A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over - Country Mile - 9 November 2026

You know the expression "fly in the ointment": It’s that glaring typo on an impressive resume, or that first scratch on a brand-new car—the one little flaw that spoils it all. This phrase goes all the way back to the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes! And: When did college students begin calling test-taking shortcuts “ponies”? If you rode the pony, you could pass an exam without all that studying. Plus, fond names for mixed-breed dogs, including “canardly”—so-called because you “can hardly” tell what kind it is! All this, and go down the shore, Warney!, finger tax, just desserts vs. just deserts, lalochezia, a brain teaser about overinflated sayings, barked by shin, Danish terms for mixed-breed dogs, picky bits, muckle onto, and The cobbler’s children always go barefoot, so Put your shoes on, Lucy, and listen!

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