Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.
1,055 episodes — Page 1 of 22
Explosions, chemistry, and dictionary 'spite,' with Kory Stamper
It's Greek to me: Why is the language of 'The Odyssey' shorthand for all that we don’t understand?
Sarah L. Kaufman on the shared rhythm of dance, critical writing, and finding better verbs
What 'kith and kin' and 'beck and call' have in common
Word wagons and bobbasheelys: Life at DARE, with Joan Houston Hall
Why does 'shh' mean the same thing in so many languages, and what's 'broad' about daylight?
How comics are made, with Glenn Fleishman
Why does the U.S. have so many regional accents?
Why "golly" and "gosh" are going the way of the dinosaur, with Sali Tagliamonte
The secret language of gamers. Plus, why ducks don't ‘duck’ from danger
'Writing for AI' and the flaws of AI detectors, with Sean Goedecke
Shark Week: 6 sayings from pop culture
Decoding the Chinese character paradox, with Dr. Charles Kemp
Isn't it ironic? Plus, the man behind the guillotine
Saving Canadian lexicography, with John Chew
Snowclones: fill-in-the-blank phrases we can’t stop remixing. Plus, is it 'RBIs' or 'RBI'?
Building a beloved resource for word lovers, with Doug Harper
How to answer the question 'What's your book about?'
Fossil words, eponyms, and a miscellany of weird facts, with Jess Zafarris and Shannon Miller
Why 'love' means 'zero' in tennis
Tomi Adeyemi: The writing life
The bouba-kiki effect in baby chicks, with Dr. Maria Loconsole
The secret code of weather forecasts
Randall Munroe of xkcd: Language Chat and Weird Bee Laws.
What it really takes to translate Shakespeare, with Daniel Hahn
How to get started as a freelance writer
The case for language clarity, with Iva Cheung
Does Yoda speak 'real' English? Is it 'a real trouper' or 'a real trooper'?
Everyone has a story to tell, and why your memoir matters, with Grant Faulkner
How ‘bee’s knees’ became high praise, and why do recipes sound so bossy?
Why your topic isn't a point (and how to fix it), with Joel Schwartzberg
How many people is a 'troop'? Why spelling bees are called 'bees.'
The hidden logic of English spelling, with Colin Gorrie
How the Crusades gave us 'lingua franca.' 'That' or 'who' for animals? Doot doot doot
Meeting the new editor, with AP Stylebook's Anna Jo Bratton
Decoding the colon: AP vs. MLA style. Plus, words with no known origin.
The hidden superpower of verbs, with Sarah L. Kaufman
Why English creates so many words spelled the same. Why we say 'ye olde' instead of 'the old.'
'Why We Talk Funny.' The reasons behind our accents, with Valerie Fridland
Should you start a sentence with 'hopefully'? Why we might not recognize alien language.
Inside the life of a curator (and the myth of white gloves), with John Overholt.
Why 'stressed' spelled backwards reveals a delicious truth. 'Me' versus 'myself'
Losing clients to AI, and how to gain them back, with Suzanne Bowness
What the way we pronounce Iran says about us. Odorous or malodorous? When smell words stink.
Ep 1173The 3,000 hidden colors of the dictionary, with Kory Stamper
bonus1173. This week, we talk to former Merriam-Webster editor Kory Stamper to discuss her new book, "True Color." We look at the obsessive, "dictionary-ese" world of color definitions, looking at why the dictionary includes over 3,000 color names like "begonia" and "fiesta," and why the experts once insisted that "gray" and "grey" were actually two different colors.Find Kory Stamper at KoryStamper.com or on Bluesky.🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Transcript available on your podcast player.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 1172Denim: Secret place names hiding in plain sight. Why the principal is more than your pal.
1172. This week, we look at "toponyms" — words named after places — and you'll discover the hidden place names in denim, jeans, sherry, cantaloupe, and more. Then, we break down "principal" versus "principle," with memory tricks so you'll never forget the difference again.The "toponyms" segment was written by Karen Lunde, a longtime writer and editor turned web designer and marketing mentor. Solo service business owners come to her for websites where beautiful design meets authentic words that actually build connections. Find her at chanterellemarketingstudio.com.🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Transcript available on your podcast player.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 1171The crossword puzzle's role in World War II and the fight against Nazism.
1171. In the bonus segment that aired for Grammarpaloozians in November, we look at the early history of crossword puzzles and their surprising political uses. Natan Last explains how the “New York Times” crossword, which premiered during World War II, was used to boost morale and support the Allied war effort. We also look at the cultural frenzy of "crossworditis" in the 1920s and why libraries banned the puzzles as frivolous.Find Natan Last at Natanlast.com.Get the book, "Across the Universe."🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Transcript available on your podcast player.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 1170Feghoots: Groan-worthy story puns. How your brain stores words.
1170. This week, we look at "feghoots," the pun-based stories popularized by writers like Isaac Asimov, and why they are designed to make you roll your eyes. Then, we look at how your brain stores words and the lightning-fast way it retrieves them during a normal conversation.🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Transcripts can be found on your podcast app or QuickandDirtyTips.com.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 1169The ‘Tale of Two Dictionaries,’ with Peter Sokolowski
1169. In this bonus segment, originally released in November, we look at Peter Sokolowski's "Tale of Two Dictionaries," tracing the word "dictionary" back to a 16th-century Latin work by a monk named Calepino. We look at how this original source led to the first monolingual dictionaries in both English and French, all within a year of each other.Find Peter on BlueSky.🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 1168Why leprechauns are shoemakers. The March equinox versus the vernal equinox.
1168. This week, we look at the word "leprechaun" and its surprisingly wild origin story involving shoemaking, ancient Rome, and wolf-men. Then we look at the word "equinox": its Chaucer connection, the newer word "equilux," and why the first point of Aries is actually in Pisces now (and headed for Aquarius).🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. Audio Engineer: Castria Communications Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.