Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.

900. The story of the @ symbol is much bigger than email. In fact, it was used for hundreds of years before being saved from obscurity by the invention of electronic communication. I explore the medieval origin story of @, plus share a bunch of fun names for it in other languages. Also, many style books recently removed the hyphen from dual-heritage terms like "Asian American," and I explain why in a segment that includes a tribute to former Los Angeles Times editor Henry Fuhrmann.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/where-did-we-get-the-at-symbol/transcript| Advanced AP Style Webinar, Nov. 9. Use the code MACMIL for a $90 discount.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

899. Believe it or not, "magick" isn't just a funky way of spelling "magic." The two spellings have different meanings. Plus, we look at the unusual origins of other cool words that make us think of Halloween: "haunt," "grave," "mesmerize," and "macabre."| Segment 1 on "magic" versus "magick" was written by Michaela Dunn.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/magic-versus-magick| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

898. Randall Munroe joined me this week to talk about his language-themed xkcd cartoons, his simple-language project Up Goer V, his biggest pet peeve, his favorite words, and his new book "What If? 2." But I have to confess that my favorite part was his tidbits about the bee laws.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/randall-munroe-of-xkcd| Buy What If? 2.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Buy the Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

897. Have you ever written yourself into a "that that" or a "had had" situation and wondered how you got there? It doesn't mean you're a bad writer! I explain why this happens sometimes and how to best fix it. Also, we talk about the fascinating subconscious rules that guide conversations.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/the-subconscious-rules-of-conversation| Segment 2 is by Valerie Fridland: Website. Twitter.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

896. If you've ever wondered why we pronounce the "-ed" at the end of "wicked" (and "jagged," "beloved" and more), but don't at the end of words like "aggrieved," this show is for you! You'll also discover why "wicked" is different from "naked" and what's weird about the phrase "wicked witch." Plus, you'll learn why we call some food "deviled."| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/the-weird-pronunciation-of-wicked| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

895. A listener asked why he's hearing people refer to men as "widows," and we found a surprising history. Also, I recently mentioned a blurb I wrote, and a reader wanted to know where we get that funny word "blurb."| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/when-is-a-man-a-widow| Merriam-Webster "blurb" article.| Grammar Girl sci-fi versus fantasy article.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

894. Whether you're getting ready for National Novel Writing Month or just want to watch movies or read novels with more insight, this interview with fiction editor Joshua Essoe will help you about mood and atmosphere in ways you probably haven't considered before.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/mood-atmosphere-in-fiction-an-interview-with-joshua-essoe| Joshua Essoe's website.| Storybundle book bundles.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

893. You may be surprised by the origin of the split infinitive "rule" and by the times they are OK...or even necessary! Also, we look at slang phrases that drop whole grammatical elements and how they reinforce that in-group/out-group feeling of slang.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/split-infinitives| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsIntern: Kamryn Lacy| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

892. We recently got a question about why people use a type of double-verb construction, such as "We might could go to the store." We have the answer! Plus, in honor of the upcoming National Hispanic Heritage Month, we look at the influence Spanish has had on English. You probably know more Spanish words than you realize!Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/why-some-people-say-might-could"Double Modals" was written by Neal Whitman."The Spanish Influence on English" was written by Susan K. Herman| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio engineer: Nathan SemesEditor: Adam CecilAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

