© 2024 | Jefferson Public Radio
Southern Oregon University
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.552.6301 | 800.782.6191
Listen | Discover | Engage a service of Southern Oregon University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Language Is Full Of Expressions, Are You Down With That?

juanedc, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27828497

Maybe it's not top of mind, but we do use language in ways far beyond the literal. At the end of the day, when the chickens come home to roost, we find ourselves using many expressions that are really shorthand for bigger concepts.

Longtime educators Shirley and Harold Kobliner did the hard work of assembling many of them, in the book So to Speak: 11,000 Expressions That'll Knock Your Socks Off.

Shirley died in 2016, Harold in 2020. Their daughter, Beth Kobliner, visits with the story of the book and the larger story of a family that truly loves language and how it is used.

Stay Connected
The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily news program focused on issues, people and events across Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the program's senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.