Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Ambrose Bierce, from ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’ to disappearing in Mexico, with Jim Norrena

Why 'epitome' is confusing. Quirky stories behind baby animal names. Alice doors

How YouTubers' voices evolve, with Andrew Cheng

What dictionary labels tell us about words. Why we say 'mama'. DU, STU, and LO.

The secret to writing ‘the same but different,’ with Mary Robinette Kowal

'Lit' vs. 'lighted.' The mysteries of the dollar sign. Redd up.

Ghostwriters, book deals, and AI: What you didn’t know about publishing, with Dan Gerstein

'I.e.' versus 'e.g.' What Shakespeare actually added to English. Four schnitzels.

AI and the future of dictionaries, with Erin McKean

Better paragraph breaks. The story behind 'mad money' and 'pin money.' Bruce bad.

The future of editing jobs in the age of AI, with Samantha Enslen

How to write photo captions. The real difference between ‘immigrate’ and ‘emigrate.’ Ko Pha-ngan'd

The hidden techniques behind well-paced fiction, with Joshua Essoe

Why don't we say the L in 'walk'? Never use 'always.' PABST

Exploring slang, AI ghost words, and language change, with Heddwen Newton

What’s wrong with "'til"? Why tiny words control conversations. How many cookies?

The best punctuation book, period, with June Casagrande

Why we say ‘OK.’ How tea shaped English slang. Poetry winner

Behind the scenes of Wikipedia: editing, accuracy, and notability, with Jonathan Rick

How did our holidays become so 'corny'? Why do some words have accent marks in English? Cubby hole

Why kids can't read (and what we can do about it), with Kate Crist

The mystery of ‘it’ in English. The most dramatic moments in grammar history. Ghost Town Mad, the song

From 'Parasite' to 'Emilia Pérez': How movies shape language, with Andrew Cheng

Why Americans write 'canceled' but still write 'cancellation.' How printing history gave us 'fine print.' Fluff.

Writing Motivation Hacks, with Mary Robinette Kowal

Why we misuse ‘literally.’ How ham radio got its name. District

How to be a ghostwriter, with Dan Gerstein

Why some holidays have apostrophes. Why Californians say ‘the 405.’ MIGD

Word games and the joy of playing every day, with Lex Friedman

'Toeing' the line. Metonymy versus synecdoche. Ghost town mad

Wordplay and cartoons: Inside the making of 'AB@C,' with Rob Meyerson and Dan Misdea

Does 'book-book' make sense? Fun words for jigsaw lovers. Chilly chickens.

The secret to writing a good memoir, with Wendy Dale

Quotation marks in 1906. Starting stories in the middle. Road trip words.

'Rebel with a Clause,' the movie, with Ellen Jovin and Brandt Johnson

From "august" to "August." Why the union is always "strong." Nee nee

The psychology of fandom, with Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Does 'Wicked' have a grammar error? What is the 'neck of the woods'? To be Frances

The case of the mystery dialect, with Natalie Schilling

2024 words of the year, with John Kelly

Twee pop, bumbershoot, amongst, and more, with Ben Yagoda

'Home' for the holidays. False friends. Hello, Dentist.

Struggling with AI: Job loss, energy use, and more, with Christopher Penn

Why people say 'I mean ...' Missing pronouns. Cat-tracted.

Why the new CMOS is yellow. Pandemic collectors editions. And more

Positive 'anymore.' 'Wreaked' or 'wrought'? Seat of your pants. Pecan pie.

Making your own dictionary, with Erin McKean

Good first sentences. The language of 'Gladiator II.' Bear barber.

How to write about trademarks. Why we say 'thank you.'

Why one creative agency changed its stance on AI

Why children learn languages faster than adults. Are band names singular or plural?

'Beer' words in the OED, with Fiona McPherson

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

The psychology of writing bestsellers, with Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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

How linguists solve crimes, with Natalie Schilling

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

The language of meetings, with Jim Slaughter

Why don't we say 'I'm smarter than YOU'RE'? The language of fear. Catherineisms.

Feeling stuck? Anne Lamott's here to kickstart your writing!