891. Your mind will be blown when you learn about accent hallucination. (Mine was!) And then we'll learn how to avoid false ranges.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/accent-hallucination-false-rangesReferences for the Accent Hallucination segment by Valerie Fridland:Babel, M., & Russell, J. (2015). Expectations and speech intelligibility. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 137(5), 2823–2833. Bradlow, A. R., and Bent, T. (2008). Perceptual adaptation to non-nativeSpeech. Cognition 106(2), 707–729.Lev-Ari, S., & Keysar, B. (2010). Why don't we believe non-native speakers? the influence of accent on credibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46(6), 1093-1096:Rubin, D.L. 1992. Nonlanguage factors affecting undergraduates' judgments of nonnative English-speaking teaching assistants. Res High Educ 33, 511–531 Vaughn C. R. (2019). Expectations about the source of a speaker's accent affect accent adaptation. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 145(5), 3218. References for the False Range segment by Rhiannon Root:Walsh, B. "Everything's Ranging." The Slot. https://www.theslot.com/range.html (accessed September 1, 2022).Grammar Monkeys (McLendon, L.). "Home, home on the range." Madam Grammar. May 20, 2010. https://madamgrammar.com/tag/false-range/ (accessed September 1, 2022).McIntyre, J. "Getting the range." You Don't Say. February 10, 2010. http://johnemcintyre.blogspot.com/2010/02/getting-range.html (accessed September 1, 2022)."Commas." The Chicago Manual of Style (Q&A), 17th edition. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Commas/faq0062.html (accessed September 1, 2022).Corbett, P.B. "Everything from this to that." After Deadline: New York Times Blog. August 24, 2010. https://archive.nytimes.com/afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/everything-from-this-to-that/ (accessed September 1, 2022)."Appendix." SeaWorld. https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/penguins/appendix/ (accessed September 1, 2022).| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

890. John Kelly, senior director of editorial at Dictionary.com, talks with Mignon about a bunch of fun new words and about how words get added to the dictionary in general. Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/skrrt-bottle-episode-skeuomorphs| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:TwitterFacebookInstagramLinkedInYouTubePinterestTikTok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

889. Splooting squirrels have taken the internet by storm. We look at where this fun word comes from and how far back it goes. Plus, I help you decide which title capitalization rules to follow.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/whats-up-with-splooting-capitalizing-titles-momilltellya| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

888. This week we take a fascinating look at how highly gendered languages are dealing with the drive to become more inclusive. Plus, we look at the differences between "simple" and "simplistic" and "backward" and "backwards."Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/how-gendered-languages-are-changing-jugopop| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girlReferences for the gendered language segment by Valerie Fridland:Braun, F., Sczesny, S., & Stahlberg, D. (2005). Cognitive Effects of Masculine Generics in German: An Overview of Empirical Findings. Communications (Sankt Augustin), 30(1), 1-21. Carreiras, M., Garnham, A., Oakhill, J., & Cain, K. (1996). The use of stereotypical gender information in constructing a mental model: evidence from English and Spanish. The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. A, Human experimental psychology, 49(3), 639–663. DeFranza, D., Mishra, H., & Mishra, A. (2020). How language shapes prejudice against women: An examination across 45 world languages. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(1), 7–22.Eilers, S., Tiffin-Richards, S. P., & Schroeder, S. (2018). Individual differences in children’s pronoun processing during reading: Detection of incongruence is associated with higher reading fluency and more regressions. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 173, 250-267.Stahlberg, D., Braun, F., Irmen, L., & Sczesny, S. (2007). Representation of the sexes in language. In K. Fiedler (Ed.), Social communication. A volume in the series Frontiers of Social Psychology.163-187.Moehlman, Lara. (2018) Can Hebrew Be Gender Neutral? https://momentmag.com/can-hebrew-be-gender-neutral/. Accessed 8.7.2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

887. An amazing study shows that tool use and language are connected in the brain and shows how using one can make you better at the other, and vice versa. Plus we look at some tricky possessives. Can you say "a friend of mine's car"?Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/how-using-pliers-improves-your-languageThe tools and language segment is by Claudio Brozzoli a researcher at INSERM Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, and the Impact team at the Karolinska Institute, and Simon Thibault, a Postdoctoral Researcher at Lyon Neuroscience Research Center. It originally appeared on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license. Read the original (without my interjections).| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

886. The delightful Ellen Jovin of the Grammar Table (you may have seen her sitting on the street answering grammar questions in your city) joined me to talk about her new book, "Rebel with a Clause," what possessed her to set up the Grammar Table in the first place, why Twitter is vastly better than Facebook for doing language polls, and more.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/ellen-jovin-of-the-grammar-table| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

