Grammar Girl Quick And Dirty Tips For Better Writing

1217. This week, we talk to Florence Hazrat, author of "On the Mark," about how punctuation evolved over 2,000 years. We look at why ancient Greek and Roman writing had no spaces between words, how a librarian in Alexandria introduced the first marks to help readers, and why the Renaissance brought a burst of new punctuation that then mostly stopped. Then we look at why a period can make a short text message feel aggressive, whether emoji count as punctuation, and how failed inventions like the interrobang tried to join the ranks. Find Florence Hazrat on Instagram or her website. A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support!Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna Björnsdóttir

1216. In honor of Labor Day, we look at occupational surnames — why Baker, Cooper, and Fletcher sound like jobs, and why Wainwright, Chandler, and Fuller were jobs too, even though they don't sound like it anymore. We also look at how names like Webster and Baxter preserve an Old English suffix for women's work.The jobs segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and editor. She writes I'll Go First, a newsletter where she shares her story, and then hands you a writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her at igofirst.org.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 on Patreon. We appreciate your support!Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna Björnsdóttir

1215. This week, we talk to Kory Stamper about why color science is surprisingly dangerous. We look at the literal chemical explosions at DuPont dye labs and the bitter rivalry between Webster’s Third and the American Heritage Dictionary. Then, we look at Kory's top three book recommendations for fellow color nerds. This bonus discussion originally aired for Grammarpaloozians in April. To hear them right away, join at Patreon.com/GrammarGirl.Find Kory Stamper at KoryStamper.com or on Bluesky.A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support!Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna Björnsdóttir

1214. This week, we look at why we say, "It's all Greek to me" when we don't understand something. We trace the phrase from medieval monks who couldn't read Greek manuscripts to Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," and look at how other languages, like Czech, German, and Cantonese, express the same idea of incomprehension.The Greek segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and author of "Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents." You can find her at valeriefridland.com.A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support!Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna Björnsdóttir

1213. Pulitzer-Prize-winning dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman goes deeper into her journey from the "Washington Post" copy desk to the world of professional dance criticism. We look at how writing about an art form is the ultimate exercise in verb selection, why our brains physically react to words like "meander" or "zigzag," and how to find the "zing" in your writing by juxtaposing unusual adverbs with everyday actions. This was originally a bonus episode for Grammarpaloozians in April, Learn more at Patreon.com/GrammarGirl.Find Sarah L. Kaufman at sarahlkaufman.comGet Sarah’s books, “Verb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Art of Grace”A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support!Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna Björnsdóttir

1212. This week, we look at fossil words — old words like "kith," "beck," and "hue" that survive only inside phrases like "kith and kin," "beck and call," and "hue and cry." We also look at listener follow-ups about the game "huckle buckle beanstalk" and the "Nimrod" mascot of Watersmeet, Michigan, plus a familect about "lawn motors" and "underbrellas."The fossil words segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and editor. She writes I'll Go First, a newsletter where she shares her story, then hands you a writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her on igofirst.org.A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support!Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna Björnsdóttir

1211. Today, we look at the behind-the-scenes history of the Dictionary of American Regional English with Joan Houston Hall. We look at her personal journey into linguistics, the "word wagons" that traveled the country to collect oral histories, and the fascinating origins of regional words like "scrid" and "bobbasheely." Finally, Joan shares her top three book recommendations for fellow word lovers. This episode originally ran in March for the Grammarpaloozians. To get bonus content like this, custom crosswords, and fun tidbits from Mignon, go to Patreon.com/GrammarGirl."Dictionary of American Regional English" (DARE)Support DARE by visiting the University of Wisconsin's giving page.

1210. This week, we look at why the sound "shh" means "be quiet" in so many different languages, and we trace the phrase "broad daylight" back to Old English to find out why it shows up so often in crime stories.The "Shh" segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and editor. She writes I'll Go First, a newsletter where she shares her story, then hands you a writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her on igofirst.org.

1209. Glenn Fleishman discusses the mechanical journey of a comic strip, from the cartoonist’s ink to the final newspaper page. We look at why drawing close to size helped “Calvin and Hobbes” creator Bill Watterson save money, and how a political resignation in 1973 led to a week of "Doonesbury" strips that never officially ran. This episode originally ran back in February for the Grammarpaloozians who support the show. To hear these episodes when they first come out, and get much more bonus content, visit http://patreon.com/grammargirl.Find Glenn at https://glennf.com/.

