That's What They Say

TWTS: A healthy dose of healthy language 23.10.2026 5:05 ↓

We can be healthy and eating an apple seems clearly healthy, and then there’s the healthy dose of salt, which may not be healthy at all.

TWTS: When "f" and "v" were sort of one 16.10.2026 5:12 ↓

If you know how the sound ‘f’ worked in Old English, it suddenly isn’t mysterious why the noun "leaf" with an "f" turns into "leaves" with a "v" when you make it plural

TWTS: Why no one is "gonna Pittsburgh" 09.10.2026 5:15 ↓

If I say I’m gonna do it, I don’t necessarily mean I’m headed out the door right now to do it.

TWTS: Dictionaries get glow-ups too 02.10.2026 5:13 ↓

The New York Times announced that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary “is wordsmaxxing” and NBC News described it as a “glow-up” of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

TWTS: The same, just more exact 25.09.2026 5:10 ↓

Concerns about redundancy are back this week. It's the exact same thing we’ve talked about before, but this time about the expression "exact same."

TWTS: Fore! It's a lightning round 20.09.2026 5:19 ↓

This may be one of the only times that throw pillows, golf, and curling all get wrapped into the same discussion.

TWTS: "Proactive" gets a reaction in advance 11.09.2026 5:27 ↓

While people may agree that being proactive is a positive trait, the word proactive can elicit some very negative reactions, so to speak.

TWTS: Cat chasing pixies? There's a word for that 04.09.2026 5:42 ↓

Is your cat running around in circles? Be advised, that kitty might be pixilated.

TWTS: Old English, new boundaries 28.08.2026 5:23 ↓

When we talk about Middle English, it suggests that we know when English began and when it ends.

TWTS: The cards language deals 27.08.2026 4:38 ↓

There are lots of cards we can still play now, but we’ve lost some good ones too.

TWTS: "Hunky dory" is doing just fine 14.08.2026 5:18 ↓

If "hunky dory" means the same thing as "right as rain," then we face the question of how right rain is.

TWTS: "Highfalutin" is too good for one spelling 07.08.2026 5:27 ↓

While we may know highfalutin language when we hear it, we don't all agree about how to spell "highfalutin" or where it comes from.

TWTS: Be careful what you hear around the scuttlebutt 31.07.2026 5:12 ↓

We exchange scuttlebutt at the proverbial water cooler, and there's an etymological clue in that.

TWTS: Time to talk about your watch 24.07.2026 5:05 ↓

The little clock we wear on our wrist could be called a clock. Instead, it has long had its own term, being called a watch instead.

TWTS: Careful how you're using that 👍 17.07.2026 5:35 ↓

Sometimes new slang jumps out in front of you, waving its hands, or thumbs, so that you can’t help but notice it. Sometimes it just sneaks up on you.

TWTS: Understanding the depth of "fathom" 10.07.2026 5:12 ↓

We can count fathoms when we’re measuring things. We can also metaphorically fathom or not fathom things.

TWTS: Speaking of "bespoke" 03.07.2026 5:21 ↓

This is a bespoke segment of That’s What They Say that focuses on “bespoke.”

TWTS: Up and down your alley... and your street 26.06.2026 4:59 ↓

If it’s up your alley, it might also be up your street. And perhaps it’s down rather than up.

TWTS: One rank, two pronunciations 22.06.2026 5:17 ↓

You say "lieutenant," I say “leftenant” but let’s not call the whole thing off.

TWTS: The wonky journey of "wonky" 12.06.2026 5:21 ↓

There’s more than one way to be wonky, and not all of them are bad.

TWTS: Are we canceling adverbs? 05.06.2026 5:14 ↓

Adverbs don’t always get a lot of love, captured powerfully in the writing tip “Abolish the adverbs.”

TWTS: Scrimping, skimping, and the degrees of frugality 29.05.2026 4:59 ↓

We scrimp and we save, and we skimp and we still save, which makes one wonder whether scrimping is different from skimping

TWTS: From fishmongers to warmongers - and warmongerers 22.05.2026 5:01 ↓

Cheesemongers sell cheese, and gossipmongers usually start the gossip or spread it, rather than sell it.

TWTS: The death of doornails 15.05.2026 4:58 ↓

Many of us don’t talk about doornails very often, but sometimes we will when things are really, well, dead.

TWTS: When "f" and "v" were sort of one 08.05.2026 5:06 ↓

If you know how the sound "f" worked in Old English, it suddenly isn’t mysterious why the "f" in "leaf" turns into a "v" in the plural form "leaves."