Support WBUROpinion'We're Broke': Empty Bank Accounts, Empty Meaning?Play06:33Download AudioGeoff NunbergMarch 24, 2011 ShareIf It Ain't Broke ... The word "broke" comes from an old use of the word break, meaning "impoverished," says linguist Geoff Nunberg. "It suggests an abiding association between destitution and destruction." (iStockphoto.com)
