796 - What Is a 'Crony'? Why Doesn’t 'Veterans Day' Have an Apostrophe?
What Is a 'Crony'? Why Doesn’t 'Veterans Day' Have an Apostrophe?Use the hashtag #WhereIListen and tag me to show me where you listen to the Grammar Girl podcast.Subscribe to the newsletter for regula...
6 Nov 202012min
795 - Why People Use Scare Quotes. 'Dialog' or 'Dialogue'?
We have some theories on why people write things such as "'fresh' meat." Plus, we dig in to the two spellings of "dialog" (or is that "dialogue"?).Read the transcript: Scare Quotes. 'Dialog' or 'Dialo...
29 Okt 202010min
794 - Create Characters as Great as Hamlet. How to Format Internal Dialogue
6 steps to help you create gripping characters. Plus, we talk about how to format internal dialogue: italics, quotation marks, or nothing?Read the transcript: Character Creation. Formatting Internal D...
22 Okt 202014min
793 - Why Journalists Use Misspellings Like 'Lede' and 'Spox'
Journalists "bury the lede," not the "lead." But why do they spell it that way? And what do HTK, TK, and CQ stand for? From "hed" to "spox," here's all the journo jargon that's fit to print.Read the t...
15 Okt 202015min
792 - A Totally, Like, Bitchin' Podcast About 'Like'
It's not lazy and it's not just filler, but using "like" too much can still get you in trouble.Read the transcript: LikeUse the hashtag #WhereIListen and tag me to show me where you listen to the Gram...
8 Okt 202015min
791 - 'Although' Versus 'While.' Why We Write with Cliches (and How to Stop)
What happens when I discover that my pet peeve is wrong? Also, why do we write with cliches? Should we stop, and if so, how?Read the transcript: Although. Cliches.Use the hashtag #WhereIListen and tag...
1 Okt 202011min
790 - 'Laureate' Is Good. Why Is 'Resting on Your Laurels' Bad? 'Smarmy.'
If getting laurels is good, and being a Nobel laureate is good, how did we get to "resting on your laurels" being bad? Also, we learn that the word "smarmy" started as a joke (in fact, a kind of famil...
24 Sep 202015min
789 - How to Make Your Readers Laugh. 'Whoa' or 'Woah'?
Believe it or not, there are actually rules to being funny. Also, do you think "woah" is a separate word from "whoa"? Some people do, and they think it has a separate meaning.Read the transcript: Humo...
17 Sep 202014min
