Why Do We Cringe at 'Pepper and Salt'? Why 'Square' Is Uncool. Quickquish.
"Sticks and stones." "Bride and groom." "Heads or tails." Some word pairs almost always appear in a specific order, and linguists have been investigating why for decades. Plus, after last week's segme...
24 Feb 202216min
What's Square About a Square Meal? How to Use Parentheses, Brackets, and Braces. Guck.
The idea of a square meal goes back to the 1800s and possibly mining towns, but the word "square" itself has a longer history. Plus, admit it! You don't know how to use curly braces. (We didn't either...
17 Feb 202216min
Are People Using 'Commiserate' Wrong? The Origin of (the Word) 'Influenza.' Hersband.
How the "Witch of Wall Street" relates to the word "commiserate." Plus, the interesting origin of "influenza" and other disease names.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my Linked...
10 Feb 202212min
Do You Call In, Out, or Off Sick? How Kids Learn Language. Hexaboobiated.
People often tell me they hear others say they'll be absent from work in a different way than they're used to hearing, so I looked into who says what where. Also, we take a deep look at how children l...
4 Feb 202217min
Tips for Learning a New Language: The Fluent Show
Kerstin Cable, host of "The Fluent Show" shares her tips and enthusiasm for learning new languages. We talked about what to do if you're stalled learning a language, what the good things and bad thing...
27 Jan 202227min
Why 'Tiny' Sounds Smaller Than 'Huge.' Nixing the Horrid 'Of.' Kokopelli.
The sounds of certain words make us think of things that are big or small, round or spiky, and the tendency is nearly universal. For example, people can often pick words that refer to something big or...
20 Jan 202219min
'Strollout,' 'Insurrection,' 'Yassify,' and Other Words of the Year for 2021
"Strollout," "insurrection," "yassify," "hard pants" and other words of the year for 2021.| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.|Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.|Peeve Wars card ...
13 Jan 202214min
Cardsharp. The Old-New Singular 'They.' Grignug.
Was that uncle who wiped the floor with you in a card game a cardsharp or a card shark? Also, we look at what it is about using "they" as a singular pronoun that makes it sometimes stand out and somet...
6 Jan 202216min
