Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Cliches. Organic. Bully pulpit. Fimfy.


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951.  In honor of National Cliché day, we uncover why some overused phrases rub us the wrong way. What is the boundary between idioms, slang, and clichés—and should we give "adulting" a break? Then, we trace the 700-year history of "organic," from bodily organs to natural growth, and ask whether using a bully pulpit makes someone a bad person.

The "cliche" segment was written by Kirk Hazen, a professor of linguistics at West Virginia University, and Jordan Lovejoy, a visiting assistant professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It first appeared on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license (BY-ND 4.0).

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| 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 Semes
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  • Marketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina Tomlin
  • Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings
  • Marketing Temp: Kamryn Lacey

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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