What is a baker’s dozen? Making O-words plural. Wrong pew.
1152. This week, we look at what a baker's dozen is and why it's actually 13. We also look at other "dozen" phrases, like "devil's dozen" and "banker's dozen." Finally, we tackle the inconsistency of ...
20 Jan 13min
Building the Online Etymology Dictionary, with Doug Harper
1151. This week, we look at the deep history of words with Doug Harper, creator of Etymonline. We look at the "gravitational" link between digging a grave and having a grave problem, the surprising 18...
15 Jan 33min
Using ‘impact’ as a verb. ‘Sympathy’ versus ‘empathy.’ Big help, Irving.
1150. This week, we look at "impact" as a verb and why it's a pet peeve for so many editors and readers. Then, we look at the linguistic shift between sympathy and empathy, exploring how "sympathy" be...
13 Jan 15min
Rare books, burned letters, and Johnson’s dictionary, with John Overholt
1149. This week, we look at the life and legacy of Samuel Johnson, the man behind the 1755 Dictionary of the English Language. We talk with John Overholt, curator at Harvard’s Houghton Library, about ...
8 Jan 32min
Penny idioms that are still legal tender. The linguistic history of procrastination. Tanner tour.
1148. This week, we look at penny idioms that are still "legal tender" in our language even as the U.S. penny is retired. We look at the history of phrases like "a bad penny" and "penny wise and pound...
6 Jan 14min
The Goth letters: why the alphabet goes off the rails after T, with Danny Bate
1147. In this bonus segment that originally ran in October, we look at the fascinating history of the "new letters" of the alphabet — V, W, X, Y, and Z. Danny Bate explains why T was the original end ...
1 Jan 26min
War of the dots. Why we say 'pitch black.' Pitch hot.
1146. This week, we look at the history of Braille, from the tragic accident that inspired Louis Braille's six-dot system to the "War of the Dots"—a decades-long conflict over competing reading standa...
30 Des 202515min
How a long-lost yearbook revealed the origin of 'hella,' with Ben Zimmer
1145. In this bonus segment from October, I talk with Ben Zimmer about "hella" and how even yearbook messages can be digitized to help preserve the language record. Ben shares the full story of this s...
25 Des 202530min
