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within earbuds.

1:06

Grammar Girl's I'm in Jan Fogarty,

1:09

and you can think of me as your friendly

1:11

guide to the English language. We

1:13

talk about writing, history, Girl's,

1:15

and other cool stuff. Today,

1:18

we'll talk about a quirky thing with the word

1:20

'Said', who Kith are

1:23

and new scrabble words you can start using

1:25

immediately.

1:30

A follower recently wrote, quote,

1:32

have you ever suddenly come across a certain

1:34

usage and realized it really bothers

1:36

you and that you hate it? I just noticed

1:39

one. It's the use of said as an

1:41

adjective. As in, I have

1:43

a tree in my backyard. Said

1:45

a tree is very tall.

1:47

I think that what bothers me is that it sounds

1:50

like pseudo legalese are coped

1:52

talk, like what you might see in a police

1:54

report. Also, it's

1:56

unnecessary. What other antecedent can

1:58

I be referring to? Have you ever

2:00

addressed said usage? Unquote?

2:03

Well, we addressed word aversion when

2:05

people have a visceral reaction to this

2:08

sound usage or even sight

2:10

of a word in two thousand nineteen. Word

2:13

diversion is different from a pet peeve

2:15

and that it can evoke an emotional or

2:17

even physical reaction action. Check

2:19

out grammar Girl's episode seven hundred and thirty

2:21

three why people hate the word

2:23

moist for more on that.

2:25

But in the case of the followers question,

2:27

there's more going on with the use of said

2:29

as an adjective. They're correct

2:32

that this usage is found mostly in business

2:34

and legal writing. In this sense,

2:36

it refers to something that was mentioned earlier.

2:39

According to the site Grammar, quote,

2:41

it's essentially a briefer replacement

2:43

of words like forementioned and

2:45

a foresaid, unquote. Well,

2:48

it's usually a good idea to use simpler

2:50

or shorter words. In this case,

2:52

it may sound awkward to some people like

2:54

our follower. And in most cases,

2:57

said could be replaced with it,

2:59

the these, or even

3:01

removed with no effect on the meaning.

3:04

Take the example from the original question.

3:06

I have a tree in my backyard. said

3:09

the tree is very tall. You

3:11

could simply 'Said', I have a tree in my

3:13

backyard. It is very tall.

3:16

or just I have a very tall tree in

3:18

my backyard. The meaning is the

3:20

same. Here are a couple more examples.

3:23

The suspect gave a confession. said

3:26

confession was not coerced versus

3:29

the suspect gave a confession. This

3:31

confession was not coerced. or

3:34

simply the suspect gave an uncoourced

3:36

confession. And one more

3:38

Grammar, both parties have agreed

3:41

to the contract, said parties will

3:43

sign the contract to tomorrow versus

3:46

both parties have agreed to the contract, they

3:48

will sign the contract tomorrow. or

3:51

better yet, both parties will sign

3:53

the agreed upon contract tomorrow.

3:57

In these examples, 'Said' could be called an

3:59

example of jargon, which dictionary

4:01

dot com describes as the

4:03

language, especially the vocabulary, peculiar

4:06

to a particular trade profession or

4:08

group, unquote. In this

4:10

case, the legal or business professions. The

4:13

problem with jargon is that if you're not a

4:15

member of the group that uses it, you

4:18

may be confused or even annoyed.

