Why 'forte' has three pronunciations. What is 'playing the dozens'? Ornish

Why 'forte' has three pronunciations. What is 'playing the dozens'? Ornish

1156. This week, we look at the pronunciation chaos surrounding "forte" and "pianoforte," from the French fencing term meaning "strong point" to the Italian musical direction meaning "loud." Then, we look at "playing the dozens" — the African American insult game with a mysterious origin.

🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.

🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)

🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.

🔗 Take our advertising survey.

🔗 Get the edited transcript.

🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

  • Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
  • Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
  • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
  • Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
  • Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1013)

704 - Present Tense When Writing About Fiction. The Poop Emoji and Eggcorns.

704 - Present Tense When Writing About Fiction. The Poop Emoji and Eggcorns.

If you're writing about fiction, especially time-shifting fiction, it can be tricky figuring out whether to use present tense or past tense. We have help! Also, I answer a listener question about a fu...

11 Jul 20199min

703 - Why There Are 9 Different Ways to Pronounce the Letter T

703 - Why There Are 9 Different Ways to Pronounce the Letter T

We count nine different allophones of the letter T. Odds are good you'll recognize them all (and some of them may annoy you).LINKS AND SPONSORS |Babbel: http://babbel.com/grammar |True & Co: http://tr...

8 Jul 201922min

702 - ‘All of a Sudden’ or ‘All of the Sudden’? ‘Baited’ or ‘Bated’ Breath?

702 - ‘All of a Sudden’ or ‘All of the Sudden’? ‘Baited’ or ‘Bated’ Breath?

I had a listener insist the wrong way of saying "suddenly" was right, so I had to look into it. Also, I'll help you spell "bated breath" properly (and explain why it looks so weird).LINKS AND SPONSORS...

4 Jul 20199min

701 - ‘Biweekly’ or ‘Semiweekly’? ‘Foward' and ‘Forward.’

701 - ‘Biweekly’ or ‘Semiweekly’? ‘Foward' and ‘Forward.’

Today I have a Quick and Dirty Tip about the difference between “biweekly” and “semiweekly,” and I respond to a listener question about why I pronounce “forward” without the R.LINKS AND SPONSORS |Babb...

1 Jul 20199min

700 - When to Capitalize 'Google.' Why Zero is 'Love' in Tennis.

700 - When to Capitalize 'Google.' Why Zero is 'Love' in Tennis.

Today I answer a listener question about how to write "Google" when you use it as a verb, and we talk about the strange scoring system in tennis. Wimbledon is upon us! LINKS AND SPONSORS |Blinkist: ht...

27 Jun 20199min

699 - When to Capitalize Computer Terms. StetWalk

699 - When to Capitalize Computer Terms. StetWalk

Today I answer listener questions about how to write about a Word document, a PDF file, or a zip file. And learn how to play along with #StetWalk!LINKS AND SPONSORS |Stitcher App: http://stitcherapp.c...

24 Jun 20197min

698 - 'Subpoena.' When To Capitalize 'The' in Titles.

698 - 'Subpoena.' When To Capitalize 'The' in Titles.

I could never remember how to spell "subpoena" until I came up with a memory trick! Also, we go over the tricky cases of when to capitalize the word "the" in titles such as The New York Times and The ...

20 Jun 20196min

697 - What Anyone Can Learn From the College Essay Process

697 - What Anyone Can Learn From the College Essay Process

Even if you're not applying to college right now, the format of the college essay has a lot to teach about writing and self-reflection. A college essay can be an exploratory journey that ends up being...

17 Jun 201926min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
mikkels-paskenotter
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
foreldreradet
treningspodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-bisarr-historie
hverdagspsyken
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
sinnsyn
level-up-med-anniken-binz
gravid-uke-for-uke
rss-kull
rss-kunsten-a-leve
fryktlos
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
hagespiren-podcast
rss-bak-luftfarten