Episodes
716 - What's Up With Words That Are Spelled the Same but Sound Different?
Aug 23 2019
715 - POV. Plus 'Tinderella,' 'phubbing,' and more words at the intersection of relationships and technology.
Aug 19 2019
714 - Eponyms: Cardigan, Dunce, Quisling, and More.
Aug 16 2019
713 - More Apostrophe Mayhem. Dyslexia Writing Tips
Aug 12 2019
712 - Apostrophe Catastrophe. What (or Who) Is a Cipher?
Aug 08 2019
711 - Misheard Song Lyrics and Eggcorns. The Ampersand.
Aug 05 2019
710 - Vacay. Why Some People Call Green Peppers 'Mangoes'
Aug 01 2019
709 - Surprise! The History of Semicolons Is Exciting.
Jul 29 2019
708 - Why Alcohol Is 'Hard.' 'Phenomena' or 'Phenomenon'?
Jul 25 2019
707 - How and Why the Internet Is Changing Language
Jul 22 2019
706 - Sometimes It's Not a Bad Idea to Dumb Down Your Language.
Jul 18 2019
705 - 'Blue Collar,' 'Bluestocking,' and 'the Blue Hair Brigade.' 'Oral' Versus 'Verbal.'
Jul 16 2019
704 - Present Tense When Writing About Fiction. The Poop Emoji and Eggcorns.
Jul 11 2019
703 - Why There Are 9 Different Ways to Pronounce the Letter T
Jul 08 2019
702 - ‘All of a Sudden’ or ‘All of the Sudden’? ‘Baited’ or ‘Bated’ Breath?
Jul 04 2019
701 - ‘Biweekly’ or ‘Semiweekly’? ‘Foward' and ‘Forward.’
Jul 01 2019
700 - When to Capitalize 'Google.' Why Zero is 'Love' in Tennis.
Jun 27 2019
699 - When to Capitalize Computer Terms. StetWalk
Jun 24 2019
698 - 'Subpoena.' When To Capitalize 'The' in Titles.
Jun 20 2019
697 - What Anyone Can Learn From the College Essay Process
Jun 17 2019
696 - Hyphens in Ages. The Emphatic 'This.'
Jun 13 2019
695 - 'Armageddon' or 'Apocalypse'? Numbers in Dialogue.
Jun 10 2019
694 - Country Names and “The”: The Ukraine or Ukraine. Theater Idioms.
Jun 06 2019
693 - What's Wrong with Saying Something Is 'Very Unique'?
Jun 04 2019
692 - Godzilla, Cryptids, and Dilemma Comments.
May 30 2019
691 - BONUS: Introducing Science Rules! with Bill Nye
May 27 2019
690 - The Spelling Bee Kids
May 23 2019
689 - More or most? Majority or plurality? The many (how many?) ways to describe amounts.
May 20 2019
688 - Dangling Participles
May 16 2019
687 - What It's Like to Be a Book Editor and Translator
May 13 2019
686 - The 'Dilemma' Dilemma. 'Big Bang Theory" Words and Language.
May 09 2019
685 - How to Find Work as a Freelance Writer. Adventure.
May 06 2019
684 - ‘Unquote’ or ‘End Quote’? Cinco de Mayo. Horse Idioms.
May 02 2019
683 - ‘So’ and ‘So That’: What Type of Conjunction Are They?
Apr 29 2019
682 - Do You Drop Your T's? 'Sneaked' and 'Snuck.'
Apr 25 2019
681 - 'The Dictionary of Difficult Words,' an Interview with Jane Solomon
Apr 22 2019
680 - Wakandan, Groot, and Other Languages of the Marvel Universe. Easter and Passover.
Apr 18 2019
679 - Brussels sprouts? Scotch eggs? Swedish meatballs? Which food names can you trust?
Apr 15 2019
678 - Moolah, Clams, and Scratch. God, Godsend, and Godfather.
Apr 11 2019
677 - BONUS: LeVar Burton Reads
Apr 08 2019
676 - The Language of 'Game of Thrones'
Apr 04 2019
675 - Why Verbs Like 'Witness' Are Weird
Apr 01 2019
674 - How You Can Benefit Year-Round from NaNoWriMo
Mar 28 2019
673 - Schwa-ify This! Scrabble Stories
Mar 25 2019
672 - How a Semicolon Brought Two Writers Together
Mar 21 2019
671 - Why We Have Both 'Color' and 'Colour'
Mar 18 2019
670 - Equinox. Is Irish the Same as Gaelic?
Mar 14 2019
669 - 'Red Tape,' 'Red Herring,' 'Paint the Town Red,' and More 'Red' Idioms.
Mar 11 2019
668 - What's Wrong with 'These Ones'? Faith and Begorrah, We Have Irish Phrases for St. Patrick's Day!
