Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

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Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
GRAMMARPALOOZA

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Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.

  1. 17 HR AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    BONUS: The Devil's Dictionary, with Jim Norrena

    Bonus. This ad-free bonus is part of your Grammarpalooza subscription. In today's bonus, I talked about a classic satirical dictionary called "The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce with Jim Norrena, a copy editor in the San Francisco Bay Area whom I met many years ago at one of my book signings. We laugh through some of the hilarious definitions, but also marvel over Bierce's wild life and discover the surprising reason he may have called himself a devil.

    30 min
  2. 'Hanged' versus 'Hung.' Is 'pair' singular or plural? Fossilized phrases.

    1 DAY AGO

    'Hanged' versus 'Hung.' Is 'pair' singular or plural? Fossilized phrases.

    1030. This week, we look at why "hang" has two past-tense forms: "hanged" and "hung." (And why I keep messing them up!) Then we expand on why "pair" can be singular or plural. And finally we look at why we hear some words only in set phrases such as "bated breath," "throes of agony," and "to and fro."

    17 min
  3. The psychology of writing bestsellers, with Jennifer Lynn Barnes

    6 DAYS AGO

    The psychology of writing bestsellers, with Jennifer Lynn Barnes

    1029. This week, I talk with Jennifer Lynn Barnes, author of the bestselling "Inheritance Games" series and a former psychology professor, about the psychology behind popular fiction. We look at why readers connect so deeply with fictional characters, the science of parasocial relationships, and how understanding human psychology can improve your storytelling.

    41 min

  4. 6 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    BONUS: Jennifer Lynn Barnes extended interview

    This ad-free bonus is part of your Grammarpalooza subscription. Bestselling author and former psychology professor Jennifer Lynn Barnes looks at what motivates people to form connections with fictional characters and to do things like write fan fiction.

    23 min
  5. Are you "pantless" or "pantsless"? Who (or what) is Beetlejuice?

    5 NOV

    Are you "pantless" or "pantsless"? Who (or what) is Beetlejuice?

    1028. This week, we look at the weird situation when you want to add a suffix (such as "-less") to a plural-only noun such as "pants" or "scissors" — with a fun detour for some pants-related idioms. Then, with a new "Beetlejuice" in theaters, we look at the fascinating origin of the name and its role in mythology throughout the ages.

    17 min
  6. How linguists solve crimes, with Natalie Schilling

    31 OCT

    How linguists solve crimes, with Natalie Schilling

    1027. This week, I talk with forensic linguist Natalie Schilling about how people's language gives them away — in manifestos, ransom notes, text messages, and more.

    35 min

  7. 31 OCT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    BONUS: Natalie Schilling extended interview

    1025 Bonus. This ad-free bonus is part of your Grammarpalooza subscription. Linguist Natalie Schilling tells the tale of "the case of the mystery dialect," in which a missing girl shows up decades later speaking with an accent that doesn't make sense.

    19 min
  8. From Guy Fawkes to Guido Fawkes. Tales from the crypt (and catacombs, mausoleums, and ossuaries). Taquitos

    29 OCT

    From Guy Fawkes to Guido Fawkes. Tales from the crypt (and catacombs, mausoleums, and ossuaries). Taquitos

    1026. This week, we look at the origins of words for men, including the ancient roots of "man," the surprising evolution of the word "guy" from being an insult to just another word, and how "guido" took a different route. Then, for some Halloween fun, we look at the difference between crypts, catacombs, mausoleums, and ossuaries, with an emphasis on their fascinating origins and some famous examples.

    17 min
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Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.

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