1208. This week, linguist Valerie Fridland explains why the U.S. has so many regional accents — tracing New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, and Western speech back to where their first settlers came from, and how we can still hear "founder effects" in the way we talk today.Valerie Fridland is a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and author of "Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents." You can find her at valeriefridland.com.

1207. This week, we look at the hidden linguistic history of Ontario with Sali Tagliamonte. We look at why euphemisms like "golly" and "gosh" are going the way of the dinosaur, the surprising connection between Northern Ontario and the Southern U.S., and how Canadian words like "gas bar" and "Muskoka chair" finally made it into the Oxford English Dictionary. This episode ran for Grammarpaloozians in February 2026. To get more bonus content, visit Patreon.com/GrammarGirl.

1206. This week, we look at the secret language of video gamers — including why getting "nerfed" is a bad thing and what it means to "rage quit" — and we answer a listener's question about whether the bird "duck" or the verb "duck" came first and whether real ducks actually duck for cover.The duck segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and editor [who spent nine years as a video game journalist.] These days, she writes I'll Go First, a newsletter where she shares her story, then hands you a weekly writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her on igofirst.org.

1205. In the bonus discussion this week, we continue discussing AI em dashes with Sean Goedecke, software engineer for GitHub. We talk about why AI detectors are often unreliable and how they can disproportionately flag non-native English speakers. We also look at the controversial idea of "writing for AI" to ensure your ideas are represented in future machine learning models. This episode ran for Grammarpaloozians in February 2026. To get more bonus content, visit Patreon.com/GrammarGirl.Find Sean at www.SeanGoedecke.com

1204. This week, in honor of Shark Week, we look at six fun shark sayings from pop culture, including "jumping the shark," "voodoo shark," and more. The shark segment was written by Samantha Enslen, who runs Dragonfly Editorial. You can find her at dragonflyeditorial.com.

1203. In this bonus discussion with Dr. Charles Kemp, we look at why the Chinese writing system has actually become visually more complex over thousands of years. Dr. Kemp explains how his team used "perimetric complexity" to measure characters and why the need for distinctiveness in a growing vocabulary overrides the natural drive for simplicity. This episode ran for Grammarpaloozians in January 2026. To get more bonus content, visit Patreon.com/GrammarGirl.Find Dr. Kemp at https://charleskemp.com/.

1202. This week, we look at the tricky question of what makes something ironic, including situational irony, verbal irony, and "skunked" words, with help from psychologist and author Roger Kreuz. Then, for Bastille Day, we look at how the guillotine got its name (ironically) from a man who actually opposed the death penalty.The "ironic" segment was by Roger Kreuz, associate dean and professor of psychology at the University of Memphis. It originally appeared on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license.

1201. In this bonus discussion from January, we look at why Canada has been without a current homegrown dictionary for twenty years and how John Chew is leading the charge to fix it. We look at how John got the job and the unique challenges of funding a dictionary in a bilingual country. John also shares how his aphantasia — the inability to visualize imagery — actually makes him a better data organizer for the complex world of lexicography. 

1200. This week, we look at snowclones like “X is the new Y,” including where the name came from and why we find them so satisfying. Then, we look at how to make abbreviations like “RBI” plural, including questions about apostrophes, single letters, and periods.The snowclones segment was written by Karen Lunde. Find her on igofirst.org.

1199. In this bonus episode first released to Grammarpaloozians in January, we look at what it means to turn a "channeled obsession" into a resource used by millions of language fans. Doug Harper shares how he built Etymonline as a solo act, fueled by late-night shifts and "ink in his blood." We also look at the "Nimrod" mystery — from a biblical king to a Bugs Bunny insult — and the obsessive sidequests that Doug and his team take to find the truth behind words.Find Doug at Etymonline.com.

1198. This week, we look at how to answer the question every author dreads: "So, what's your book about?" with workplace communications coach Joel Schwartzberg. We look at the difference between describing a book and selling it, how nonfiction authors can craft point-driven responses, and how fiction writers can distill their stories into a compelling pitch.Joel Schwartzberg is a workplace communications coach, speaker, and speechwriter. He's the author of "Get to the Point: Simplify, Sharpen, and Sell Your Message," and you can find him at joelschwartzberg.net