4:20

So while jargon can be a useful tool

4:22

for communicating within a certain professional

4:25

group, The rest of us may

4:27

be lost or turned off. The

4:29

website, plainlanguage dot gov,

4:31

offers plain language guide mines meant to help

4:33

riders communicate with their audiences more

4:35

clearly. Ironically, the

4:37

government is one of the worst offenders of

4:39

using jargon. think economically

4:42

marginalized versus unemployed. But

4:44

this resource does offer some good advice,

4:46

noting that jargon is, quote, a

4:48

strange creature. We all complain

4:51

about jargon yet everyone writes it and

4:53

no one ever admits to using it. darken

4:56

can be the worst form of communication

4:58

and the best unquote. It's

5:01

all about your audience. If your goal is

5:03

to inform and communicate effectively, you

5:05

don't need to try to impress them. Consider

5:08

these examples Riverine

5:11

Abofona, does anyone

5:13

besides an ornithologist that's someone who

5:15

studies birds know what that means? How

5:17

about just river birds? or

5:19

involuntarily endomaciled. Sounds

5:22

fancy right? Well, most of us

5:24

would understand homeless instead. Of

5:27

course, there are times when you need to use technical

5:30

terms to correctly explain something. In

5:32

those cases, if you're writing for a general

5:34

or mixed audience, make sure you explain

5:36

what the terms mean in language

5:38

that regular folks can understand. But

5:41

if you're writing for an exclusively technical

5:44

audience, it's fine to use the efficient jargon

5:46

that everyone in your group knows. Back

5:49

in two thousand twelve, I posted a McMillan

5:51

dictionary blog entry titled terminology,

5:53

or jargon, you're empowered

5:56

to decide. In the article,

5:58

author Michael Randell says, we should

5:59

consider motivation. Is the

6:02

author or speaker using jargon just because

6:04

it's trendy to fit into a

6:06

particular group to convey importance

6:08

or to disguise unpleasant truths?

6:11

Think military jargon like collateral

6:13

damage or friendly fire. Yes,

6:16

all those things happen and perhaps they

6:18

should be condemned. but Randall cautions

6:20

that maybe we shouldn't be so quick to

6:22

judge either, pointing out

6:24

that, quote, many of the usual suspects

6:26

Words that crop up regularly in people's

6:29

hate lists are hard to object to

6:31

on rational grounds, unquote.

6:33

and sometimes people just don't like certain

6:36

words. William's strength of strength

6:38

and white fame disliked the word

6:40

clever, for example, saying it

6:42

was overused.

6:43

Remember that language is living and

6:45

constantly evolving. Circling

6:48

back to the original question to use one of

6:50

the most disliked jargon new phrases,

6:53

found new business settings, there are many

6:55

reasons a particular word or phrase

6:57

might cause a negative reaction in a

6:59

reader or listener. Jargon

7:01

is one of them. It can make us feel confused

7:03

or alienated, and no one likes that.

7:06

So dear follower, you are not alone

7:08

in expressing said annoyance.

7:11

That segment was written by Susan Kay

7:13

Herman, former editor, language analyst

7:16

and language instructor

7:16

for the US government.

7:22

If

7:22

you're spending time with loved ones for the holidays,

7:25

chances are you're gonna hear a lot

7:27

of stories the ones you love to

7:29

hear and the ones you've heard a few too

7:31

many times. But have you ever

7:33

wanted to help your loved ones document

7:35

these stories? Well, story

7:37

worth makes it fun and easy to

7:39

basically write a book of life memories.

7:42

Every week, story worth will email your

7:44

loved one a life related question that

7:46

you pick from their collection. Like, what's

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the bravest thing you've ever done? All

7:51

they have to do is reply with a

7:53

story And then after a year, StoryWorth

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compiles everything into a beautiful

7:57

hardcover book. The whole process is

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really

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simple.

8:00

Get started with your loved one for the holidays,

8:02

and before you know it, you'll both be

8:04

cherishing those timeless stories for

8:06

generations to come. My dad

8:09

has been doing the story with questions, and

8:11

it's also led us to have lots of interesting

8:13

conversations. The prompt questions

8:15

are great. And I'm actually hoping

8:18

you can help me make his day

8:20

hair. So last week, we were

8:22

talking about his favorite books as

8:24

a child. He says, starting

8:26

at about age eight or nine, he started reading

8:28

all the adult science fiction books

8:30

he could find at his local library. when

8:32

I asked him what his favorite one was,

8:34

he could describe it, but he couldn't

8:37

remember the title. So this

8:39

would have been around nineteen fifty

8:41

five. And all he could remember about how

8:43

the book looked was that it looked worn,

8:45

so it probably had been out for at

8:47

least a few years by then. He

8:49

says it was just like Star

8:51

Trek. Like when he saw Star Trek years

8:53

later, his first thought was it's just like

8:55

that book. He said it was about three

8:57

hundred pages long and was about a crew

8:59

on a spaceship that was out in the

9:01

galaxy seeking new life and

9:03

new civilizations. He said

9:05

each chapter was about twenty to

9:07

thirty pages long and described the

9:09

cruise encounter with a new species

9:11

or civilization, a new one for every

9:13

chapter. would absolutely

9:15

make his day if we could identify

9:17

that book for him. So if it rings a bell,

9:19

if you know that book, please let

9:21

me know. Take me on social media

9:23

or call the voicemail line in the show notes. And

9:25

thanks to story worth for providing all the great

9:27

prompt questions that have led me to have

9:29

these great conversations with my dad.