Quack! What's a lame duck? A German punctuation kerfuffle.

Can AI really write? A no-nonsense discussion, with Christopher Penn

How to talk like a chef. The Michigander controversy. Jakey.

How writers navigate failure and find success, with Jonathan Small

From game boards to boardrooms. Commas with participial phrases. Gritties.

From 'gobsmacked' to 'ginger': The British invasion of American English, with Ben Yagoda

Why some verb sets are so odd (like 'go/went'). Corporate euphemisms. Goggy.

What's new in the Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition), with Russell Harper and Mary Laur

Do words like 'mandate' and 'cockamamie' come from words for men? Grammatical doppelgangers. A pair of teeth.

What fiction writers know about avoiding stereotypes, with Alex Temblador

'Tea' or 'chai'? Why we misspeak. Fellatone.

The language of liars. 'Legendary,' 'famous,' or 'notorious'? Fish shapes.

Cat Idioms. 'Summerween' and other blends. Bankery

Apostrophes have always been confusing. 'First' or 'firstly'? Trudy!

When to use 'the' before a noun. Why rhymes help us remember. Opening a lime.

Why singers lose their accents. Why the 'I before E' rule is weird.

Why 'I' takes plural verbs. Making names that end in S, like Harris and Biles, possessive. Marinate.

A brief history of English (aka when they spoke French in England). Killer death meat.

The power of words: Conscious language, with Karen Yin

How to write about zero. Are your emails accidentally rude? PAPST.

AI: Friend or foe? A conversation with Martha Brockenbrough

The unspoken rules of adjectives. The rise of 'yeah-nah.' Sundies

Grammar Girl at 1000: Words, wisdom, and a dash of whimsy

The birth of American English. How to recognize a phrasal verb. Cucka-nucka.

Buying your hometown newspaper, with Samantha & Greg Enslen

'Which' versus 'that.' Words for walking. Bottleadammit.

The Hidden Stories of African American English with Dr. Sonja Lanehart

The art of punctuation and the charm of 'kerfuffle.' Nicing.

Exploring the Language of 'Dune': An Interview with Kevin J. Anderson and Scott Brick

The power of sign language in 'Dune.' The words we use for dad. Chee

The crossword craze — now and then — with Ben Zimmer

From 'dog' to 'hot dog.' The 'audience of one' trick. More on the long S. Footbridge.

Why is this a question? with Paul Anthony Jones

What is a Word? Target moments.

How a special dictionary kept soldiers connected during WWII, with Peter Sokolowski

Why some sentences have double subjects. The story behind the old F-like letter S. Schwen schwen on dill.

Efficiency hacks for writers and editors with Erin Brenner

We found the story behind "whim wham for a mucket"!

Words, coffee, and urban planning: Eli Burnstein on the Dictionary of Fine Distinctions

Skunked words. The power of pronouns. Quigleys

Air worms and fire breathing dragons: Old English animal stories with Hana Videen

When (and How) Should You Cite AI? 'Critters,' 'Varmints,' and Beyond. Choobers.

Exploring the 'Funnest' Parts of Language with Anne Curzan

The birth of punctuation: from oral traditions to silent reading. Noun clusters. A wing wang in a mucket.

How to become a supercommunicator, with Charles Duhigg

Big changes in Associated Press style. The 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' finale was catawampus. Bappy

Pet-Speak: From Meowlogisms to Zoomies. 'Imply' or 'Infer'?

You love to read. Could you narrate?

Memory, Aging, and the Lingering 'Anyways'

A nuclear win at the Oscars. CamelCase. One clo.

From grunts to grammar. The Irish 'after doing.' The winning NGD poem!

Where did our language start?

'Addictive' or 'addicting'? Types of nouns. Folley

Tracing the origins of Miami's new English. Why it's not a 'gumballs' machine. Embassy Sweets.

Taylor Swift Doesn't Need Your Grammatical Approval. In Love. Foil Lump Surprise.

'A' versus 'an.' 'Larruping' rides again. Euonyms. Flavoring.

From 'hwhat' to 'what': Tracing a letter's disappearing act. Barkhouse.

