Grammar Girl

The language of superstition: jinxes, the Scottish Play, and the hospital Q-word

1236. In honor of Friday the 13th, we look at words about superstitions, including jinxes, theater curses, and the one phrase you don't say in a hospital. The superstiti

Grammarpalooza! The 20th anniversary game show extravaganza

1235. This week, we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "Grammar Girl" podcast with something I've wanted to do for years: our first-ever live game show! We origin

4 tiny writing errors that caused huge problems on the ballot. What does 'batten down the hatches' mean?

1234. This week, we look at how small writing errors in proposed laws have cost millions of dollars and knocked whole measures off the ballot. Then, we look at the nautic

The ancient word for 'star' and the steppe nomads who spread it, with Laura Spinney

1233. This week, we talk to Laura Spinney, author of "Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global." We look at how linguists reconstruct a language no one wrote down and

4 everyday words that started out as monsters. 'Graveyard' versus 'cemetery.' Which is which?

1232. This week, we look at four ordinary words — "hippocampus," "chimera," "behemoth," and "gargantuan" — that all started as the names of monsters. Then, we look at whe

Beowulf’s ‘you know,’ Shakespeare’s ‘prithee,’ and the myth of Valley Girl ‘like,’ with Dr. Laurel Brinton

1231. This week, Valerie Fridland steps in for Mignon and sits down with linguist Laurel Brinton to talk about little words like “well,” “you know,” and “like.” They look

What's a familect? The words only your family uses

1230. This week, the whole show is about familects, the words and phrases you only use with your family. We look at where they come from and what they do, how the same th

Your college essay doesn't need an extraordinary story, with Ethan Sawyer

1229. This week, we talk with Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy, about AI and college admissions essays. We look at why admissions officers told him “don’t” when it com

Why does 'Here comes he' sound so wrong?

1228. This week, we look at why "Here comes the bride" sounds right but "Here comes he" sounds wrong. Then we have an update on Zipf's law: after whales and dolphins, res

Famous quotes we've been getting wrong, from Robert Frost to 'Don't mess with Texas,' with Eli Burnstein

1227. This week, we talk to Eli Burnstein, author of "Phrased & Confused." We look at why Robert Frost's "road less traveled" wasn't really less traveled, and why the oth

Is it 'try and' or 'try to'? What does an epilogue do?

1226. This week, we look at why so many people say "try and" instead of "try to," including why it may be the older form, why it turns up more in speech than in writing,

'Rizz,' 'lost in the sauce,' and Dictionary.com's newest words, with Steve Johnson

1225. This week, we talk to lexicographer Steve Johnson from Dictionary.com. We look at how slang like "no cap" and "throw hands" works its way up from a separate slang d

Why are ships called 'she'?

1224. This week, we look at why English speakers call ships "she," even when the ship is named Henry. Then we have a follow-up on "maxxing" from two listeners, including

What's in a word? Mapping America's regional vocabulary and the Linguistic Atlas Project, with Allison Burkette

1223. This week, Valerie Fridland steps in for Mignon and sits down with linguist Allison Burkette of the Linguistic Atlas Project at the University of Kentucky. They loo

How often do you use 'the'? Meet Zipf's law

1222. This week, we look at Zipf's law, a pattern that shapes how often you use your most common words, and why SETI researchers think it could help identify alien commun

Min-maxxing, looksmaxxing, and Nixon-maxxing, with Roger Kreuz

1221. This week, we talk to Roger Kreuz, associate dean at the University of Memphis, about the "maxxing" craze. We look at how it started with min-maxxing in 1990s gamin

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 pairing is "none is" or "none are

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. We look at why it invents it

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 research says about whether dogs act

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 Greek and Roman writing had n