9:32

It'll be really fabulous to have them all

9:34

immortalized and they keep 'Said' book.

9:36

So call to action, help your

9:38

family share their story this holiday

9:40

season with story worth. Go to

9:42

story worth dot com slash

9:44

grammar today and save ten dollars on

9:46

your first purchase. That's ST0RYW0RTH

9:51

dot com slash grammar to save

9:53

ten dollars on your first purchase. Storyworth

9:56

dot com slash grammar.

9:59

This

9:59

season, only Verizon gives you a free

10:02

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10:04

select five g unlimited plans, and

10:06

another gift. A service plan is required

10:08

for gifts. That's a value of up to nineteen

10:10

hundred dollars. But act now, this

10:12

deal won't last long. Five g phone

10:14

up to nine hundred ninety nine ninety nine device

10:16

payment purchase or full retail with newer

10:18

upgrade smartphone line required. Less up to one thousand

10:20

dollars trade in slash promo credit applied over thirty

10:22

six months, zero percent APR. Additional terms

10:24

and apply. Visit verizon dot com for offer

10:26

details up to nineteen hundred dollar value based on

10:28

five g phone watch tab within earbuds.

10:34

Here in the United States, it's

10:36

Thanksgiving, and that means turkey, and

10:38

that means mashed potatoes and gravy.

10:41

and you might have also heard it referred

10:43

to as a special time to gather with

10:44

Kith and Kith. Your

10:47

Kith, of course, are your family, but who the

10:49

heck are your kith? Well,

10:51

they're your friends. Kith is derived

10:53

from an old English word that can be traced

10:55

all the way back to the eighth century

10:58

where it appeared in beads ecclesiastical

11:01

history. This five book

11:03

treatise covers the history of England,

11:05

religious and political from the time

11:07

of Julius Caesar the time the

11:09

book was completed. The word

11:11

originally meant knowledge and later came to

11:13

mean your country, neighborhood, native

11:16

land, or relationship. Kith

11:18

may have been popular back in beads

11:20

day, but today those meanings are

11:22

obsolete. Today, it means

11:24

your friends, but probably never heard

11:26

anyone say, I'm gonna go meet some kids

11:28

at Starbucks either. It

11:31

remains alive in our language in

11:33

just one phrase. Kith and

11:35

kin, meaning friends and family or

11:37

friends and relations. So if

11:39

you're gathering this week with loved ones to

11:41

enjoy a Thanksgiving feast, feel free

11:43

to amuse them with this week's tidbit.

11:45

Kith comes from an old English word meaning

11:48

knowledge of something or to be acquainted

11:50

with something. But today in

11:52

the phrase kith and kin,

11:54

it means friends. That

11:56

segment was written by Samantha Enzlin, who

11:58

runs dragonfly editorial, You

12:00

can find her at dragonfly editorial

12:02

dot com or on Twitter as

12:04

dragonfly edit.

12:10

Next, have good news for all of you who are

12:12

playing this weekend. Miriam

12:14

Webster has just added about five

12:16

hundred new words to the official

12:18

Scrapple Players Dictionary. the first

12:20

additions since two thousand eighteen.

12:22

Some of the new long words

12:24

are m begin, torrenting,

12:27

adulting, and hugs bane.

12:30

And long words with that especially

12:32

juicy letter x include

12:34

nay ing and fo hawk.

12:36

X nay ing as in to put a stop to

12:38

something, we're 'Said' the

12:40

cranberry sauce this year and faux

12:42

hawk is in a fake mohawk hairstyle.

12:45

Although those long words might help you get

12:47

a bingo, you're probably more likely to

12:49

use the

12:49

shorter words.

12:51

New three letter words include

12:53

bay, BAEA term of endearment

12:55

of like baby, and a

12:58

row, AR0 an abbreviation

13:00

for a romantic. And

13:02

two new three letter words with the letter X

13:04

are Vax and Docs.

