Can we be combobulated? Or gruntled? Not Fletcher. He's been disgruntled and discombobulated thinking about this subject for a long time.

Can we be combobulated? Or gruntled? Not Fletcher. He's been disgruntled and discombobulated thinking about this subject for a long time. He's turning the tables in this episode and asking Kathy and Ross about prefixes on words that might not be words without said prefixes. (And the Petrases remained nonplussed.)

Merriam-Webster just added to their definition of the word "they" to indicate it's being used as a non-binary gender pronoun. We happen to think that the singular "they" is excellent. As did Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. In fact, the singular "they" can be traced back to 1375.

Merriam-Webster just added to their definition of the word "they" to indicate it's being used as a non-binary gender pronoun. We happen to think that the singular "they" is excellent. As did Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. In fact, the singular "they" can be traced back to 1375.

In this episode, Fletcher, Kathy & Ross talk about precision in language: why it's good, why it's bad, why we like it, and why we sometimes just need to let it go.

In this episode, Fletcher, Kathy & Ross talk about precision in language: why it's good, why it's bad, why we like it, and why we sometimes just need to let it go.

OK, lotsa complicated stuff this time. First, we cover using "who" vs. "that" in a sentence, as in "I'm the one who loves you" vs. "I'm the one that loves you." And we move on to "that" vs. "which" in restrictive and non-restrictive clauses. (You might want to get some paper to draw a diagram here.) And we learn when to use "shall" vs. "will." Or if any of it matters at all!

OK, lotsa complicated stuff this time.

Here's a question for you: How are you?

Here's a question for you: How are you? A simple question shouldn't make you squirm so much, should it?