780 - Which Comes First? Who or Where?
We started to wonder about the question words in the phrase "Who does what and goes where when."Read the transcript.Use the hashtag #WhereIListen to show me where you listen to the Grammar Girl podcas...
16 Juli 202014min
779 - How You Can Help the OED. Capitalizing 'Black.' How Playwriting Techniques Can Improve Your Writing.
Imagine the bragging rights: The OED needs your help antedating words. Why you should capitalize "Black." How playwriting techniques can improve your writing.Read the transcripts: OED. Black. Playwrit...
9 Juli 202014min
778 - Do We Say 'Red Skies at Night, Sailor's Delight' Because of the Saharan Dust Plumes? Also, 'Yoiks!'
The Saharan dust plumes can make the sky red, but they aren't the source of the old saying "Red skies at night, sailor's delight. Red skies in the morning, sailor take warning." That comes from clouds...
2 Juli 202014min
777 - How to Write Fight Scenes (and How to Get Started as a Fiction Editor)
Fiction editor Joshua Essoe gives his best tips for writing fight scenes (hint: it's not about the fighting). And he describes how he got his first editing gig, which has led to a solid career as a fr...
25 Juni 202029min
776 - Why a Detective Searched for 'Clews' in a 1929 Novel. ‘Systemic’ or ‘Systematic’?
Our writer was surprised when he came across "clew" instead of "clue" in a detective novel from 1929, and the explanation includes a great story about the origin of the word "clue." Also, people have ...
18 Juni 202011min
775 - Why We Talk About 'Bad Apples.' 'A Few' Versus 'a Couple'
We started to wonder why people seem to forget the second half of the saying about bad apples. Plus, we settle a dispute about the difference between "a couple" and "a few."Read the transcripts: Bad A...
11 Juni 202011min
774 - Roy Peter Clark on Civic Clarity
Roy Peter Clark has been teaching writing at the Poynter Institute since 1977 and regularly offers up some of the best writing advice I see. Today, we talked about Writing differently during the pande...
4 Juni 202033min
773 - Postal Zones. Reenter. Bougie.
How postal zones led to ZIP codes. Why I like to put a hyphen in "re-enter." How "bougie," which today has a negative connotation, came from an older word that meant simply "middle class."Read the tra...
28 Maj 202011min
