coexisting sense of someone who is ingratiating or seeking favor, particularly in the noun form "smoozer."

"So Terry, are you the kind of person who is late even when she's not lost? You're on Terry time? No, no, I'm usually on time and I'm better now because of course we all have phones and you can use your GPS on your phones to get there. So I had the directions now, but no, and if it was a place that I was familiar with, I was always on time. It was just if we had to be someplace that I wasn't familiar with, and I would get lost every time."

Martha Barrett inquires if Terry is habitually late, to which Terry responds that she is usually on time, especially with modern GPS. Terry clarifies that her lateness was primarily due to getting lost when navigating unfamiliar locations, not a general tendency to be tardy.

"So Peter, what did you do in the Navy? Did you do something where you had to write a lot of reports? No, I was a boatswain's mate and, um, the way things worked in the Navy is that you pick a particular occupation something you want to do and you strike for that and you have to take a test. You take two tests, one's written tests to show that you know, uh, how these things work and then there's, uh, called practical factors and you would, um, have to demonstrate not tying and all sorts of other things."

Grant Barrett asks Peter about his role in the Navy, specifically if it involved report writing. Peter explains he was a boatswain's mate and describes the Navy's process of "striking" for an occupation, which involves both written and practical tests to demonstrate proficiency.

"So, Wanda, just to recap here, your parents apparently were saints because they had five girls? Yes. And when you were allowed, they would say Coventry, like the city in England? Exactly. And we all knew what it meant. I mean, we knew it meant to be quiet. C-O-V-E-N-T-R-Y. That's how I would spell it, but it was never spelled."

Martha Barrett recaps Amy's explanation of her parents using "Coventry" to mean "be quiet" for their five daughters. Barrett confirms that the word, spelled C-O-V-E-N-T-R-Y, was understood by the family to signify silence, even though it was not written down.

"So, Mariah, just to recap here, your son asked why we call a car a whip? Yes. And you didn't know, so you called us. Yes. Can you believe that that that slang term is like 30 years old or so now? It's calling a car a whip. It feels like I just learned that, but it's been decades."

Grant Barrett confirms Mariah's reason for calling, which was to inquire about the slang term "whip" for a car, a term she realized was older than she initially thought. Barrett notes that the slang term has been in use for approximately 30 years, despite feeling more recent.