The Word Nerds Archive

Archive feed for The Word Nerds, a podcast about language

Long after quitting--still under construction! 02/05/2018

Long after quitting--still under construction! If you've followed thewordnerds.org in early 2018, you have ended up here. This is the "Word Nerds Archive." This contains the first 63 episodes of the Word Nerds podcasts--"classic Word Nerds," if you will. Because our Word Press site was badly infected with malware sometime after 2010 or so, we are moving to a new server. However, the task of rebuilding the site and installing episodes 63.5 through 120 will be tedious and take awhile. Rest assured that I (Dave) do intend to rebuild the site, even if that means over several months. This is not a promise to revive production of TWN or anything like that, just to get the old content back up and running. Thanks for your continued interest--even eight and a half years after we stopped producing shows! /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/6227744

Comments are disabled here 07/18/2007

Comments are disabled here As of Wednesday, July 18, 2007, the ability to comment on blog posts here at the Word Nerds' archive site has been disabled. This measure is being taken to prevent the flood of comment spam, and the attendant notifications, that have plagued this site.You can still participate in discussions on any Word Nerds post, either here or in our , as well as at the forum site. /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1422138

This is the archive 07/14/2006

This is the archive This is the archive blog and feed for The Word Nerds, a weekly podcast about language.If you want access to podcasts published before April 1, 2006, this is the place to be. You can subscribe to this archive feed by using the appropriate buttons in the right-hand navigation column.To subscribe to current and new podcasts of The Word Nerds, please go to . /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1422135

To subscribe to the old shows... 05/26/2006

To subscribe to the old shows... ...all you have to do is to subscribe to this RSS feed: .If you have iTunes, just grab that URL by right-clicking (or /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1422132

We're changing our blog! (63.5) 05/24/2006

We're changing our blog! (63.5) Dave Shepherd announces changes to The Word Nerds' blog and feed, which will take place this weekend. The web address for The Word Nerds will remain , and the feed address is now .This may mean duplicate downloads for editions of TWN that you have already received from April and May 2006. You can correct this on your end by changing the settings in your podcatcher software so that you are receiving only the most recent episodes of podcasts, not all episodes.If, despite this, you still receive duplicate downloads, I apologize. After this weekend (5/27/06) you should only get one copy of each show through our feed.Cross your fingers! Let's hope this works! This will mean a more accessible comment function on our blog, as well as a bulletin-board-style forum in coming weeks.time: 3:22size: 2.4 Mb /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421921

Idioms and Culture (63) 05/20/2006

Idioms and Culture (63) Dave Shepherd welcomes back the North Carolina Nerd, Howard Shepherd, who is home from his travels to Denmark. Dave and Howard respond to several voicemails and emails about ePrime and puns. (1:55) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421918

Non-Verbal Communication (62) 05/13/2006

Non-Verbal Communication (62) Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang talk about environments in which we communicate without using any words: elevators, restrooms, automobiles, interviews (1:59) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421915

Another blog update 05/10/2006

Another blog update We just learned from Apple Computer that The Word Nerds will be featured as a "splash" on the front page of the iTunes Music Store for about a week. /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1422131

Some changes coming 05/09/2006

Some changes coming The Word Nerds will be making some changes to our blog setup sometime in the next week. (This means sometime between May 9 and May 16.) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1422130

Language, Race, and Homophonic Creep 05/01/2006

Language, Race, and Homophonic Creep Hearing Howard Chang talk about “homophone creep? (a term that I like very much) made me think of the problem that I encounter every year when reading Hamlet. At one point in the play, either Rosencranz or Guildenstern uses the expression “niggard of question…? Invariably, the student who is reading that part pronounces the word as “ni-GARD,? because s/he is unwilling to say “NIG-gerd.? /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1422129

Race and Language (60) 04/29/2006

Race and Language (60) Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang welcome a voicemail on the Nerd Number from Hillary Israeli, on modern Hebrew as an invented language. (2:06) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421911

Puns (59) 04/22/2006

Puns (59) Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd respond to a voicemail from Chad at about the secret girl language. (1:58) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421901

