The Difference Between 'Anxious' and 'Eager'

943. Join us for a fascinating romp through the evolution of phrases like "you know," "right?" and "I mean" from Beowulf's time to today. Plus, we look at how people's feelings about using "anxious" to mean "eager" are changing, and how that can affect your writing.

The discourse marker segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of "Like Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English." You can find her at valeriefridland.com

| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/anxious-eager

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

| Peeve Wars card game. 

| Grammar Girl books. 

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio engineer: Nathan Semes
• Editor: Adam Cecil
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina Tomlin
• Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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