Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for English

792 - A Totally, Like, Bitchin' Podcast About 'Like'

It's not lazy and it's not just filler, but using "like" too much can still get you in trouble....

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• 5 months

791 - 'Although' Versus 'While.' Why We Write with Cliches (and How to Stop)

What happens when I discover that my pet peeve is wrong? Also, why do we write with cliches? Should we stop, and if...

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• 5 months

790 - 'Laureate' Is Good. Why Is 'Resting on Your Laurels' Bad? 'Smarmy.'

If getting laurels is good, and being a Nobel laureate is good, how did we get to "resting on your laurels"...

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• 5 months

789 - How to Make Your Readers Laugh. 'Whoa' or 'Woah'?

Believe it or not, there are actually rules to being funny. Also, do you think "woah" is a separate word...

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• 5 months

788 - Why 'Out of Pocket' Means Both 'Inappropriate' and 'Unavailable'

People have been asking about the "unavailable" meaning of "out of pocket" for decades, but...

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• 5 months

787 - Why We Associate Political Parties with the Colors Red and Blue

Nick and Hannah explain "red" and "blue," the origin of "POTUS," why the Declaration of...

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• 6 months

786 - 'Doomscrolling' (OK, Doomer). 'Each Other' or 'One Another'?

Whether you call it "doomscrolling" or "doomsurfing," it's not your fault that you feel...

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• 6 months

785 - 'Gantlet' or 'Gauntlet'? Do You Want to Say 'Had Went'?

Have you been told to write "run the GANTLET"? Here's why you shouldn't. Also, editor Ben Yagoda...

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• 6 months

784 - A Historical Tip for Remembering When to Use 'Historical.' Put More Thought into Your Punctuation.

Kamala Harris's selection as Joe Biden's running mate is important, significant, and a number of firsts, but...

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• 6 months

783 - How Hurricanes Get Their Names. When You Should Avoid Using Contractions.

Isaias. Mitch. Andrew. Jimena. How hurricanes get their names, and why you'll see some names twice and others...

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• 7 months

782 - What are those dots over letters? Why does 'money' have a plural, and how do you spell it?

What are those double dots over letters in English? Why does "money" have a plural, and how do you spell...

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• 7 months

781 - Blursday or Whensday? Middle Grade Versus Young Adult Fiction

Blursday is a popular word to use when you don't know what day of the week it is. It captures that disoriented...

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• 7 months

780 - Which Comes First? Who or Where?

We started to wonder about the question words in the phrase "Who does what and goes where where." Read...

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• 7 months

779 - How You Can Help the OED. Capitalizing 'Black.' How Playwriting Techniques Can Improve Your Writing.

Imagine the bragging rights: The OED needs your help antedating words. Why you should capitalize "Black."...

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• 7 months

778 - Do We Say 'Red Skies at Night, Sailor's Delight' Because of the Saharan Dust Plumes? Also, 'Yoiks!'

The Saharan dust plumes can make the sky red, but they aren't the source of the old saying "Red skies at...

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• 8 months

777 - How to Write Fight Scenes (and How to Get Started as a Fiction Editor)

Fiction editor Joshua Essoe gives his best tips for writing fight scenes (hint: it's not about the fighting). And...

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• 8 months

776 - Why a Detective Searched for 'Clews' in a 1929 Novel. ‘Systemic’ or ‘Systematic’?

Our writer was surprised when he came across "clew" instead of "clue" in a detective novel from...

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• 8 months

775 - Why We Talk About 'Bad Apples.' 'A Few' Versus 'a Couple'

We started to wonder why people seem to forget the second half of the saying about bad apples. Plus, we settle a...

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• 8 months

774 - Roy Peter Clark on Civic Clarity and Murdering Your Darlings

Roy Peter Clark has been teaching writing at the Poynter Institute since 1977 and regularly offers up some of the...

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• 9 months

773 - Postal Zones. Reenter. Bougie.

How postal zones led to ZIP codes. Why I like to put a hyphen in "re-enter." How "bougie," which...

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• 9 months