Does 'Wicked' have a grammar error? What is the 'neck of the woods'? To be Frances
1045. A listener asked if the song "The Wizard and I" should actually be "The Wizard and Me," so we look at how you can tell. And then we look at interesting idioms about familiar places: "neck of the...
7 Jan 202514min
The case of the mystery dialect, with Natalie Schilling
1044. Today, I'm talking about a strange disappearance that forensic linguist Natalie Schilling worked on that she calls "the case of the mystery dialect." This is the original bonus segment from our ...
2 Jan 202520min
2024 words of the year, with John Kelly
1043. "Skibidi," "polarization," "brat," "demure," "enshittification," and more. You might get whiplash from the vacillating vibes of all the words the dictionaries chose this year. I joined John Kell...
30 Des 202444min
Twee pop, bumbershoot, amongst, and more, with Ben Yagoda
1042. Today, I have the bonus segment from my interview with Ben Yagoda back in September. Ben is the author of the book "Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English," and we talked about the...
26 Des 202414min
'Home' for the holidays. False friends. Hello, Dentist.
1041. Today, we talk about the word "home" and its meaning beyond just a structure, and then we talk about false friends — words in different languages that don't mean what you think they mean.The "ho...
23 Des 202414min
Struggling with AI: Job loss, energy use, and more, with Christopher Penn
1040. The downsides of AI bother me a lot — job loss, energy use, and the content tsunami. But I also think it's critically important to understand what this technology can do and how it's likely to c...
19 Des 202422min
Why people say 'I mean ...' Missing pronouns. Cat-tracted.
1039. People are saying "I mean" more lately, and we explain what it ... means! Plus, we look at why people leave out pronouns at the beginning of sentences such as "Ordering pizza!"The "I mean" segme...
17 Des 202416min
Why the new CMOS is yellow. Pandemic collectors editions. And more
1038. Chicago Manual of Style editors Mary Laur and Russell Harper dish on the changes they wanted in CMOS that didn't make it in, why the stylebook is bright yellow, and how a printing problem during...
12 Des 202416min