The listener show! (canceled, think, lettuce, funnily, episode numbers, at about, mangos, musgos)

Technology changes how we write. Who was the first Goody Two Shoes?

More than fluff: Understanding 'needless' words. Larruping. Chicken surprise.

The psychology (and language) of time. Commas are like people on the subway. Fox chores.

A rizzy word-of-the-year chat (with Jess Zafarris)

Why English has silent letters. Dayjamas.

The special sauce of human language. Gotten. NATO alphabet. A1 sauce.

What's the difference between Hispanic, Chicano, Latino, Latinx, and Latine? Can something 'grow' smaller? Musko.

When does a house become a mansion? Giving someone house.

From metal type to metaphor: printing terms that extended their reach. The positive 'anymore.' Gigglemare.

Why is Black Friday black? The NATO alphabet. Byeloveyou.

The science of the plot twist. Irregardless. Spug.

Omnishambles! Military slang across the pond (interview with Ben Yagoda)

Cliches. Organic. Bully pulpit. Fimfy.

The dark histories behind your favorite scary words, with Jess Zafarris

Namesake. Commentate. Sprigly

How to write great topic sentences. Fanilects. Throwawayable.

When 'nice' was bad and 'bully' was good. Is 'preorder' redundant? High-intensity transformer.

Think faster and talk smarter. Tips from Matt Abrahams that will make you a better writer and speaker

Did Disney nail the pronunciation of 'Caribbean'? How to write equations. Chuther.

Asking experts about language (interview with Steve Kleinedler, former executive editor of the American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel)

When you shouldn't 'write tight.' 'Behead' versus 'decapitate.' YesHony.

Say hwat?! 'Anxious' versus 'eager.' Pink stein.

The wonders of the 'a-' prefix in English. 'Personal' versus 'personnel.'

Hilarious typos (and how to avoid them). Why do we 'take' a walk?

Have you ridden an acoustic bike lately? Write it tight.

Did you know that on US Army bases, soldiers get a tattoo every day? Keep writing.

People have ~feelings~ about the exclamation point (Florence Hazrat interview)

15 years of podcasting with Money Girl and Nutrition Diva

'Less' versus 'fewer.' Fun names for fingers. Scunscreen.

'Inspirational' or 'aspirational'? The surprising dangers of ChatGPT. Spaghetto.

Phrasal verb mysteries and minced oath origins. Night water.

Unlocking the mystery of 'ever words' and Latin abbreviations. Juna.

Why words can suddenly look unrecognizable. Learn to love the full stop. Marley.

Imagine life as a fiction editor (interview with Amy Schneider, author of the Chicago Guide to Copy Editing Fiction)

Darth Vader and the word 'father.' Comparatives and superlatives. Pritinear.

TV changes how you use language. When to use (and not use) 'more' and 'most'

Why the heck does 'score' mean 20? How we subconsciously know how to pronounce different plurals.

Why English is the best language for Wordle, with Lynne Murphy

It's all uphill from here (or is that downhill?). Eating like a pig (animal idioms).

What's wrong with 'there are' sentences? 5 fun facts about Spanish for Cinco de Mayo

Have you begged the question lately? What kind of learning is best: online, remote, distance, or virtual?

What we get wrong about 'um' and 'uh,' with Valerie Fridland

5 things every writer wants to learn, with Roy Peter Clark

Killer bunnies in medieval manuscripts. The strange rules of 'dozen.'

The Rosetta Stone and taxes. Is your sufficiency suffonsified?

Why we have both 'a' and 'an.' What does it mean to be lonely? Sufficiency.

How 'napron' became 'apron' (and what that has to do with newts). 'Ahold' or 'a hold'?

Why do people 'drop' a new single? How to pronounce 'often.'

How to actually improve your grammar. Why parallelism is important (and how to use it). Keycoos.

How writing very short stories can improve all your writing (with Grant Faulkner)

Language reveals universal truths about love. 'Wool sweater' or 'woolen sweater'? Grandmother crackers.

Interview with a creator of 'Schoolhouse Rock'!

What Does the AP Have Against France? Out Over Your Skis. Lands' End. Tolater.

Teddy Bears. The Brothers Grimm. Danger Cluck.

