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The origins of many of Iowa's town and city names are obvious: Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Fort Dodge. But what about places like What Cheer,…

Have you ever wondered where the word "soccer" come from and why we use it?According to Word Maven and grammar blogger Patricia O’Conner, the word…

For the past five years, we've been talking more about money than ever before. From the 2007 Global Financial Crisis, to the recent mammoth loss at J.P.…

It might seem as though the definitions of words are etched in stone, never to be changed. But language is fluid. On this Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe…

The Oxford Dictionaries declared "youthquake" as its Word of the Year for 2017, although we found out that it was originally coined in about 1965 by the…

Using an unusual spelling of a word or a fancy French saying may seem like an easy way to sound elegant, but in reality the roots of the words or sayings…

Words like tornado and Derecho fascinate and frighten and they both have surprising histories. Charity talks with English language expert Patricia…

Halloween can almost generate a dictionary of its own.The word Halloween, a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening," did not appear until 1556, but the…

Lake Superior State University in Michigan has been issuing its "Banished Words List" since 1975. The wordsmiths there now have over 800 entries on their…

Join host Charity Nebbe for this talk with Patricia O'Conner to talk about words of the year for 2013, and "banned words." What's your "word of the year"?