For Writers and Language Lovers

1167. In this bonus segment that originally ran for Grammarpaloozians last October, we look at the surprising true origins of words that often fool people. We explore why "miniature" originally referred to a red color and not a size; the true, non-factual meaning of "factoid"; and how "hello" only became a common greeting because of the telephone. We also examine the indirect eponym behind the word "gasoline." Find Jess Zafarris online: Useless Etymology, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram 🔗 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. Castria Communications | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1166. This week, we look the grammar of the Academy Awards and how to avoid an "illogical plot twist" in your sentences. Then, we look at common time-related redundancies like "period of time," the proper way to use "a.m." and "p.m.," and why the abbreviation UTC doesn't actually match its name. The Academy Awards segment was written by Jim Norrena. 🔗 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. Castria Communications | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1165. Today, we talk with Joan Houston Hall to look at the monumental task of documenting how Americans speak. We look at the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), exploring the unique folk words that survive outside of standard dictionaries and how "word wagons" traveled the country to map the "egg turners," "pogonips," and "oncers" that define our regional identities. "Dictionary of American Regional English" (DARE) Support DARE by visiting the University of Wisconsin's giving page. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1164. This week, we look at the origin of the octothorpe — also known as the pound sign or hashtag — and why it has so many different names. Then, we look at sentence fragments and the secret of "Sir Fragalot" to help you avoid common writing mistakes. A video of the man who invented snurfing. Free writing course on LinkedIn Learning. (Happy National Grammar Day!) The octothorpe segment was written by Karen Lunde. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1163. This week, we look at what it’s like to be a "language detective" with Sali Tagliamonte and how she used her own teenagers as a research lab. We look at a 25-year study on how the phrase "be like" became a permanent fixture of English, why the word "very" is suddenly making a comeback with younger generations, and what happens to our language when we spend all day talking to AI. Sali Tagliamonte, University of Toronto 🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. Thank you to the members of the Order of the Aardvark at 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1162. This week, we look at why some names just "feel right" while others don't and how vowels like "ee" create associations with smallness and sweetness while back vowels like "ah" sound bigger and more serious. Then, we look at dependent clauses and when it's OK to start a sentence with "because." The baby names segment was written by Valerie Fridland. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1161. Today, we look at the history of writing in all-uppercase letters. Tech historian Glenn Fleishman explains how capitals transitioned from a sign of importance to a convention for shouting. Plus, we discuss his research tracking the association between yelling and capital letters back to 1856 and why early newspapers used all capitals to make tiny type seem larger. Glenn Fleishman's website. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1160. This week, we look at why "mogul" means both a ski bump and a powerful person. Then, we tackle when to use "awhile" versus "a while," with a trick to help you remember. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1159. This week, we look at "civic clarity" with writing instructor Roy Peter Clark in a newly edited version of our 2020 conversation. We look at the ethical code of clear communication and why "civic clarity" is more important now than ever. We also discuss the strategy of "writing short" for social media and how to navigate the difficult process of cutting a draft to find your focus. Poynter Institute Roy Peter Clark's Facebook 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1158. This week, we go full Winter Olympics, tracing the origin of "ski," "luge," "toboggan," and more. Then, we look at why we say "Celsius" instead of "centigrade." 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1157. This week, we look at AI em dashes with Sean Goedecke, software engineer for GitHub. We talk about why artificial intelligence models frequently use em dashes and words like "delve," and how training on public domain books from the late 1800s may have influenced these patterns. We also look at the role of human feedback in shaping "AI style." www.SeanGoedecke.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. 🔗 Get the edited transcript. 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1156. This week, we look at the pronunciation chaos surrounding "forte" and "pianoforte," from the French fencing term meaning "strong point" to the Italian musical direction meaning "loud." Then, we look at "playing the dozens" — the African American insult game with a mysterious origin. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1155. This week, we look at whether it’s actually true that Inuit languages have hundreds of words for snow with Dr. Charles Kemp. We look at how researchers used a database of 18 million volumes to find out how our environment shapes our vocabulary using the Nida-Conklin principle. We also look at a surprising finding about words for rain being abundant in non-rainy regions. CharlesKemp.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. 🔗 Get the edited transcript. 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1154. This week, we look at "headless" nouns like "scarecrow," "pickpocket," and "breakfast." We look at why these "cutthroat compounds" break the normal rules of English grammar. Then, we look at the science of reading versus listening, including how our brains process text differently from audio and why multitasking can affect your comprehension. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1153. This week, we look at the high-stakes world of Scrabble tournaments with John Chew, head of the North American Scrabble Players Association. We look at the strict etiquette of the tile bag, why professional players count tiles, and how the official word list is managed for competitive play. NASPA website 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1152. This week, we look at what a baker's dozen is and why it's actually 13. We also look at other "dozen" phrases, like "devil's dozen" and "banker's dozen." Finally, we tackle the inconsistency of making words that end in O plural, from "tomatoes" to "rodeos." 🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza at Patreon. 🔗 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. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1151. This week, we look at the deep history of words with Doug Harper, creator of Etymonline. We look at the "gravitational" link between digging a grave and having a grave problem, the surprising 1839 origin of "OK," and why some of our favorite word stories are actually "folk etymologies" designed as jokes. Etymonline.com Visit our YouTube channel to see the video version of this episode. Links to Get One Month Free of the Grammar Girl Patreon (different links for different levels) https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/687E4https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/07205https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/50A0Bhttps://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/949F7🔗 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. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1150. This week, we look at "impact" as a verb and why it's a pet peeve for so many editors and readers. Then, we look at the linguistic shift between sympathy and empathy, exploring how "sympathy" began to sound patronizing and how "empathy" expanded to fill the gap. Links to Get One Month Free of the Grammar Girl Patreon (different links for different levels) https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/687E4https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/07205https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/50A0Bhttps://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/949F7🔗 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. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1149. This week, we look at the life and legacy of Samuel Johnson, the man behind the 1755 Dictionary of the English Language. We talk with John Overholt, curator at Harvard’s Houghton Library, about Johnson's eclectic career. We also look at what it’s like to manage a collection of 4,000 rare books and why even the most "unremarkable" items deserve a home in a library. Find John Overholt on Mastodon. Houghton Library's website Links to Get One Month Free of the Grammar Girl Patreon (different links for different levels) https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/687E4https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/07205https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/50A0Bhttps://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/949F7🔗 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. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.