Mar 07 2019
667 - Why ducks say "quack-quack" in English but "ga-ga" in Japanese.
Mar 04 2019
666 - Double Negatives.
Feb 28 2019
665 - Language News Chat
Feb 25 2019
664 - Benjamin Dreyer and His Unusual Pet Peeves
Feb 21 2019
663 - D-Day. Why I Want a Salad-Salad.
Feb 18 2019
662 - Never Misspell 'Bureaucracy' Again.
Feb 14 2019
661 - How Paula Brackston picks her characters’ names and uses language to set a tone.
Feb 11 2019
660 - 'Irregardless' or 'Regardless'? Crime Words.
Feb 07 2019
659 - Normans, Ralls, and Voicemail
Feb 04 2019
658 - 'Wage,' 'Wager,' and 'Wed'
Jan 31 2019
657 - 'Tip of the Hat" or 'Tip Your Hand'? 'Yeah No.'
Jan 24 2019
656 - ‘Relapse’ or ‘Recur’? 'Kneeled' or 'Knelt.' ’Methinks.’
Jan 17 2019
655 - ‘Myriad’ or ‘Myriad Of’? What Is a Run-On Sentence?
Jan 10 2019
654 - 'Stint' or 'Stent'? How to Pronounce 'Coyote.'
Jan 03 2019
653 - How to Use an Asterisk. Journaling.
Dec 27 2018
652 - ‘Purposely' or 'Purposefully'? Yule.
Dec 20 2018
651 - 'Capitulate' or 'Recapitulate'? Colons.
Dec 13 2018
650 - 'Wreaked' or 'Wrought'? 'Crescendo.' Could We Understand Aliens?
Dec 06 2018
649 - 'Ado' or 'Adieu'? Pronouns and Antecedents
Nov 29 2018
648 - Does Your Language Influence How You Think?
Nov 22 2018
647 - Pronoun Order. ‘Flier’ or ‘Flyer.’ The Plural of ‘Mouse.’
Nov 15 2018
646 - 'Blond' or 'Blonde'? How 'Trolloping' Became a Word.
Nov 08 2018
645 - Interview with New York Times bestselling author Courtney Summers
Nov 01 2018
644 - 'Sit' or 'Set'? Monster Names.
Oct 25 2018
643 - ‘In the Limelight.’ ‘A’ or ‘An’?
Oct 18 2018
642 - 'Regard' Versus 'Regards.' Languages Without Numbers.
Oct 11 2018
641 - 'Myself.' ‘Get the Skinny.’
Oct 04 2018
640 - Can a Screw Screw Itself into a Board? (Middle Voice)
Sep 27 2018
639 - Great Paragraphs. Falling off the Turnip Truck.
Sep 20 2018
638 - 'None.' How Pirates Talked.
Sep 13 2018
637 - ‘MacGyver.’ ‘Semicolons.’
Sep 06 2018
636 - 'To Boot.' Duck Tape. 'Can' and 'May.' Pronouns.
Aug 30 2018
635 - 'Quick and Dirty.' 'Momentarily.' Short Subjects.
Aug 24 2018
634 - 'Rack' or 'Wrack'? How to Eliminate Adverbs.
Aug 16 2018
BONUS: Words for Color
Aug 14 2018
633 - Is That Comment Facetious, Sarcastic, or Sardonic? Cleft Sentences.
Aug 09 2018
632 - 'Ask' as a Noun. Ships as 'She.'
Aug 02 2018
631 - Anniversaries. Conversate.
Jul 26 2018
630 - Who Wrote the ABC Song? Shark Idioms!
Jul 19 2018
629 - 'Gourmet' or 'Gourmand'? Why July 14 Is Called Bastille Day.
Jul 12 2018
628 - Why 'Bag' and 'Beg' Sound the same to some people? Does 'Texas' Mean 'Crazy'?
Jul 05 2018
627 - How to Write a Great Cover Letter. 'Kinda' and 'Wanna': Real Words or Not?
Jun 28 2018
626 - ‘Aggravate’ Versus ‘Irritate’ What Is a Functional Shift?
Jun 21 2018
625 - ‘Dinner’ or ‘Supper’? How to Write a Thank-You Note
Jun 14 2018
624 - ‘Trooper’ and ‘Trouper.” Why Is It Called a Spelling Bee?
Jun 07 2018
623 - 'Calvary' or 'Cavalry'? Spelling Bee Interview.
May 31 2018
622 - Is a Troop One Person or a Group? Repetition
May 24 2018
621 - ‘Council’ or ‘Counsel’? Direct and Indirect Quotations. Oxymorons.
May 17 2018
620 - When to Capitalize 'Mom.' In the Doldrums.
