Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing How a long-lost yearbook revealed the origin of 'hella,' with Ben Zimmer
10 snips
Dec 25, 2025 
In this enlightening discussion, linguist Ben Zimmer dives into the roots of the slang term "hella," tracing its Bay Area origins and uncovering early examples from music and yearbooks. He shares fascinating stories of linguistics detective work, including discovering handwritten inscriptions and reuniting a lost yearbook with its owner. Zimmer also sheds light on how the OED updates its records with antedatings, highlighting how language evolves and the unexpected human narratives that emerge from research.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Hella's Bay Area Origins
- Hella originated in the San Francisco Bay Area and meant very/much before it spread widely.
- Early printed citations missed localized Bay Area uses that predate national examples.
Search Local Archives For Early Uses
- Use the Internet Archive and digitized local sources like community papers and yearbooks when antedating words.
- Search for variant spellings and nonstandard venues to uncover earlier citations.
Yearbook Hunt Reunites Owner
- Ben Zimmer found early uses of 'hella' in the Bay Area Reporter and Berkeley High yearbooks via Internet Archive.
- His research even reunited a graduate with a yearbook lost 42 years earlier.
