Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchThe Hidden World of Syllable Stress
We continue our fascination with rules we don't know we know with a look at the importance of where we put the stress when we say words out loud.
1 year, 3 months ago
Let's Hop Across the Pond
Jump in your estate car and head to the chemist, this week we're looking at some British equivalents of American English words.
1 year, 4 months ago
Getting an A on the SAT
The letter of the day is "A"! We're getting you (or your kids) ready for the SATs with some tricky vocabulary from the beginning of the alphabet.
1 year, 4 months ago
We Simply Must Talk About Modal Verbs
Must, could, should, shall, might, may... We dig into the weird, wiggly, weaselly world of modal verbs.
1 year, 4 months ago
Let's Hit the Beach
Grab your swimsuit! Or your bathing suit. That's up to you. We're heading to the beach for a look at the language of tides, waves, and other things b…
1 year, 4 months ago
Now is the winter of our discontent made brat summer
With Charli XCX sparking a summer phenomenon, we take a look at the nature of slang: who uses it, why we use it, and how we need to be very careful w…
1 year, 5 months ago
Back-formations
Today we look at words that came from other words even though we think the second word should have come first.
1 year, 5 months ago
Silly Rules (Or, the Unpredictability of the English Language)
Today, we look at language rules that are rules sometimes, and rules that don't make sense. Well, they make some sense. Whatever. They're rules, anyw…
1 year, 5 months ago
The Etymology Olympics
With the world's greatest sporting event upon us, we look at the origins of some sports-related words.
1 year, 5 months ago
Is This a Fossil? Or Just Some Dumb Old Rock?
A listener question prompts us to think about words like rehabilitate, revamp, and nonplussed, and whether we can be plussed about habilitating and v…
1 year, 5 months ago