May 10 2018
619 - Co-worker. Barefaced and Baldfaced Lies. Mixed Metaphors.
May 03 2018
618 - Jazz and Thunder. Say Your Piece (or Peace)?
Apr 26 2018
617 - 'Lay' and 'Lie.' 'Grill' and 'Grille.' 'Warsh.'
Apr 19 2018
616 - The Prodigal Tongue. Odoriferous. Battle Royale.
Apr 12 2018
615 - Humor with Adverbs. Noisome. Receipts. Case Quarters.
Apr 05 2018
614 - Illeism. Named For or After? Misinformation and Disinformation.
Mar 29 2018
613 - Dictionary.com Starts Defining Emoji (an interview with Jane Solomon)
Mar 22 2018
612 - The Pin/Pen Merger. American. 'Half-Staff' or 'Half-Mast'?
Mar 16 2018
611 - Pudding. "There Are" Sentences. Winning Limerick
Mar 08 2018
610 - Top 10 Grammar Myths. How 13 Dog Breeds Got Their Names.
Mar 02 2018
609 - Pull Idioms. Surprising Food Names. Dillydally.
Feb 22 2018
608 - Dilly Dilly. How Many Prepositions Can You Put in a Row?
Feb 15 2018
607 - Brainstorming. Call Out Sick? Synesis.
Feb 08 2018
606 - Levidromes, Tom Swifty Jokes, and new OED Words.
Feb 01 2018
605 - A Homophone Error at the SAG Awards. Lectern or Podium? Capitalizing Award Names
Jan 25 2018
BONUS: Introducing Launch
Jan 22 2018
604 - Origin of 'Gerrymandering.' Is 'Data' Singular or Plural?
Jan 18 2018
603 - Words of the Year, Why You Shouldn't Use 'Eskimo,' 'Canon' or 'Cannon'?
Jan 11 2018
602 - I'm Chuffed.
Jan 04 2018
601 - "Based In" or "Based Out Of"? Omitting "That"
Dec 28 2017
600 - How to Pronounce 'Caramel.' Sports Idioms
Dec 21 2017
599 - Delicious English Words (Chocolate, Guacamole) with Aztec Roots
Dec 14 2017
598 - Gifting and Regifting. Take a Decision.
Dec 08 2017
597 - Eskimo Words for Snow. Write a Book!
Nov 30 2017
596 - Why Businesses Are Called Houses. Why We Call It "Black Friday."
Nov 23 2017
595 - 'Side' Words. What Is a Bailiwick?
Nov 16 2017
594 - The Plural of 'Batman.' Why Smart People Struggle with Shakespeare Too.
Nov 09 2017
593 - The Origin of English: Proto-Indo-European.
Nov 02 2017
592 - "Sofa" or "Couch"? "Skeleton" Idioms.
Oct 26 2017
591 - "Cannot" or "Can Not"? "Dead" Idioms.
Oct 19 2017
590 - How to Write an Apology
Oct 12 2017
589 - The "Ruth's Chris" Apostrophe. Thingamajigs.
Oct 05 2017
588 - Why People Mimic Accents. Why People "Have Your Six."
Sep 28 2017
587 - More British & American Differences. Quotation Marks with Periods and Commas
Sep 21 2017
586 - UK and US English. Bad or Badly?
Sep 15 2017
585 GG. Rainy Idioms. "Because," "Due To," "Since," and "As"
Sep 07 2017
584 GG. Pipe Dream. Comma Before a Quotation.
Sep 01 2017
583 GG Important or Importantly? Time Traveler Words
Aug 25 2017
582 GG. How to Use Quotations. Stop Calling Yourself a Grammar Nazi
Aug 17 2017
581 GG. Riffle and Rifle. Worcestershire Sauce.
Aug 10 2017
580 GG. Introductory Paragraphs. One of The...
Aug 03 2017
579 GG Language Games. Jerry-Built. And Female Juniors
Jul 27 2017
578 GG Words from Obsolete Technology
Jul 20 2017
577 GG The Trump Jr. Punctuation Kerfuffle. Generation Names.
Jul 13 2017
576 GG Critique or Criticize? Games Like Pig Latin
Jul 06 2017
575 GG Gestures. Elbow Grease. Capitalizing Directions.
Jun 29 2017
574 GG Commas with Transition Words. Double Whammy.
Jun 22 2017
573 GG Until, Till, and 'Til. Dad Jokes.
Jun 15 2017
572 GG Themself. Comma Splices.
Jun 08 2017
571 GG Lego or Legos? Why English Spelling Reform Is Doomed.
Jun 01 2017
570 GG Burned or Burnt? Why English Spelling Is a Mess.
May 26 2017
569 GG. Explain vs. Explanation. How to Outline.
May 18 2017
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Jan 02 2005