Snaggletooth - 11 January 2021

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary language and even internet slang to create a fresh take on this centuries-old poem — right down to addressing the reader as Bro! Also, what’s a word for feeling desperately lonely, but also comfortable in your solitude? And: the story of the word nickname. Plus laundry list, snaggletooth, breakfast, desayuno, circus lingo, gaffle, a search-engine brain teaser, hogo, logomachy, Waldeinsamkeit, and a book about book burning that’s bound in asbestos!

Read full show notes, hear hundreds of free episodes, send your thoughts and questions, and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org/. Email [e-mail]. Twitter @wayword. Our listener phone line 1 [phone] is toll-free in the United States and Canada. Elsewhere in the world, call [phone]; charges may apply. From anywhere, text/SMS [phone]. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation.

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