885. It's time for our quarterly listener question extravaganza! I answer your questions about the words "ripe," "lede," "prevent," "awesome," and "fulsome" and share some knowledge about MacGuffins and the drink known as a daisy.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/ripe-lede-prevent-awesome-fulsome-macguffin-daisy| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

884. People often ask why people say "no worries" or "no problem" instead of "you're welcome," and we actually found an answer! Also, we look at whether it's OK to use "whose" for inanimate objects in a sentence such as "The chair whose legs are broken."Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/why-nobody-says-youre-welcome-anymore-whose-chimichanga| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girlReferences for the "you're welcome" segment by Valerie Fridland:Aijmer, Karin. 1996. Conversational routines in English: Convention and creativity. London et al.: Longman.Dinkin, Aaron. J. 2018. It's no problem to be polite: Apparent‐time change in responses to thanks. Journal of Sociolinguistics 22(2): 190-215. Jacobsson, M. 2002. Thank you and thanks in Early Modern English. ICAME Journal 26: 63-80.Rüegg, Larssyn. 2014. Thanks responses in three socio-economic settings: A variational pragmatics approach. Journal of Pragmatics 71. pp. 17–30.Schneider, Klaus P. 2005. ‘No problem, you’re welcome, anytime’: Responding to thanks in Ireland, England, and the U.S.A. In Anne Barron & Klaus P. Schneider (eds.), The pragmatics of Irish English, Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 101–139.References for the "whose" segment by Bonnie Mills:American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. 2005. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 505-6.American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth edition. 2006. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, p. 1965.Burchfield, R. W, ed. 1996. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, p. 563. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

883. The numbers sections of style books finally pushed me over the edge, and I have some stories you won't believe! We also talk about how cool code-switching is.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/code-switching-mignon-snaps-over-numbers-foomp| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

882. For Independence Day, we look at the word "freedom" and the surprising words that came from the same roots. Plus, we look at odd sentences with double subjects and when you should (and shouldn't) use them.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/surprising-words-related-to-freedom-double-subjects-foop| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girlReference for the "double subjects" segment by Neal Whitman:Huddleston, R. and Pullum, G.K. 2003. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, pp. 1408-1411.References for the "freedom" segment by Valerie Fridland:Lewis, C.S. 1990. “Free.” In Studies in Words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 111-132.Buck, D.C. 1949. “Territorial, Social, and Political Divisions; Social Relations.” In A Dictionary of Synonyms in The Principal Indo-European Languages: A Contribution to The History of Ideas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1301-1369."free, adj., n., and adv.". OED Online. June 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/74375 (accessed June 28, 2022)."freedom, n.". OED Online. June 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/74395?rskey=nb7bUT&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 28, 2022)."free, v.". OED Online. June 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/74376?rskey=PWZPsN&result=2&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 28, 2022). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

881. What's up with the fancy-schmancy "ahnt" pronunciation of the word "aunt"? And why are the rules about capitalizing cocktail names so wonky? We have all the answers today!Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/ant-or-ahnt-capitalizing-cocktail-names-archie-bunkerReferences for the "ahnt" segment by Valerie Fridland:Phillips, Betty. (1989). The Diffusion of a Borrowed Sound Change. Journal of English Linguistics, 22(2), 197–204.Freeborn, Dennis. (1992). From old English to standard English : a course book in language variation across time. University of Ottawa Press: Ottawa.Grandgent, C.H. (1899). Franklin to Lowell. A Century of New England Pronunciation. Publication of the Modern Language Association, vol. 14 (2), 207-239.Trudgill, Peter (2008). The Historical Sociolinguistics of Elite Accent Change: On Why RP is not Disappearing. Studia Anglica Posnaniensia 44: 3–12.Walker, John. (1791). A critical pronouncing dictionary. London: Robinson.Wells, John. (1982). Accents of English. Cambridge University Press.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

