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1229. This week, we talk with Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy, about AI and college admissions essays. We look at why admissions officers told him “don’t” when it comes to AI, what he calls the “disembodied voice” of AI writing, and why he rewrote the new editions of his books by hand. Then we look at two pieces of classic essay advice he says to skip, how “finish your ribs” became a standout essay, and how a 10-minute timer can get a stuck writer started. Find Ethan at CollegeEssayGuy.com. A hearty thank you to the Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna BjörnsdóttirKate Wade 🔗 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 HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.

In this week’s bonus, Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy, walks Mignon through the Roles and Identities Exercise he uses with students, and Mignon plays the student. We look at the three roles she chose — experimenter, researcher, and writer — and why they fit her. Then we look at how a list of roles can turn into a college essay in different ways, and a role Mignon would like to lean into more. Find Ethan at CollegeEssayGuy.com. A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas and one Immortal on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir Kate Wade 🔗 Share your familect recording in SpeakPipe or at 833-214-4475. - https://www.speakpipe.com/GrammarGirl 🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/mignon-fogarty 🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe 🔗 Get the edited transcript. - https://grammar-girl-grammarpaloozian-bonus-feed.simplecast.com/episodes/1229-bonus/transcript 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. - https://amzn.to/3LULzLb 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Patreon, Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscription/ | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475). | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Business and Creative Partnerships: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnaagheeb | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. - https://catherinerannus.com/ | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@grammargirl TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl Facebook - http://facebook.com/grammargirl Threads - https://www.threads.net/@thegrammargirl Instagram - http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@grammargirl Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/grammargirl.bsky.social

1228. This week, we look at why "Here comes the bride" sounds right but "Here comes he" sounds wrong. Then we have an update on Zipf's law: after whales and dolphins, researchers may have found it in birdsong too. The "here comes he" segment was written by Ray Belli, a longtime podcaster, musician, and language writer. You can find him at WordsforGranted.libsyn.com A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna BjörnsdóttirKate Wade 🔗 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: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.

1227. This week, we talk to Eli Burnstein, author of "Phrased & Confused." We look at why Robert Frost's "road less traveled" wasn't really less traveled, and why the other half of Stewart Brand's "information wants to be free" will make you think about it differently. Then we look at why "Hell is other people" isn't about crowds and how "Don't mess with Texas" began as an anti-littering campaign. A hearty thank you to the Keepers of the Commas and one Immortal on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna BjörnsdóttirKate Wade 🔗 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 HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.

In the bonus, we continue our discussion with Eli Burnstein, author of "Phrased & Confused." We look at why "Life is short, art is long" was originally about medicine and how "Fail again. Fail better" comes from a surprisingly bleak Samuel Beckett novella. Then we look at why a Zen master would tell his students to kill the Buddha. Find Eli at eliburnstein.com. A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas and one Immortal on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir Kate Wade 🔗 Share your familect recording in SpeakPipe or at 833-214-4475. - https://www.speakpipe.com/GrammarGirl 🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/mignon-fogarty 🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe 🔗 Get the edited transcript. - https://grammar-girl-grammarpaloozian-bonus-feed.simplecast.com/episodes/1227-bonus/transcript 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. - https://amzn.to/3LULzLb 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscription/ | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475). | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Business and Creative Partnerships: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnaagheeb | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. - https://catherinerannus.com/ | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@grammargirl TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl Facebook - http://facebook.com/grammargirl Threads - https://www.threads.net/@thegrammargirl Instagram - http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@grammargirl Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/grammargirl.bsky.social

1226. This week, we look at why so many people say "try and" instead of "try to," including why it may be the older form, why it turns up more in speech than in writing, and why it bothers Americans more than Brits. Then we look at what an epilogue actually does, whether one can belong to a single essay in a collection, and how it differs from an afterword, a postscript, and a coda. The epilogue segment was written by Karen Lunde. 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 BjörnsdóttirKate Wade 🔗 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: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.

1225. This week, we talk to lexicographer Steve Johnson from Dictionary.com. We look at how slang like "no cap" and "throw hands" works its way up from a separate slang dictionary, why one lexicographer fought against adding "rizz," and where "lost in the sauce" comes from. Then we look at what "overprompting" says about how we talk to AI, why food words like "quesabirria" and "elote" can take years to reach the dictionary, and how the team is starting to size up contenders for word of the year. Find Steve on LinkedIn. A hearty thank you to the Keepers of the Commas and one Immortal on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna BjörnsdóttirKate Wade 🔗 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 HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.

