Aired 10 months ago 2:02

hoopla

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 21, 2019 is: hoopla • \HOO-plah\  • noun 1 : excited commotion : to-do 2 : exaggerated or sensational promotion or publicity : ballyhoo Examples: "Ideas change as data accumulate. If future evidence causes me to change my mind again, that's okay. That's how the scientific method works, always revising what we thought we knew, eventually casting aside the emotional hoopla, and ultimately granting us not a measure of truth so much as a better approximation of reality." — Eric J. Chaisson, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2018 "My wife and I were watching all this [government] shutdown hoopla on television. My wife then said, 'Why don't you serve them meals?' So we decided to extend it out to all of the Coast Guard members stationed here…." — James Gubata, quoted in The Providence Journal, 15 Jan. 2019 Did you know? In French, the interjection houp-là is used roughly the same way as English's upsy-daisy or whoops-a-daisy, as one might say when picking up a child. (This usage can be found in English, too, in such works as Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons and James Joyce's Ulysses.) When the word was borrowed into American English, however, it was to refer to a kind of bustling commotion, and later, as a term for sensationalist hype. In the early 20th century, another hoopla was in use as well. Playing on the syllable hoop, that word gave its name to a ring-toss game played at carnivals.

Aired 9 months ago 1:43

litmus test

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 27, 2019 is: litmus test • \LIT-mus-TEST\  • noun : a test in which a single factor (such as an attitude, event, or fact) is decisive Examples: For Curtis, the litmus test of good barbeque ribs is whether or not they have that moist fall-off-the-bone quality. "But, then, this can of corn: How did it even get here? Nothing against canned corn, but it's not something we use. It definitely did not 'spark joy,' per [Marie] Kondo's keep-it-or-toss-it litmus test." — Bethany Jean Clement, The Providence Journal, 6 Feb. 2019 Did you know? It was in the 14th century that scientists discovered that litmus, a mixture of colored organic compounds obtained from lichen, turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline solutions and, thus, can be used as an acid-base indicator. Six centuries later, people began using litmus test figuratively. It can now refer to any single factor that establishes the true character of something or causes it to be assigned to one category or another. Often it refers to something (such as an opinion about a political or moral issue) that can be used to make a judgment about whether someone or something is acceptable or not.

Aired 3 weeks ago 1:47

carouse

carouse

Aired 4 months ago 25:10

Meredith Vieira: The Game of Reinvention

Meredith Vieira: The Game of Reinvention

Aired 1 year ago 65:16

Episode 16: Mike Stanton

In the latest episode of Holding Court, Geno sits down with UConn journalism professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Mike Stanton. The two discuss Mike's newest book, Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano's Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World and dive into the life of boxing's only undefeated heavyweight champion. You'll hear about Marciano's upbringing, his struggle to make it in such a tenacious sport and his final days before his tragic death in 1969. A must listen for any boxing fan!