880. "Father" as a word shows how we humans love to extend our metaphors. Did you know it was only relatively recently that priests were referred to as "father," for example? And then, for the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal, we look at the "-gate" suffix and what made it so successful that it has spread all over the world (even to non-English-speaking countries).Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/the-many-meanings-of-father-how-watergate-changed-english| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Sources for the "father" segment by Valerie Fridland"father, n." OED Online. March 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/68498?rskey=gVoRUz&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 05, 2022)."pope, n.1." OED Online. March 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/147798?rskey=d5Ttqw&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 06, 2022)."thing, n.1." OED Online. March 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/200786?rskey=dIOiJo&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 06, 2022).Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). "Abbot." Britannica Academic. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/abbot/3248Elder, Gregory. Nov. 15, 2007. Why do we call priests father? Redlands Daily Facts. https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2007/11/15/why-are-priests-called-father/ (accessed June 06, 2022).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

879. Are people from Liverpool really called "Liverpudlians"? Where does the name "Tar Heel" come from? We have the answers to some of the most interesting questions about demonyms: the names for people from specific places. Also, has anyone ever criticized you for using the word "healthy" instead of "healthful"? We explain why that happens. And finally, we've solved the mystery of "sussies."Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/demonyms-why-people-from-north-carolina-are-called-tar-heels-healthy-versus-healthful-sussies-3| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | Nutrition Diva podcast.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Sources for the Demonyms Segment by Susan K. Herman:| Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias: https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/168427| CIA World Factbook/Country Profiles/Explore all Countries: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/| East Liverpool, Ohio Mayor’s Office: https://eastliverpool.com/city-department/mayors-office/| Everything2/Demonyms of the United States: https://everything2.com/title/Demonyms+of+the+United+States| Everything2/Denonyms of the World: https://everything2.com/title/Demonyms+of+the+World| Garner, B. "Denizen Labels." Garner's Modern English Usage, fourth edition. Oxford University Press. 2016. p.259-62.| Government Printing Office Style Manual, Ch. 17, Useful Tables: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/pdf/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016-19.pdf| Merriam-Webster/demonym: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demonym| TimeOut: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/stupid-things-other-cities-and-states-call-their-residents-122215| Voice of America News: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/making-sense-of-demonyms-nationality-nouns/5921426.html| Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/13/hoosier-is-now-the-official-name-for-indiana-folk-but-what-does-it-even-mean/| Wikipedia/Demonym: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym| Wikipedia/List of demonyms for U.S. states and territories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_demonyms_for_US_states_and_territories| Wikipedia/List of regional nicknames: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regional_nicknames| Wise Men of Gotham: https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Wise-Men-of-Gotham/| Word Sense: https://www.wordsense.eu/Liverpudlian/| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

878. This week, we look at what makes wisdom teeth so smart, how to properly write the name of your degree, and what's up with the "sussies" familect?Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/are-wisdom-teeth-smart-capitalizing-degree-names-sussies-2| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girlSources for the Capitalizing Degree Names Segment:GrammarBook.com. “Is It Associate Degree or Associate’s Degree?” The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. https://www.grammarbook.com/Wikipedia. “Academic Degree.” Accessed April 13, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_degreeCMOS Online Q&A. “Possessives and Attributives.” https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/PossessivesandAttributives/faq0034.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

877. In an age when eels were sometimes used as currency and castles pierced the sky, “thou” was all the rage. But over time, it disappeared from use. Where did it go? And will it ever make a comeback?This week, we're sharing an episode of Curious State, a brand new podcast from Quick and Dirty Tips. Listen and subscribe to Curious State on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you're listening to Grammar Girl.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/whatever-happened-to-thou| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

876. You'll never view spellers in the bee asking questions the same way again after you learn about the schwa from Brian Sietsema, an associate pronouncer for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

