Episodes
We look at some names of famous people that, when you pronounce them correctly, can let people know you're an expert... or a snob.
Published 04/27/24
Published 04/27/24
This week, Kathy and Ross quiz Fletcher on a list of words that may or may not have been coined by Shakespeare. You might be surprised by which ones we still use today.
Published 04/20/24
We look at why Americans love to talk like our friends from across the pond— or like to think that's what we're doing.
Published 04/13/24
Today we're looking at sentence stress and how the meaning of a sentence can completely change depending on which words you emphasize.
Published 04/06/24
Ouch! Unfortunately, we won't have an episode this week, because even more unfortunately, one of us had an accident and sustained a not-insignificant personal injury. Everything's basically ok, but, you know, it hurts, so we need a week off. Sorry about that, and we'll see you next week!
Published 03/30/24
We get back to one of our favorite topics: Words that sound a lot like other words but have totally different meanings.
Published 03/23/24
We look at some words that we think are related to other words, but actually aren't. Except sometimes they are.
Published 03/16/24
We look at some "rules" of the language that were mostly just made up so people could feel like they were speaking proper English.
Published 03/09/24
We run through some particularly confusing grammar mistakes and how sometimes we might think we’re saying one thing when we’re really saying another.
Published 03/02/24
We run through a few of the many, many English words that contain silent letters and some of the baffling reasons we pronounce those words the way we do.
Published 02/24/24
We dig into why certain words are spelled ridiculously thanks to a bunch of scholars a few hundred years ago who got a little too nutso about making everything look Latin.
Published 02/17/24
Some of us like to be rule breakers, but here are a few rules of the English language we can’t help but follow. And we probably don’t even know they exist.
Published 02/10/24
We look at what happens when we approach non-English words with a little too much gusto, and how exactly we should be saying foreign words so that we don’t sound silly (a tall order for some of us!).
Published 02/03/24
We look at unconscious ways we follow the rules of English by doubling sounds and words, and how meanings of words can change when we say them twice. Now: are you confused? Or are you confused confused?
Published 01/27/24
You’re Saying It Wrong is now more than just a podcast!
Published 01/19/24
This week we rizz you up (did we say that right?) by looking at what dictionaries picked as the words of the year for 2023!
Published 01/05/24
We look at the origins of some holiday-related words, including a reindeer controversy and a little bird that's surprisingly rude.
Published 12/22/23
This week, we look at the official (?) rules of negativity in English.
Published 12/08/23
Today we look at phrases that seem at first glance to mean something, but are actually complete nonsense.
Published 11/24/23
Sometimes what we say or write can be grammatically correct but still make no sense whatsoever. Come along with us down this winding road...
Published 11/10/23
Now that we're out of summer, it's finally cooled down enough for us to go outside to check the mailbox! We tackle some listener questions and pet peeves, and we take a look at a bizarre new phrase that's entered the language.
Published 10/27/23
We continue on with our look at the newest words that have been added to dictionaries, and Kathy offers an enormous mea culpa.
Published 10/13/23
Hot off the presses (or whatever the internet is... cyberpresses?), we look at the newest entries into Dictionary.com!
Published 09/29/23
This week, we look at some of those nitpicky little grammar traps that sometimes trip us up.
Published 09/15/23