Shows / Grammar Girl
Grammar Girl
Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.
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Episodes
Grammar Girl'Inspirational' or 'aspirational'? The surprising dangers of ChatGPT. Spaghetto.
936. Have you ever wondered about the nuanced differences between "aspirational" and "inspirational"? Today, we look at a newer, more cynical meaning of…
Grammar GirlPhrasal verb mysteries and minced oath origins. Night water.
935. Ever been puzzled by the difference between "slow down" and "slow up"? Curious about how they can possibly mean the same thing (or do they)? We answer a…
Grammar GirlUnlocking the mystery of 'ever words' and Latin abbreviations. Juna.
934. Ever wondered why "whyever" isn't as popular as "wherever," "however," or "whenever"? Join me as we delve into the world of "-ever" words and their…
Grammar GirlWhy words can suddenly look unrecognizable. Learn to love the full stop. Marley.
933. Have you ever looked at a word and it didn't seem like a real word anymore? It's a specific thing that happens in your brain called semantic satiation…
Grammar GirlImagine life as a fiction editor (interview with Amy Schneider, author of the Chicago Guide to Copy Editing Fiction)
932. When I saw Amy Schneider's new book, The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction, I realized that I have never seen a book that specializes in editing just…
Grammar GirlDarth Vader and the word 'father.' Comparatives and superlatives. Pritinear.
931. Darth Vader wasn't the best father (understatement!), but his name is a wonderful jumping off point to discuss the origin of the word "father." Plus, we…
Grammar GirlTV changes how you use language. When to use (and not use) 'more' and 'most'
930. How YOU doin? Today we’re going to MacGyver up some fun memories and tips. And then we'll look at the rules about using "more" and "most" or "-er" and…
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Why the heck does 'score' mean 20? How we subconsciously know how to pronounce different plurals.
929. While we were looking into why we use the word "score" to mean "twenty," our minds were blown by how many languages still have remnants of a base-20…
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Why English is the best language for Wordle, with Lynne Murphy
928. Listen to the interview that got me playing Wordle again. Lynne Murphy shared all sorts of things you probably didn't know about this game! Lynne Murphy…
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It's all uphill from here (or is that downhill?). Eating like a pig (animal idioms).
927. Whether you're a bird brain or a wise old owl, you'll love this week's episode as we fight an uphill battle to understand a language filled with…
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What's wrong with 'there are' sentences? 5 fun facts about Spanish for Cinco de Mayo
926. You may remember being told not to start sentences with "there are," but do you know why? We have the answer! Plus, for Cinco de Mayo, we have five fun…
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Have you begged the question lately? What kind of learning is best: online, remote, distance, or virtual?
925. The existence of the manchineel tree does NOT beg the question of how many different ways a tree can actually hurt you. But it does show that you can't…
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What we get wrong about 'um' and 'uh,' with Valerie Fridland
924. What if I told you that you actually should use "uh" and "um" when you're giving a talk? And what if I told you "dude" was originally an anti-masculine…
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5 things every writer wants to learn, with Roy Peter Clark
923. America's writing coach, Roy Peter Clark, shares his wisdom about the five things every writer he's ever taught wants to learn. | Transcript…
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Killer bunnies in medieval manuscripts. The strange rules of 'dozen.'
922. "A dozen of eggs" sounds weird, but why? Rabbits performing violent acts are a common scene in medieval marginalia. But why are they there? Turns…
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The Rosetta Stone and taxes. Is your sufficiency suffonsified?
921. Taxes, and the words for them, go back all the way to ancient Egypt. Plus, I have much more to tell you about the phrase "I am sufficiently suffoncified"!…
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Why we have both 'a' and 'an.' What does it mean to be lonely? Sufficiency.
920. Once you start thinking about it, it's weird that we have both "a" and "an." It gets even weirder from there! Plus, modern loneliness, and its solutions…
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How 'napron' became 'apron' (and what that has to do with newts). 'Ahold' or 'a hold'?
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 surprising…
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Why do people 'drop' a new single? How to pronounce 'often.'
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). Plus, we…
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How to actually improve your grammar. Why parallelism is important (and how to use it). Keycoos.
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 important…
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How writing very short stories can improve all your writing (with Grant Faulkner)
916. Grant Faulkner, author of "The Art of Brevity" and executive director of NaNoWriMo talks with us about how writing very short stories can improve all your…
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Language reveals universal truths about love. 'Wool sweater' or 'woolen sweater'? Grandmother crackers.
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 should…
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Interview with a creator of 'Schoolhouse Rock'!
914. To mark the 50th anniversary of "Schoolhouse Rock," the Saturday morning cartoon that taught millions of children about grammar, math, and more, we have a…
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What Does the AP Have Against France? Out Over Your Skis. Lands' End. Tolater.
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 skis" and…
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Teddy Bears. The Brothers Grimm. Danger Cluck.
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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Weird punctuation with 'Jr.' Carl's Jr. Hockey.
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 the origin…
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Inflation, quiet quitting, and "un-" words, like "undressed," that can have two meanings. Gotcha Day.
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 both…
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How COVID Changed the Way We Think About Words. How to Write Dates. Prefeed.
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 certain…
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World Cup Words. The Origin of Toasting. Says.
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 (and why…
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Goblin Mode, Woman, & More. Words of the Year, with Kory Stamper
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 one…
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The Wonderful Words of Christmas
906. A'wassailing. Noel. Mistletoe. Trolling the ancient Yuletide carol, and more. We look into the wonderful words of Christmas and their origins — as…
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We found the book!