875. When you say "Go get 'em!" you think that's short for "Go get them," but you're wrong! We look at the fascinating history of some English pronouns. Plus, we look at how Neil Gaiman uses the subjunctive mood in "American Gods" to underscore moments of uncertainty.WHY "'EM" ISN'T SHORT FOR "THEM"Written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of a forthcoming book on all the speech habits we love to hate. She is also a language expert for "Psychology Today" where she writes a monthly blog, Language in the Wild. You can find her at valeriefridland.com or on Twitter at @FridlandValerie.ReferencesLópez, Ignacio. 2007. The social status of /h/ in English. "Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses." 157-166. "em, pron." OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2022, www.oed.com/view/Entry/85779. Accessed 11 April 2022.Algeo, J., Butcher, C. A., & Pyles, T. 2014. "The origins and development of the English language." Boston, Mass.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.THE SUBJUNCTIVE IN FICTIONWritten by Edwin Battistella, a professor of linguistics and writing at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, where he has served as a dean and as interim provost. He is the author of "Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels: Insulting the President, from Washington to Trump" (OUP, 2020), "Do You Make These Mistakes in English?" (OUP, 2009), "Bad Language" (OUP, 2005), and "The Logic of Markedness" (OUP, 1996).| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

874. With her book "Children of Blood and Bone" spending 120 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, Tomi Adeyemi knows what it takes to write a great book. Listen in on my conversation with this charming writer about her thoughts on the writing life and what she has to offer in her new masterclass, The Writer's Roadmap.| Subscribe to the Grammar Girl newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

873. Today, we'll talk about some weird nouns that are always plural, and then we'll go two-dimensional and talk about flat adverbs.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game.| Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

872. The famous NASA "blue marble" image could have influenced people to make blue the color of environmentalism and Earth Day, but green won the day. In honor of the special day, we look at how the meaning of "green" has changed over time. Plus, we investigate the "fun" continuum and whether it's OK to use the words "funner" and "funnest."| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game.| Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girlReferences for the "funnest" segment1. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 1994, pp. 469-70.2. Garner, B. Garner's Modern American Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016, p. 416.3. The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, p. 197.4. The Grammar Logs. #596, March 24, 2004, https://web.archive.org/web/20190427082852/http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/grammarlogs4/grammarlogs596.htm(accessed April 21, 2022).5. Wallraff, B. Word Court. 87 (2000).6. Garner, B. Garner's Modern American Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016, p. 416. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

871. It's "listener question extravaganza" time, so I have some quick hits on discourse markers such as "you know," where we get the word "doppelganger," how to punctuate around trademarks, and the difference between "funny" and "funnily." It's a good one!| SPONSORS: https://masterworks.io/about/disclosure and The Jordan Harbinger Show.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game.| Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

870. We look at the linguistic difference between lying and misleading, and then because people often lie with numbers, we look at the difference between "percent" and "percentage" and how to use them.| SPONSORS: https://masterworks.io/about/disclosure and https://bit.ly/ggondemand with the code MACMIL and https://bombas.com/grammar and https://monday.com/podcast.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game.| Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

