Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.

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 have fun with the word "honeyfuggler." | Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/what-is-a-honeyfuggler/transcript | Ragan Advanced AP Style Webinar The "through" segment was written by Ryan Paulsen who is an avid word nerd...

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 about the first new Scrabble words since 2018. | Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/a-strange-use-of-said/transcript | Ragan Advanced AP Style Webinar | Merriam-Webster Scrabble Website The "said" segment was written by...

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 history. Plus, since "Thanksgiving" is a gerund, we looked at all the interesting things you can do with gerunds in general. | Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/thank-you-history/transcript The Thanksgiving history seg...

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. Plus, we'll talk about why an Australian called her desk being on fire, "a bit of an issue." | Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/wwii-words-a-bit-of-an-issue-kleenex/transcript | The segment on "a bit" is written by Isa...

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 electronic communication. I explore the medieval origin story of @, plus share a bunch of fun names for it in other languages. Also, many style books recently removed the hyphen from dual-heritage terms like "Asian American," and I explain why i...

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 other cool words that make us think of Halloween: "haunt," "grave," "mesmerize," and "macabre." | Segment 1 on "magic" versus "magick" was written by Michaela Dunn . | Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/magic-versus-...

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 favorite words, and his new book "What If? 2." But I have to confess that my favorite part was his tidbits about the bee laws. | Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/randall-munroe-of-xkcd | Buy What If? 2. |  Subscribe to...

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 why this happens sometimes and how to best fix it. Also, we talk about the fascinating subconscious rules that guide conversations. | Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/the-subconscious-rules-of-conversation | Segment...

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 "aggrieved," this show is for you! You'll also discover why "wicked" is different from "naked" and what's weird about the phrase "wicked witch." Plus, you'll learn why we call some food "deviled." | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/epi...

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 reader wanted to know where we get that funny word "blurb." | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/when-is-a-man-a-widow | Merriam-Webster "blurb" article . | Grammar Girl sci-fi versus fantasy article . |  Subscribe to the...

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 editor Joshua Essoe will help you about mood and atmosphere in ways you probably haven't considered before. | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/mood-atmosphere-in-fiction-an-interview-with-joshua-essoe | Joshua Essoe's...

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 drop whole grammatical elements and how they reinforce that in-group/out-group feeling of slang. | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/split-infinitives |  Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates . |  Watch my Link...

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 honor of the upcoming National Hispanic Heritage Month, we look at the influence Spanish has had on English. You probably know more Spanish words than you realize! Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/why-some-people-say...

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: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/accent-hallucination-false-ranges References for the Accent Hallucination segment by Valerie Fridland : Babel, M., & Russell, J. (2015). Expectations and speech intelligibility.  The Journal of the Acoustical So...

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 dictionary in general.  Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/skrrt-bottle-episode-skeuomorphs |  Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates . |  Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course. |  Peeve Wars card game .  |  Gramm...

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 title capitalization rules to follow. Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/whats-up-with-splooting-capitalizing-titles-momilltellya |  Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates . |  Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing...

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 differences between "simple" and "simplistic" and "backward" and "backwards." Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/how-gendered-languages-are-changing-jugopop |  Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates . |  Watch my LinkedI...

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. Plus we look at some tricky possessives. Can you say "a friend of mine's car"? Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/how-using-pliers-improves-your-language The tools and language segment is by Claudio Brozzoli a researcher...

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 about her new book, "Rebel with a Clause," what possessed her to set up the Grammar Table in the first place, why Twitter is vastly better than Facebook for doing language polls, and more. Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/epi...

885. It's time for our quarterly listener question extravaganza! I answer your questions about the words "ripe," "lede," "prevent," "awesome," and "fulsome" and share some knowledge about MacGuffins and the drink known as a daisy. Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/ripe-lede-prevent-awesome-fulsome-macguffin-daisy |  Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates . |  Watc...

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 OK to use "whose" for inanimate objects in a sentence such as "The chair whose legs are broken." Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/why-nobody-says-youre-welcome-anymore-whose-chimichanga |  Subscribe to the newsletter...

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 is. Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/code-switching-mignon-snaps-over-numbers-foomp |  Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates . |  Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course. |  Peeve Wars card game .  |  G...

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 subjects and when you should (and shouldn't) use them. Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/surprising-words-related-to-freedom-double-subjects-foop |  Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates . |  Watch my LinkedIn...

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 the answers today! Transcript:   https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/ant-or-ahnt-capitalizing-cocktail-names-archie-bunker References for the "ahnt" segment by Valerie Fridland : Phillips, Betty.  (1989). The Diffusion of a Borrowed...

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 "father," for example? And then, for the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal, we look at the "-gate" suffix and what made it so successful that it has spread all over the world (even to non-English-speaking countries). Transcript:   https://...