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, my…
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What's a Honeyfuggler? 'Through' vs. 'Throughout.' Arriversary.
903. "Through" and "throughout" may seem interchangeable, but they're not. We have some creative memory tricks to help you remember the difference. Plus, we…
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A Strange Use of 'Said.' Kith and Kin. New Scrabble Words!
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 excited…
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Why Today's 'Thank You' Is Different from an Ancient 'Thank You.' Gerunds.
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 fascinating…
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WWII Words. A 'bit' of an Issue. Kleenex.
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 Veterans Day…
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The Medieval Origins of the @ Symbol. Hyphens in Dual-Heritage Terms. Pitch.
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 invention of…
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The Difference Between Magic and Magick. Some Fascinating Spooky Words. Holy Fagachi!
899. Believe it or not, "magick" isn't just a funky way of spelling "magic." The two spellings have different meanings. Plus, we look at the unusual origins of…
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Randall Munroe of xkcd: Language Chat and Weird Bee Laws.
898. Randall Munroe joined me this week to talk about his language-themed xkcd cartoons, his simple-language project Up Goer V, his biggest pet peeve, his…
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The Subconscious Rules of Conversation. The Double-Word Problem. Cookie Fish.
897. Have you ever written yourself into a "that that" or a "had had" situation and wondered how you got there? It doesn't mean you're a bad writer! I explain…
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Wick-ED Fun Pronunciations. Deviled Eggs.
896. If you've ever wondered why we pronounce the "-ed" at the end of "wicked" (and "jagged," "beloved" and more), but don't at the end of words like…
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When Is a Man a Widow? Where Do We Get the Word 'Blurb'? Sci-Fi Versus Fantasy. Bert and Ernie.
895. A listener asked why he's hearing people refer to men as "widows," and we found a surprising history. Also, I recently mentioned a blurb I wrote, and a…
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Mood & Atmosphere in Fiction. An Interview with Joshua Essoe
894. Whether you're getting ready for National Novel Writing Month or just want to watch movies or read novels with more insight, this interview with fiction…
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Split Infinitives. I Can't Even. Macken.
893. You may be surprised by the origin of the split infinitive "rule" and by the times they are OK...or even necessary! Also, we look at slang phrases that…
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Why Some People Say 'Might Could.' The Spanish Influence on English. Mickle Story.
892. We recently got a question about why people use a type of double-verb construction, such as "We might could go to the store." We have the answer! Plus, in…
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Accent Hallucination. False Ranges. Thanks, Chris.
891. Your mind will be blown when you learn about accent hallucination. (Mine was!) And then we'll learn how to avoid false ranges. Transcript…
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'Skrrt,' 'Bottle Episode,' 'Skeuomorphs' and more. An Interview with John Kelly of Dictionary.com.
890. John Kelly, senior director of editorial at Dictionary.com, talks with Mignon about a bunch of fun new words and about how words get added to the…
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What's up with Splooting? Capitalizing Titles. Momilltellya.
889. Splooting squirrels have taken the internet by storm. We look at where this fun word comes from and how far back it goes. Plus, I help you decide which…
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How Gendered Languages Are Changing. Jugopop.
888. This week we take a fascinating look at how highly gendered languages are dealing with the drive to become more inclusive. Plus, we look at the…
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How Using Pliers Improves Your Language. Weird Possessives. Ducky File.
887. An amazing study shows that tool use and language are connected in the brain and shows how using one can make you better at the other, and vice versa…
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A Riotous Good Time with Ellen Jovin of the Grammar Table
886. The delightful Ellen Jovin of the Grammar Table (you may have seen her sitting on the street answering grammar questions in your city) joined me to talk…
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Ripe. Lede. Prevent. Awesome. Fulsome. MacGuffin. Daisy.
885. It's time for our quarterly listener question extravaganza! I answer your questions about the words "ripe," "lede," "prevent," "awesome," and "fulsome"…
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Why Nobody Says 'You're Welcome' Anymore. Whose. Chimichanga.
884. People often ask why people say "no worries" or "no problem" instead of "you're welcome," and we actually found an answer! Also, we look at whether it's…
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Code-Switching. Mignon Snaps Over Numbers. Foomp.
883. The numbers sections of style books finally pushed me over the edge, and I have some stories you won't believe! We also talk about how cool code-switching…
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Surprising Words Related to 'Freedom.' Double Subjects. Foop.
882. For Independence Day, we look at the word "freedom" and the surprising words that came from the same roots. Plus, we look at odd sentences with double…
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'Ant' or 'Ahnt'? Capitalizing Cocktail Names. Archie Bunker.
881. What's up with the fancy-schmancy "ahnt" pronunciation of the word "aunt"? And why are the rules about capitalizing cocktail names so wonky? We have all…
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The Many Meanings of 'Father.' How Watergate Changed English. Punim
880. "Father" as a word shows how we humans love to extend our metaphors. Did you know it was only relatively recently that priests were referred to as…
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Demonyms: Why People from North Carolina Are Called Tar Heels. 'Healthy' Versus 'Healthful.' Sussies 3!
879. Are people from Liverpool really called "Liverpudlians"? Where does the name "Tar Heel" come from? We have the answers to some of the most interesting…
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Are Wisdom Teeth Smart? Capitalizing Degree Names. Sussies 2
878. This week, we look at what makes wisdom teeth so smart, how to properly write the name of your degree, and what's up with the "sussies" familect?…
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Whatever Happened to "Thou"?
877. In an age when eels were sometimes used as currency and castles pierced the sky, “thou” was all the rage. But over time, it disappeared from use. Where…