Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
How COVID Changed the Way We Think About Words. How to Write Dates. Prefeed.
Episode 909
909. In honor of 2023, we’ll talk about writing dates. And then we talk about a fascinating study about how COVID has changed the way we think about …
3 years, 7 months ago
World Cup Words. The Origin of Toasting. Says.
Episode 908
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 …
3 years, 8 months ago
Goblin Mode, Woman, & More. Words of the Year, with Kory Stamper
Episode 907
907. The fabulous Kory Stamper, author of "Word by Word," joins me this week to talk about words of the year: how they get chosen, what makes each on…
3 years, 8 months ago
The Wonderful Words of Christmas
Episode 906
906. A'wassailing. Noel. Mistletoe. Trolling the ancient Yuletide carol, and more. We look into the wonderful words of Christmas and their origins —…
3 years, 8 months ago
We found the book!
Episode 905
905. Bonus Episode! You helped solve the mystery of my father's favorite childhood book. I also share quick and dirty tips from my email newsletter,…
3 years, 8 months ago
What's a Honeyfuggler? 'Through' vs. 'Throughout.' Arriversary.
Episode 904
903. "Through" and "throughout" may seem interchangeable, but they're not. We have some creative memory tricks to help you remember the difference. …
3 years, 8 months ago
A Strange Use of 'Said.' Kith and Kin. New Scrabble Words!
Episode 903
903. A listener heard some jargon, and then got annoyed by "said" jargon, so we explored why. Plus, who the heck are your kith? And finally, we got …
3 years, 9 months ago
Why Today's 'Thank You' Is Different from an Ancient 'Thank You.' Gerunds.
Episode 902
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 fasc…
3 years, 9 months ago
WWII Words. A 'bit' of an Issue. Kleenex.
Episode 901
901. WWII spawned a bunch of new words, including "boffin" and "bonkers." We'll look into the history of these fun words and more in honor of Veteran…
3 years, 9 months ago
The Medieval Origins of the @ Symbol. Hyphens in Dual-Heritage Terms. Pitch.
Episode 900
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 inventi…
3 years, 9 months ago