Double possessives. Words that do double duty. The monkeys aren't working.
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing12 Aug

Double possessives. Words that do double duty. The monkeys aren't working.

1107. This week, we look at double possessives, such as "a friend of Mignon's" and whether they are grammatically correct. Then, we look at words that do double duty, from the nautical origins of "scuttlebutt" to "beetle" — which can be both an insect and a tool.

The double possessives segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor for the federal government.

The words doing double duty segment was written by Karen Lunde. Karen's a career writer and editor who drifted into marketing—which turned out to be creative storytelling in business-casual clothes. These days, she helps solo business owners find the right words to talk about their work. Find her at chanterellemarketingstudio.com.

🔗 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 ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| 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

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(963)

118 Writing Accents and Dialects

118 Writing Accents and Dialects

Writing Accents and Dialects Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

18 Jul 20085min

123 How to Avoid Clichés

123 How to Avoid Clichés

How to Avoid Clichés Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

15 Jul 20085min

116 "Than I" Versus "Than Me"

116 "Than I" Versus "Than Me"

"Than I" Versus "Than Me" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

10 Jul 20087min

114 Phrasal Verbs

114 Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

4 Jul 20086min

113 Writing with Slang

113 Writing with Slang

Writing with Slang Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

27 Jun 20084min

110 When to Leave Out "That"

110 When to Leave Out "That"

When to Leave Out "That" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

6 Jun 20086min

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

Whose for Inanimate Objects Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

23 Mai 20085min

107 Graduated versus Graduated From

107 Graduated versus Graduated From

Graduated versus Graduated From Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

15 Mai 20084min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
hanna-de-heldige
fryktlos
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
treningspodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
foreldreradet
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-sunn-okonomi
dypdykk
rss-mann-i-krise-med-sagen
sinnsyn
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hverdagspsyken
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
anlegg-og-sjau-med-lothepus-og-pilgaard
rss-impressions-2
doktor-fives-podcast