Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Teddy Bears. The Brothers Grimm. Danger Cluck.

912. We look at who the Teddy is in "teddy bears" and reveal why the Brothers Grimm, from fairytales, were also massively important in linguistics.

Inflation, quiet quitting, and "un-" words, like "undressed," that can have two meanings. Gotcha Day.

910. The final Grammar Girl word-of-the-year vote came down to "inflation" and "quiet quitting." We look at the interesting arguments voters made for both. Plus, we look at why some words that start with "un-" mean "not" and others mean ...

World Cup Words. The Origin of Toasting. Says.

908. You had word-related questions after watching the World Cup. We have answers! And for the holidays, we look at the origin of toasting with wine (and why it actually IS related to toasted bread).

The Wonderful Words of Christmas

906. A'wassailing. Noel. Mistletoe. Trolling the ancient Yuletide carol, and more. We look into the wonderful words of Christmas and their origins — as delightful as a Christmas cookie.

What's a Honeyfuggler? 'Through' vs. 'Throughout.' Arriversary.

904. "Through" and "throughout" may seem interchangeable, but they're not. We have some creative memory tricks to help you remember the difference. Plus, we have fun with the word "honeyfuggler."

Why Today's 'Thank You' Is Different from an Ancient 'Thank You.' Gerunds.

902. Language reflects culture, so it's no surprise that giving thanks hundreds of years ago was different from giving thanks today. We have the fascinating history. And then, since "Thanksgiving" is a gerund, we looked at all the interesting things ...

The Medieval Origins of the @ Symbol. Hyphens in Dual-Heritage Terms. Pitch.

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 @, ...

Randall Munroe of xkcd: Language Chat and Weird Bee Laws.

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 ...

Wick-ED Fun Pronunciations. Deviled Eggs.

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 ...

Mood & Atmosphere in Fiction. An Interview with Joshua Essoe

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 ...

Why Some People Say 'Might Could.' The Spanish Influence on English. Mickle Story.

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 ...

'Skrrt,' 'Bottle Episode,' 'Skeuomorphs' and more. An Interview with John Kelly of Dictionary.com.

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.

How Gendered Languages Are Changing. Jugopop.

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."

A Riotous Good Time with Ellen Jovin of the Grammar Table

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 ...

Why Nobody Says 'You're Welcome' Anymore. Whose. Chimichanga.

Surprising Words Related to 'Freedom.' Double Subjects. Foop.

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.

The Many Meanings of 'Father.' How Watergate Changed English. Punim

"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, ...

Are Wisdom Teeth Smart? Capitalizing Degree Names. Sussies 2

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?

How Spellers Tackle the 'Dreaded Schwa'

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.

Tomi Adeyemi: The Writing Life and Her New Writing Course.

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 ...

If Earth Looks Like a Blue Marble, Why Is Earth Day Associated with the Color Green? Also, 'Funnest.'

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 ...

I Cannot Tell a Lie (but I Can Mislead)! And Sometimes People Do It With Percentages.

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 ...

Why Tired People Talk About Being 'Out of Spoons.' Why Nouns Are More Complicated Than You May Think.

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 ...

The Oxford Comma. And Should You Start a Sentence with 'And'?

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 ...

Why Do We Cringe at 'Pepper and Salt'? Why 'Square' Is Uncool. Quickquish.

"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 ...