In the bonus, we continue our discussion with Steve Johnson from Dictionary.com. We look at the books he reads when he's not working on new words, from a novel set in the world of 18th-century Italian opera to the story of how clashing views on germ theory shaped the fate of President James Garfield. Find Steve on LinkedIn. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-johnson-iii A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas and one Immortal on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir Kate Wade 🔗 Share your familect recording in SpeakPipe or at 833-214-4475. - https://www.speakpipe.com/GrammarGirl 🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/mignon-fogarty 🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe 🔗 Get the edited transcript. - https://grammar-girl-grammarpaloozian-bonus-feed.simplecast.com/episodes/1225-bonus/transcript 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. - https://amzn.to/3LULzLb 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscription/ | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475). | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Business and Creative Partnerships: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnaagheeb | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. - https://catherinerannus.com/ | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@grammargirl TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl Facebook - http://facebook.com/grammargirl Threads - https://www.threads.net/@thegrammargirl Instagram - http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@grammargirl Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/grammargirl.bsky.social

1224. This week, we look at why English speakers call ships "she," even when the ship is named Henry. Then we have a follow-up on "maxxing" from two listeners, including its roots in 1990s gaming and a cameo in the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song. The ships segment was written by Karen Lunde. 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 BjörnsdóttirKate Wade 🔗 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: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.

1223. This week, Valerie Fridland steps in for Mignon and sits down with linguist Allison Burkette of the Linguistic Atlas Project at the University of Kentucky. They look at what "lightwood" and "chifforobe" reveal about landscape and colonial contact, how "kindling" gave us "Kindle" and "Tinder," and the 380-plus recorded terms for cornbread. Then they look at why words rarely truly "die," even when the practices behind them fade. 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 RuizKate Wade🔗 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.

In this week's bonus, guest host Valerie Fridland talks to Allison Burkette, a linguist at the University of Kentucky, about the features we think of as Appalachian and where they actually turn up. We look at why "Elizabethan English in the mountains" is a myth, what a-prefixing sounds like, and why that "a" may have started life as a preposition. Then we look at why a-prefixing appears in Linguistic Atlas interviews out West, why some Canadian speakers say "y'all" when they're talking about Americans, and why the accent isn't dying, just changing. Visit the Linguistic Atlas Project - https://linguisticatlasproject.org/ Grammarpalooza — The Game Show: TODAY! 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 Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir Marlen Ruiz Kate Wade 🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or at 833-214-4475. - https://www.speakpipe.com/GrammarGirl 🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/mignon-fogarty 🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe 🔗 Take our advertising survey. - https://podsurvey.com/GRAMMAR 🔗 Get the edited transcript. - https://grammar-girl-grammarpaloozian-bonus-feed.simplecast.com/episodes/1223-bonus/transcript 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. - https://amzn.to/3LULzLb 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscription/ | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475). | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnaagheeb | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. - https://catherinerannus.com/ | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@grammargirl TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl Facebook - http://facebook.com/grammargirl Threads - https://www.threads.net/@thegrammargirl Instagram - http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@grammargirl Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/grammargirl.bsky.social

1222. This week, we look at Zipf's law, a pattern that shapes how often you use your most common words, and why SETI researchers think it could help identify alien communication. 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 BjörnsdóttirKate WadeMarlen Ruiz 🔗 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: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.

1221. This week, we talk to Roger Kreuz, associate dean at the University of Memphis, about the "maxxing" craze. We look at how it started with min-maxxing in 1990s gaming culture, how looksmaxxing spread from the manosphere, and why it isn't quite a suffix. Then we look at what that second X is doing, why "Nixon-maxxing" might be peak maxxing, and why a brand picking up your slang usually kills it. 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.

In this week's bonus, we continue our discussion with Roger Kreuz from the University of Memphis about false etymologies, the word origin stories people pass along even though they aren't true. We look at why "tip" isn't an acronym for "to ensure promptness" and why "rule of thumb" has nothing to do with wife beating. Then we look at what false etymologies have in common with conspiracy theories, why "flutterby" tells a better story than "butterfly," and why Roger stopped flatly correcting people and started looking things up with them instead. Find Roger Kreuz on his website, RogerKreuz.net. 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 Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir Marlen Ruiz 🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or at 833-214-4475. - https://www.speakpipe.com/GrammarGirl 🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/mignon-fogarty 🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe 🔗 Take our advertising survey. - https://podsurvey.com/GRAMMAR 🔗 Get the edited transcript. - https://grammar-girl-grammarpaloozian-bonus-feed.simplecast.com/episodes/1121-bonus/transcript 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. - https://amzn.to/3LULzLb 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscription/ | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475). | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnaagheeb | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. - https://catherinerannus.com/ | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@grammargirl TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl Facebook - http://facebook.com/grammargirl Threads - https://www.threads.net/@thegrammargirl Instagram - http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@grammargirl Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/grammargirl.bsky.social

1220. This week, in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, we look at the history of eight pirate words, and then we look at whether the right pairing is "none is" or "none are." 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 🔗 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: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: 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.