Why do pirates say 'Arr'? Is it 'none is' or 'none are'?
1220. This week, in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, we look at the history of eight pirate words, and then we look at whether the right pai...
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Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
You'll get fun and friendly doses of writing advice in three short chunks: a Quick and Dirty Tip, a meaty middle, and a final tidbit. Grammar Girl covers everything from punctuation and gram...
Episodes
20 of 1,060 episodes
Stray Russian words and made-up style rules, with Daniel Heuman and Chris Ryder
1219. This week, we talk to Daniel Heuman and Chris Ryder from Intelligent Editing about the errors hiding in AI writing that looks flawless...
Who's a good boy? The science behind 'dog voice.' Is it 'bated breath' or 'baited breath'?
1218. This week, we look at "dog-directed speech" — the high-pitched, sing-songy register people love to use with dogs — and what the resear...
How we got from no spaces between words to the interrobang, with Florence Hazrat
1217. This week, we talk to Florence Hazrat, author of "On the Mark," about how punctuation evolved over 2,000 years. We look at why ancient...
Why do so many last names sound like jobs?
1216. In honor of Labor Day, we look at occupational surnames — why Baker, Cooper, and Fletcher sound like jobs, and why Wainwright, Chandle...
Explosions, chemistry, and dictionary 'spite,' with Kory Stamper
1215. This week, we talk to Kory Stamper about why color science is surprisingly dangerous. We look at the literal chemical explosions at Du...
It's Greek to me: Why is the language of 'The Odyssey' shorthand for all that we don’t understand?
1214. This week, we look at why we say, "It's all Greek to me" when we don't understand something. We trace the phrase from medieval monks w...
Sarah L. Kaufman on the shared rhythm of dance, critical writing, and finding better verbs
1213. Pulitzer-Prize-winning dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman goes deeper into her journey from the "Washington Post" copy desk to the world of...
What 'kith and kin' and 'beck and call' have in common
1212. This week, we look at fossil words — old words like "kith," "beck," and "hue" that survive only inside phrases like "kith and kin," "b...
Word wagons and bobbasheelys: Life at DARE, with Joan Houston Hall
1211. Today, we look at the behind-the-scenes history of the Dictionary of American Regional English with Joan Houston Hall. We look at her...
Why does 'shh' mean the same thing in so many languages, and what's 'broad' about daylight?
1210. This week, we look at why the sound "shh" means "be quiet" in so many different languages, and we trace the phrase "broad daylight" ba...
How comics are made, with Glenn Fleishman
1209. Glenn Fleishman discusses the mechanical journey of a comic strip, from the cartoonist’s ink to the final newspaper page. We look at w...
Why does the U.S. have so many regional accents?
1208. This week, linguist Valerie Fridland explains why the U.S. has so many regional accents — tracing New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern,...
Why "golly" and "gosh" are going the way of the dinosaur, with Sali Tagliamonte
1207. This week, we look at the hidden linguistic history of Ontario with Sali Tagliamonte. We look at why euphemisms like "golly" and "gosh...
The secret language of gamers. Plus, why ducks don't ‘duck’ from danger
1206. This week, we look at the secret language of video gamers — including why getting "nerfed" is a bad thing and what it means to "rage q...
'Writing for AI' and the flaws of AI detectors, with Sean Goedecke
1205. In the bonus discussion this week, we continue discussing AI em dashes with Sean Goedecke, software engineer for GitHub. We talk about...
Shark Week: 6 sayings from pop culture
1204. This week, in honor of Shark Week, we look at six fun shark sayings from pop culture, including "jumping the shark," "voodoo shark," a...
Decoding the Chinese character paradox, with Dr. Charles Kemp
1203. In this bonus discussion with Dr. Charles Kemp, we look at why the Chinese writing system has actually become visually more complex ov...
Isn't it ironic? Plus, the man behind the guillotine
1202. This week, we look at the tricky question of what makes something ironic, including situational irony, verbal irony, and "skunked" wor...
Saving Canadian lexicography, with John Chew
1201. In this bonus discussion from January, we look at why Canada has been without a current homegrown dictionary for twenty years and how...