Some grammarians say “only” is the most misplaced adverb in the English language. We’re only telling you this because we love you. Or maybe we’re telling you this only because we love you. Maybe we’re telling you only this because we love you.

Cloudy with a chance of small talk

Mar 31st, 2019 4m 53s

Talking about the weather can be about so much more than sunny days and stormy nights. Last week, we talked about the subtle routines we follow when opening and closing a conversation. This week, we decided to look at the interesting roles weat

The plot of "Sharknado" is a little implausible, but the popularity of "nado" is a fact

Feb 10th, 2019 4m 44s

The words and phrases that pop culture inserts into our everyday language never cease to amaze us here at That's What They Say. A listener recently wrote to use about one in particular. Laurel wanted to know what we think about "nado" as in the

If you think you know this idiom, you may have another "think" coming

1 Feb 3rd, 2019 4m 33s

Last week, we talked about how easy it can be to misinterpret an idiom, especially when a key word sounds very similar to another word. Before we go any further, look at the following sentence and fill in the blank with the first word that come

The questions in question are tag questions

Jan 20th, 2019 4m 45s

There's a set of questions that we as speakers use regularly and that we may not realize have their own special name. They're called tag questions, and they're everywhere. You probably don't know what a tag question is, do you? You want to lear

An awfully awesome contrast in meaning

Dec 10th, 2018 4m 41s

At this point and time, it's pretty clear that the words "awful" and "awesome" aren't interchangeable. But why do their prefixes sound identical? Our listener Kalen asks: “Why is ‘awesome’ a positive word and ‘awful’ a negative word?” This is a

What does 'next' actually mean? Is 'next' Monday tomorrow or 8 days away?

1 Feb 5th, 2017 4m 4s

A listener named Toby recently wrote to us with the story of a first date that almost didn't happen. He tells us that a mutual friend put him in touch with a woman named Phyllis. Toby gave Phyllis a call on a Thursday and the two made plans to

All the newspaper names that are fit to print

Jan 22nd, 2017 3m 51s

Nothing goes better with a Sunday morning than a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Fortunately, in Michigan, we've got a pretty long list of papers to choose from. In Battle Creek, we've got the Enquirer. In Lansing, it's the State Journal. Muskeg

Where the werewolf got his 'were'

Dec 12th, 2016 4m 10s

One of the best things about studying the history of English is digging up words that, for the most part, have died out of the language but still pop up in funny places. For example, let's take a look at "wer" and "wif", the Old English words f

TWTS: Prone to be prone

Mar 24th, 2024 5m 14s

You can be prone to do something, whether you're lying down or not.

TWTS: Attend as many "trainings" as you like

Mar 18th, 2024 5m 17s

There’s evidence of a new peeve arising. This one is focused on “training” as a countable noun.

TWTS: An ouster for the ouster

Mar 3rd, 2024 5m 13s

An ouster can be an act of ousting, or it can be the one who does the ousting. But we seem to have opted for one of those meanings over the other.

TWTS: Need something? Manifest it

Feb 25th, 2024 4m 54s

At this point, we can manifest our dream future, a good grade on a exam, or even a parking spot.

TWTS: "Curry favor" comes from a horse (of course, of course)

Feb 18th, 2024 4m 48s

Currying favor has everything to do with flattery and horses, and nothing to do with food.

TWTS: Known liars better hope their pants never literally catch fire

Feb 11th, 2024 4m 45s

There’s a children’s rhyme that involves liars and pants on fire and various types of wires. Now, we can say things are “pants on fire” false.

TWTS: If or whether you should use "if" or "whether"

Feb 4th, 2024 4m 52s

If you worry about if or whether you should use "if" or "whether" in exactly this construction, you're not alone.

TWTS: Intensifiers are so intense

Jan 28th, 2024 5m 1s

It's been really dreary and so icy outside lately. It's awfully tempting to wear super cozy clothes and use lots of intensifiers.

TWTS: Badgered badgers badger

Jan 21st, 2024 5m 6s

Badgers live underground and are nocturnal, so we don't see them running around all that often. Somehow though, they're associated with a negative, annoying verb.

TWTS: The American Dialect Society's 2023 Word of the Year

Jan 14th, 2024 5m 7s

The year 2023 is officially in the record books. As part of taking stock, the members of the American Dialect Society met to consider what we've all been up to linguistically.

TWTS: A rule about which we should be asking questions

Jan 7th, 2024 5m 21s

Many of us were taught the rule that we shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition, and honestly this is a rule we should be asking questions about.

TWTS: Tupperware containers are plastic, but are plastic containers Tupperware?

Dec 24th, 2023 4m 35s

It's undeniable that "Tupperware" has become a generic catch-all for plastic containers, regardless of shape, size, or brand. Not everyone likes this.

TWTS: Chances and 'stances are both happening

Dec 10th, 2023 5m 5s

Sometimes something you think is a slip or a mistake, perhaps a product of happenstance, is not that.

TWTS: Are all pronunciations created equal?

Nov 5th, 2023 5m 5s

There’s all the variation in pronunciation that we don’t judge, and then there’s the relatively small percentage of variation out there that we do judge.