1145. In this bonus segment from October, I talk with Ben Zimmer about "hella" and how even yearbook messages can be digitized to help preserve the language record. Ben shares the full story of this slang term, and we also talk about the detective work that led to the OED using Run DMC's use of "drop" in “Spin Magazine” as a citation.

Ben Zimmer's website: Benzimmer.com

Ben Zimmer's social media: Bluesky. Facebook.

Links to Get One Month Free of the Grammar Girl Patreon (different links for different levels)

Order of the Snail ($1/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/687E4
Order of the Aardvark ($5/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/07205
Keeper of the Commas ($10/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/50A0B
Guardian of the Grammary ($25/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/949F7

🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)

🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.

🔗 Take our advertising survey.

🔗 Get the edited transcript.

🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

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

Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

475 - 1995 Year in Review

RPGFan's Retro Encounter

Handheld RPG constraints and nostalgia

The AI-powered Podcast Player