Music and Language (58) 04/15/2006

Music and Language (58) Barbara Shepherd returns for the second week as a guest Nerd. She and Dave Shepherd respond to an email from Fred Chalfant about Barbara's grandmother's name. (2:52) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421899

Age and Language (57) 04/08/2006

Age and Language (57) Since Howard Shepherd and Howard Chang are both travelling the world, Dave Shepherd welcomes a special guest Nerd, Barbara Shepherd (the Love of His Life). (1:57) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421896

Language of Deception (56) 04/01/2006

Language of Deception (56) Dave Shepherd welcomes , Ashley Simpson, and Howard Stern to the Word Nerds' studio. APRIL FOOLS! Just kidding! It's really Dave and Howard Chang. /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421893

Invented Language (55) 03/25/2006

Invented Language (55) Dave Shepherd revisits a couple of blend-word examples we overlooked : "celebutante" and "ruinion." (Thanks to Hillary Israeli.) (1:56) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421885

Portmanteau Words (Blend Words) (54) 03/18/2006

Portmanteau Words (Blend Words) (54) Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang respond to voicemail from Paul of , who has a word-usage question about 'beside' and 'besides.' (1:53) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421878

Nerds Who Say "Nym" (53) 03/11/2006

Nerds Who Say "Nym" (53) Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd respond to voicemail from Art in Vermont about a 'computer-generated' mondegreen. (1:53) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421875

Locker-room Lingo, Pickup Lines, and Flirtation (52) 03/04/2006

Locker-room Lingo, Pickup Lines, and Flirtation (52) Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang explore the language of the locker-room, the emerging way young people talk about each other as sexual beings. (1:55) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421861

Fantastic Flubs (51) 02/25/2006

Fantastic Flubs (51) Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd play a voicemail response to Howard's recent rap of . (2:29) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421855

The History of Our Podcast (50) 02/18/2006

The History of Our Podcast (50) Dave Shepherd, Howard Chang, and Howard Shepherd look back on how this podcast got started. (Warning: navel-gazing alert!) (2:09) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421849

Governmental Gab (49) 02/11/2006

Governmental Gab (49) Dave Shepherd plays the first feedback we've received on the new Nerd Number, about our show on (2:45) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421846

Rhythm and Meaning (48) 02/04/2006

Rhythm and Meaning (48) Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd talk about rhythm and the significance of language cadence. (1:58) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421842

Weather Words (47) 01/28/2006

Weather Words (47) Dave Shepherd explains why we have a new Nerd Number (206-600-NERD). For the next couple weeks you'll hear two different numbers mentioned in alternating shows, since we pre-recorded several shows before switching phone numbers. (1:52) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421839

Onomatopoeia and Other Word Music (46) 01/21/2006

Onomatopoeia and Other Word Music (46) Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd get a buzz out of talking about onomatopoeia. (Did I spell that right?) (1:52) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421836

Etymonline.com needs your help (45A) 01/17/2006

Etymonline.com needs your help (45A) A short plea for help, suggestions, support for the , maintained as a labor of love by Douglas Harper, and falling victim to its own success. /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421832

Our Favorite Words (45) 01/14/2006

Our Favorite Words (45) Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang share some of their favorite words--words that Word Nerds would like. (1:57) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421824

Metaphor and Metonymy (44) 01/07/2006

Metaphor and Metonymy (44) Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd introduce a voicemail from Jeff in Houston, Texas, on the infrequency of Christmas (1:56) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421816

Games Nerds Play (43) 12/31/2005

Games Nerds Play (43) Dave Shepherd explains that the only reason this show is rated 'R' is because of the second song. (It would otherwise probably be PG.) (1:59) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421812

Word Nerds in 2005--A Look Back (42) 12/24/2005

Word Nerds in 2005--A Look Back (42) Dave Shepherd introduces a look back over the previous 41 editions of The Word Nerds, on behalf of Howard Shepherd and Howard Chang. (3:27) /episode/index/show/thewordnerds/id/1421809

The Word Nerds Archive

TOPICS