Grammar Girl

Eli Burnstein, author of *Phrased & Confused*, explores the surprising origins and meanings behind familiar lines. Robert Frost’s roads, Sartre’s “Hell is other people,” and Stewart Brand’s “information wants to be free” take unexpected turns. He also unpacks “Don’t Mess with Texas,” Descartes, Gertrude Stein, McLuhan, and other phrases we’ve been quoting all wrong.

Why do people say “try and” instead of “try to,” and why does the phrase spark stronger reactions in America than Britain? The discussion explores its history, informality, and spoken rhythm. Then, a look at epilogues in essay collections, plus the differences between epilogues, afterwords, postscripts, and codas.

Steve Johnson, Dictionary.com’s Director of Lexicography, explores how modern language earns a place in the dictionary. He discusses slang such as “rizz,” “no cap,” and “lost in the sauce,” digital terms like “reply guy,” AI language including “overprompting,” and why food words like “quesabirria” can take years to be included. He also previews the race for word of the year.

Why do English speakers call ships “she,” even when they bear masculine names? This discussion explores centuries-old personification, affection, protection, naming traditions, and shifting style guides. Plus, “maxing” gets a gaming-history rewind, and a family’s running restaurant joke reveals how private language, or familect, takes shape.

Allison Burkette, a University of Kentucky linguist and director of the Linguistic Atlas Project, explores America’s colorful regional vocabulary. Discover what “lightwood” and “chifforobe” reveal about landscapes and colonial contact, how “Kindle” and “Tinder” connect to kindling, and why cornbread boasts more than 380 names. Misheard phrases, fading customs, and the surprising ways words survive round out this linguistic journey.

Why does “the” appear so often? Explore Zipf’s law, the curious pattern governing word frequency across languages, texts, and even complex Finnish forms. The discussion weighs competing explanations, from least effort to randomness, then ventures into whale songs, SETI’s search for alien communication, and the mysterious Voynich manuscript. Plus, discover how family slang becomes a “familect.”

Roger Kreuz, an associate dean and scholar of language and psychology, explores the “maxxing” craze. He traces it from 1990s gaming to looksmaxxing and mainstream slang, explains why it behaves unlike a normal suffix, and unpacks the visual logic of its double X. They also discuss irony, online identity, brand-driven slang death, and the glorious absurdity of Nixon-maxxing.

Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with the surprising history behind “arr,” from Robert Newton’s West Country accent to the origins of pirate, buccaneer, filibuster, avast, and shiver me timbers. Then sail into the grammar debate over whether “none” takes a singular or plural verb, plus a clever Dungeons & Dragons “friendlect.”

1219. This week, we talk to Daniel Heuman and Chris Ryder from Intelligent Editing about the errors hiding in AI writing that looks flawless. We look at why it invents its own rules when you ask for Chicago or AP style, why it goes wrong in the middle of a document rather than at the ends, and why an AI that over-edits is harder to clean up than one that under-edits.Find Daniel and Chris on LinkedIn, and more about their projects at Perfectit.com.Save the date for Grammarpalooza — The Game Show: Thursday, September 24 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas and one Immortal on Patreon. We appreciate your support!Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna BjörnsdóttirMarlen Ruiz🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 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.🔗 Find an edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsCreative Partnerships & Business Development: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do people switch to a high-pitched, sing-song voice with dogs? New research explores how dogs respond to tone, words, rhythm, and even different languages. Then, uncover the Shakespearean origins of “bated breath” and meet a charming family word for carbonated water: “spicy water.”