869. Prodded by Bruce Willis's family's announcement that he is leaving acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, we revisited language disorders, and the kinds of things we can learn from them.Today's segment was written by Syelle Graves, who has a PhD in linguistics and is the assistant director of ILETC (Institute for Language Education in Transcultural Context). She was also a 40 under Forty alumni award honoree at SUNY New Paltz. You can find her at syellegraves.com.| SPONSORS: https://masterworks.io/about/disclosure and https://bit.ly/ggondemand with the code MACMIL and https://bombas.com/grammar and https://monday.com/podcast.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game.| Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few months ago, I started to notice people talking about spoons in a weird way, so I investigated and found that people are using an interesting concept called "spoon theory." Also this week, we look at why nouns are more complicated than you may think, and we dig into concrete, abstract, collective, and compound nouns--how you can identify them, how you can tell them apart, and what makes them fun.| SPONSORS: https://masterworks.io/about/disclosure and https://bit.ly/ggondemand with the code MACMIL| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Barracking," "sheilas" and "shouts": How the Irish influenced Australian English. Plus, what makes "NASA" different from "FBI."| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever wondered why it's called the "Oxford comma"? We have the answer to that and many more questions you may have about this controversial punctuation mark. Plus, we'll also talk about why it's fine to start a sentence with "and" (and why you were probably taught that it's not). | Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A listener wondered about the word "materiel." What's its deal (and is it related to "personnel")? Plus, "pepper and salt." "Groom and bride." "White and black." Are binomials the same across languages?| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Sticks and stones." "Bride and groom." "Heads or tails." Some word pairs almost always appear in a specific order, and linguists have been investigating why for decades. Plus, after last week's segment about square meals, a listener asked why it's uncool to be a square.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea of a square meal goes back to the 1800s and possibly mining towns, but the word "square" itself has a longer history. Plus, admit it! You don't know how to use curly braces. (We didn't either, but we figured it out.)| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How the "Witch of Wall Street" relates to the word "commiserate." Plus, the interesting origin of "influenza" and other disease names.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People often tell me they hear others say they'll be absent from work in a different way than they're used to hearing, so I looked into who says what where. Also, we take a deep look at how children learn language and what parents can do to help their children learn better. | Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kerstin Cable, host of "The Fluent Show" shares her tips and enthusiasm for learning new languages. We talked about what to do if you're stalled learning a language, what the good things and bad things are about language learning apps (to help you learn how to use them better), the massively underestimated thing that will help you learn a language, and how learning a language can make you more creative.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://pinterest.com/realgrammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The sounds of certain words make us think of things that are big or small, round or spiky, and the tendency is nearly universal. For example, people can often pick words that refer to something big or small even in languages they don't speak. Here's why. Plus, we look at the ways people sometimes overuse the word "of" and how to fix it.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://pinterest.com/realgrammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Strollout," "insurrection," "yassify," "hard pants" and other words of the year for 2021.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was that uncle who wiped the floor with you in a card game a cardsharp or a card shark? Also, we look at what it is about using "they" as a singular pronoun that makes it sometimes stand out and sometimes get overlooked.Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/cardsharp-the-old-new-singular-they-grignug/transcript| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game.|Grammar Girl books.|HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I have a big metaphorical pile of questions from listeners in which the answers are too short to be a whole podcast segment, so today, I'm going to string them together and do a bunch of quick hits. We'll talk about color idioms, formatting bullet points, and the words "fulsome," "presently," "anyways," "afterward," and more.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we use milk and cookies for Santa to figure out when compound subjects are singular or plural. We also invent a new language term: santaback. We hope you'll share your examples!| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card game. |Grammar Girl books. |HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://pinterest.com/realgrammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Accomplished mystery writer Lori Rader-Day was drawn to the story of children who were evacuated to Agatha Christie's vacation home during WWII, but having never written a historical novel before, she faced challenges. We talk about what she learned along the way while working on "Death at Greenway."| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course. https://j.mp/3oooKmK|Peeve Wars card game. http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/grammar-girl-s-peeve-wars|Grammar Girl books. bit.ly/GrammarPopBooks|HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://pinterest.com/realgrammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

|HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://pinterest.com/realgrammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does your group use shibboleths? Plus, I'll help you avoid common embarrassing greeting card mistakes.|Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course. https://j.mp/3oooKmK|Peeve Wars card game. http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/grammar-girl-s-peeve-wars|Grammar Girl books. bit.ly/GrammarPopBooks|HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://pinterest.com/realgrammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amirite? You have the tickets, don't you? Today we talk about those tiny questions at the end of sentences, what purpose they serve, and who is most likely to use them. Plus, we tackle that anxiety producting punctuation mark, the semicolon.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course. https://j.mp/3oooKmK|Peeve Wars card game. http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/grammar-girl-s-peeve-wars|Grammar Girl books. bit.ly/GrammarPopBooks|HOST: Mignon Fogarty|VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)|Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.|Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.|Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://pinterest.com/realgrammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.