Shows
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingWhy we drop sounds. ChatGPT is changing how people talk. Kombi1093. Why do we say “prob’ly” instead of “probably”? This week, we look at elision in everyday speech. Then, we look at a wild study showing that the way people talk is being influenced by AI.The elision segment was by Susan K. Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, editor, and instructor for the federal government.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get...2025-06-2417 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingWhat dictionary labels tell us about words. Why we say 'mama'. DU, STU, and LO.1079. Ever wonder what labels like "informal," "archaic," or "offensive" mean in a dictionary entry? We explain how different dictionaries use labels to describe when, where, and how to use words. Then, we explore why so many babies say "dada" first and why babies say "mama" almost everywhere.The "dictionary labels" segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired U.S. government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor.The "mama" segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of "Like Literally, Dude: Arguing...2025-05-0617 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingHow to talk like a chef. The Michigander controversy. Jakey.1020. This week, we shed light on quirky restaurant slang like “kill it” and “Chef Mike.” Then, we tackle the long-standing debate over what to call residents of Michigan — "Michiganders" or "Michiganians" — and what Abraham Lincoln has to do with it.The "kitchen lingo" segment is by Susan K. Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, editor, and instructor for the federal government.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. ...2024-10-0818 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingCat Idioms. 'Summerween' and other blends. Bankery1010. We'd never be accused of belling the cat, but we did let our curiosity get the best of us when sniffing around common cat-related idioms. Plus, little did we know that we're already in Augtober and Summerween! Grab a pumpkin-spiced treat and come on an adventure through the looking glass to learn about portmanteau words. The "cat idoims" segment is written by Susan K. Herman, a former multidisciplined linguist, editor, and instructor for the U.S. government.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to...2024-08-2716 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingWhy singers lose their accents. Why the 'I before E' rule is weird.1007. Why do Adele and Susan Boyle sound American when they sing? We have answers. Plus, with all the talk about "weird" lately, we think it's time to examine the old "I before E except after C" rule that has so many exceptions it's hardly a rule at all — until you add W for "weird."The singing segment is written by Susan K. Herman, a former multidisciplined linguist, editor, and instructor for the U.S. government.| Share a recording of your familect story with me on WhatsApp.| Edited transcript with links: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com...2024-08-0618 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingSkunked words. The power of pronouns. Quigleys983. This week, we explore "skunked" words — terms going through hotly disputed meaning changes. We look at the debate between prescriptivists who stick to traditional meanings and descriptivists who accept new usages and what you should do with these words in your own writing. Plus, we learn how using "we" versus "I" alters perceptions of leadership, inclusivity, and status.The "skunked words" segment was written by Mignon Fogarty and Susan K. Herman. Susan is a retired multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor for the federal government.The pronoun segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a pr...2024-05-0717 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingPet-Speak: From Meowlogisms to Zoomies. 'Imply' or 'Infer'?976. How have our pets influenced the way we use language? This week, we dive into the "cativerse" and explore the vocabulary, grammar, and spelling habits of our furry friends. From LOLcats to doggo dialects, discover the linguistic wonders of how we talk about our beloved pets. Plus, don't get tripped up by "imply" versus "infer." In the second segment, we dive into the definitions, origins, and proper usage of these often-confused words.The pet-speak segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired U.S. government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor.| Narrate Your Own B...2024-04-0919 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingTracing the origins of Miami's new English. Why it's not a 'gumballs' machine. Embassy Sweets.969. From "wolkenkratzer" in German to "flea market" in English, direct translations called calques show how languages borrow from each other. This week, we look at how these translations are changing English in Miami and Spanish in Louisiana. Plus, we look at the difference between "gumball machine" and "gumballs machine" and how it might explain Joe Alwyn's Tortured Man Chat.The calques segment was written by Susan K. Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor for the federal government.Corpus Links Mentioned: https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/, https://www.english-corpora.org/...2024-02-2019 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingThe science of the plot twist. Irregardless. Spug.954. Uh-oh, "irregardless" isn’t going away anytime soon. Take a deep breath while we dig into this hated word’s history, from its first appearance in 1795 to today. And then, do you love a good plot twist? In honor of National Novel Writing Month, we look at the psychology of surprises in fiction.The "irregardless" segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired U.S. government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor.The "plot twist" segment was written by Vera Tobin, an associate professor of Cognitive Science at Case Western Reserve University. It originally appea...2023-11-1417 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingWhen you shouldn't 'write tight.' 