13:06

And here are a few more that stood out to me

13:08

because they have high value letters. The

13:11

zucchini was very productive, giving

13:13

us both zuke, ZUKE

13:15

short for zucchini, and Zoodle,

13:17

a name for zucchini noodles. Other

13:19

new zwords are zumer for a

13:21

member of Gen Z, zonky

13:23

for a cross between a male

13:26

zebra and a male donkey

13:28

and zed donkey for a cross between

13:30

a female zebra and a male

13:32

donkey. New x

13:34

words include drawlix, the

13:36

name for the symbols that represent swear words in

13:38

comic books, and

13:41

FOLX, which is a variant

13:43

spelling of FOLKS, FOLKS, and

13:45

is often used in the same way, but to refer to

13:48

members of traditionally marginalized groups.

13:51

Caso is a new keyword, Jedi

13:53

is a new j word, and

13:56

convo and COVID are new

13:58

V words. And if

13:59

you're thinking, how will I ever

14:02

remember those? or will my aunt Zelda

14:04

accept grammar girl as a source?

14:06

Or what are the other four hundred and

14:08

eighty or so new words? You

14:10

can look up words at merriam Webster's

14:12

Scrabble site, scrabble dot merriam

14:15

dot com. And I'll put that link in the

14:17

show description. happy gaming.

14:21

Finally, I have a

14:23

family like story from Bill.

14:26

Hi, Mignon. This is Bill from

14:29

Mississippi. I have a family

14:31

elect. My son who

14:33

was about four years old at

14:35

the time my boys are both grown now,

14:37

but my son had

14:39

a unique word he used when

14:41

we were leaving a building.

14:43

And one day, I noticed he

14:45

said outprints. Well,

14:47

in his logical mind,

14:49

if we had an entrant, there must be

14:52

an outtramp. So

14:54

from then on, we started

14:56

calling every exit an outtramp.

14:58

And it's just one of those funny little things

15:00

that happens. Enjoy your

15:02

show. Thank

15:03

you.

15:05

Thank you, Bill. I laughed at the minute

15:07

you said out That's so cute, and it would

15:09

make so much sense Kith to be called an out

15:11

And it also reminded me of my

15:14

favorite kind of joke, which is what

15:16

I call the implies the existence

15:18

of joke. is in the existence

15:20

of Chicago style pizza

15:22

implies the existence of AP

15:24

style pizza. Well, the

15:26

existence of an entrance implies the

15:28

existence of an Strange. Thanks

15:30

again for the call. And that

15:32

reminds me that my advanced AP

15:34

style webinar with regen dot com is now

15:36

available on demand. so you can watch

15:38

Kith any time. If you have training you

15:40

have to spend before the end of the year, this could be

15:42

the ticket. I talked about hyphens

15:45

and dashes, pronouns, and a

15:47

whole bunch of recent additions and changes

15:49

to the AP style book. I'll put a

15:51

link in the show description, which you should be

15:53

able to see on any podcast player.

15:56

If you wanna share the story of your family

15:58

act, a family dialect, or word your

16:00

family, and only your family uses,

16:02

call the 'Said' mail line at 833214

16:05

Girl, and I might play it on the show.

16:08

Grammar Girl is a quick and dirty tips

16:10

podcast. Thanks to my audio engineer,

16:12

Nathan Sims, and my editor, Adam

16:14

CECL, who collects cancellation

16:16

inked stamps in a national park's

16:18

passport. That sounds like so much

16:20

fun. Our ad operation

16:22

specialist is Morgan Christiansen, Our marketing

16:24

and publicity assistant is Divina

16:26

Tomlin. Our digital operation

16:28

specialist is Holly Hutchings, and our

16:30

intern is Cameron Lacey. and

16:32

I'm Mignon Fogarty, better known as grammar

16:34

girl. That's all. Thanks

16:36

for listening.

16:41

There's

16:43

used they're certified and then

16:45

there's BMW certified. The

16:47

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16:49

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16:52

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16:54

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16:56

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16:58

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17:00

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17:02

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17:05

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17:07

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17:10

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17:13

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17:13

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17:16

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17:18

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17:20

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17:22

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17:24

dollars. But act now, this deal won't last long. Five

17:26

g phone, up to nine hundred ninety nine ninety nine

17:28

device payment purchase or full retail purchase with new

17:30

or upgrade smartphone line required. Less up to one

17:32

thousand dollars trade in slash pro a

17:34

credit six zero percent APR. Additional terms and

17:36

conditions applied Girl's verizon dot com for offer

17:38

details up to nineteen hundred dollar value based on five

17:40

g phone watch tablet and earbuds.