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How 'napron' became 'apron' (and what that has to do with newts). 'Ahold' or 'a hold'?
Episode 919
919. Rebracketing is a fascinating process that gives us more words than you might imagine, even words from French and Spanish! Also, I find a surpri…
3 years, 5 months ago
Why do people 'drop' a new single? How to pronounce 'often.'
Episode 918
918. Since "drop" can mean both "to release" and "to cancel," it can get confusing. We look at how this confusion came to be (and how to avoid it).…
3 years, 5 months ago
How to actually improve your grammar. Why parallelism is important (and how to use it). Keycoos.
Episode 917
917. For National Grammar Day, we answer one of the most common questions I get: How can I improve my grammar? Plus, I explain why parallelism is im…
3 years, 6 months ago
How writing very short stories can improve all your writing (with Grant Faulkner)
Episode 916
916. Grant Faulkner, author of "The Art of Brevity" and executive director of NaNoWriMo talks with us about how writing very short stories can improv…
3 years, 6 months ago
Language reveals universal truths about love. 'Wool sweater' or 'woolen sweater'? Grandmother crackers.
Episode 915
913. Love is much more than romance, and different languages reveal universal truths about the different kinds of love. Plus, we look at whether you …
3 years, 6 months ago
Interview with a creator of 'Schoolhouse Rock'!
Episode 914
914. To mark the 50th anniversary of "Schoolhouse Rock," the Saturday morning cartoon that taught millions of children about grammar, math, and more,…
3 years, 6 months ago
What Does the AP Have Against France? Out Over Your Skis. Lands' End. Tolater.
Episode 913
913. This week brought us a silly kerfuffle in which the AP may have insulted France. Plus, we investigate the origin of the phrase "out over your sk…
3 years, 6 months ago
Teddy Bears. The Brothers Grimm. Danger Cluck.
Episode 912
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.
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3 years, 7 months ago
Weird punctuation with 'Jr.' Carl's Jr. Hockey.
Episode 911
911. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we cover a bunch of interesting things about labels such as "Jr.," "Sr.," and "III." Plus, we look at th…
3 years, 7 months ago
Inflation, quiet quitting, and "un-" words, like "undressed," that can have two meanings. Gotcha Day.
Episode 910
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…
3 years, 7 months ago