'Behead' versus 'decapitate.' YesHony.944. Today, we untangle the often confusing web of writing styles. We'll explore the benefits of loose writing in fiction, creative writing, and academic writing, and how you can vary your sentence length to create a rhythm that resonates with your readers. Plus, we use the difference between "behead" and "decapitate" as a sneaky way to talk about the "be-" and "de-" prefixes in a way every word nerd will love.The "tight writing" segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired U.S. government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast...2023-09-0516 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingHave you ridden an acoustic bike lately? Write it tight.940. Pork bacon, manual transmissions, and acoustic guitars: retronyms help us describe the original form of something that has now become a class. But sometimes, retronyms go even further. This week, we discover surprising ways "acoustic" is filling this role. Plus, learn what makes your writing "tight."| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/acoustic/transcript| The "tight writing" segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired U.S. government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve War...2023-08-0817 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing'Less' versus 'fewer.' Fun names for fingers. Scunscreen.937. Today, we explore the traditional advice of using "fewer" for things you can count and "less" for things you can't, but you'll also learn about the idea of using "less" for singular nouns and "fewer" for plural nouns and how that solves the problem of common exceptions such as time, money, and distance. You'll also learn how to handle the controversial phrases "one less" and "10 items or less." And have you ever wondered why our thumb is called a thumb? Or why the "rule of thumb" is so controversial? We look at the origins of these terms an...2023-07-1816 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingPhrasal 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 burning listener question about why prepositions can be so darn tricky in English. Join us also as we delve into the fascinating world of minced oaths, examining intriguing words like "zounds" and "gadzooks." | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/slow-up-slow-down/transcriptThe "slow down" segment was written by Susan Herman, a former U.S. government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor.The "minced oath" se...2023-07-0417 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingTV 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 "-est." It'll be a yowlie howlie good time!| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/tv-language/transcript| The "TV language" segment was written by Susan K. Herman, a retired U.S. Government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and language instructor.| The "more or most" segment was written by Bonnie Mills who has been a copy editor since 1996.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regul...2023-05-3015 min
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingWhy 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 counting system. And then we learned the secret rules that explain why some plurals end with an "s" sound and others end with a "z" sound. It was quite a week!| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/score-dogz/transcript| The "score" segment was written by Susan K. Herman, a retired U.S. Government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and language instructor.| The "Cats and Dogz" se...2023-05-2318 minGrammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingWhat's wrong with 'there are' sentences? 5 fun facts about Spanish for Cinco de Mayo926. 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 facts about Spanish.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/expletives-spanish/transcript| The "Five Fun Facts About Spanish" segment was written by Susan Herman, a former linguist, analytic editor, and language instructor for the U.S. Government.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOS...2023-05-0218 minGrammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingHow 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, especially in resume writing."How to improve you grammar" was written by Susan Herman, a retired U.S. government analytic editor, language analyst, and language instructor.| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/improve-your-grammar/transcript| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOIC...2023-02-2817 minGrammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingA 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 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 WebsiteThe "said" segment was written by Susan K. Herman, a former editor, language analyst, and language instructor for the U.S. Government.The "kith" segment was written by Samantha Enslen, who runs Dragonfly Editorial. You can find her at...2022-11-2512 minGrammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingWhy 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 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-might-could"Double Modals" was written by Neal Whitman."The Spanish Influence on English" was written by Susan K. Herman| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my Li...2022-09-0919 minGrammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingDemonyms: 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 questions about demonyms: the names for people from specific places. Also, has anyone ever criticized you for using the word "healthy" instead of "healthful"? We explain why that happens. And finally, we've solved the mystery of "sussies."Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/demonyms-why-people-from-north-carolina-are-called-tar-heels-healthy-versus-healthful-sussies-3| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. ...2022-06-1020 min