Weird punctuation with 'Jr.' Carl's Jr. Hockey.

Inflation, quiet quitting, and "un-" words, like "undressed," that can have two meanings. Gotcha Day.

How COVID Changed the Way We Think About Words. How to Write Dates. Prefeed.

World Cup Words. The Origin of Toasting. Says.

Goblin Mode, Woman, & More. Words of the Year, with Kory Stamper

The Wonderful Words of Christmas

We found the book!

What's a Honeyfuggler? 'Through' vs. 'Throughout.' Arriversary.

A Strange Use of 'Said.' Kith and Kin. New Scrabble Words!

Why Today's 'Thank You' Is Different from an Ancient 'Thank You.' Gerunds.

WWII Words. A 'bit' of an Issue. Kleenex.

The Medieval Origins of the @ Symbol. Hyphens in Dual-Heritage Terms. Pitch.

The Difference Between Magic and Magick. Some Fascinating Spooky Words. Holy Fagachi!

Randall Munroe of xkcd: Language Chat and Weird Bee Laws.

The Subconscious Rules of Conversation. The Double-Word Problem. Cookie Fish.

Wick-ED Fun Pronunciations. Deviled Eggs.

When Is a Man a Widow? Where Do We Get the Word 'Blurb'? Sci-Fi Versus Fantasy. Bert and Ernie.

Mood & Atmosphere in Fiction. An Interview with Joshua Essoe

Split Infinitives. I Can't Even. Macken.

Why Some People Say 'Might Could.' The Spanish Influence on English. Mickle Story.

Accent Hallucination. False Ranges. Thanks, Chris.

'Skrrt,' 'Bottle Episode,' 'Skeuomorphs' and more. An Interview with John Kelly of Dictionary.com.

What's up with Splooting? Capitalizing Titles. Momilltellya.

How Gendered Languages Are Changing. Jugopop.

How Using Pliers Improves Your Language. Weird Possessives. Ducky File.

A Riotous Good Time with Ellen Jovin of the Grammar Table

Ripe. Lede. Prevent. Awesome. Fulsome. MacGuffin. Daisy.

Why Nobody Says 'You're Welcome' Anymore. Whose. Chimichanga.

Code-Switching. Mignon Snaps Over Numbers. Foomp.

Surprising Words Related to 'Freedom.' Double Subjects. Foop.

'Ant' or 'Ahnt'? Capitalizing Cocktail Names. Archie Bunker.

The Many Meanings of 'Father.' How Watergate Changed English. Punim

Demonyms: Why People from North Carolina Are Called Tar Heels. 'Healthy' Versus 'Healthful.' Sussies 3!

Are Wisdom Teeth Smart? Capitalizing Degree Names. Sussies 2

Whatever Happened to "Thou"?

How Spellers Tackle the 'Dreaded Schwa'

Why "'Em" Isn't Short for "Them." The Subjunctive. Sussies.

Tomi Adeyemi: The Writing Life and Her New Writing Course.

Scissors, Jeans, and Other Nouns That Are Always Plural. Flat Adverbs. Boteep.

If Earth Looks Like a Blue Marble, Why Is Earth Day Associated with the Color Green? Also, 'Funnest.'

You Know. Doppelganger. Trademarks. Funnily. Chicken Milk.

I Cannot Tell a Lie (but I Can Mislead)! And Sometimes People Do It With Percentages.

How Aphasia Causes Difficulty Speaking. Chairdrobe.

Why Tired People Talk About Being 'Out of Spoons.' Why Nouns Are More Complicated Than You May Think.

Barracking, Sheilas and Shouts: How the Irish Influenced Australian English

The Oxford Comma. And Should You Start a Sentence with 'And'?

Is 'Materiel' Just a Fancy Pronunciation of 'Material'? Are Binomials the Same Across Languages?

Why Do We Cringe at 'Pepper and Salt'? Why 'Square' Is Uncool. Quickquish.

What's Square About a Square Meal? How to Use Parentheses, Brackets, and Braces. Guck.

Are People Using 'Commiserate' Wrong? The Origin of (the Word) 'Influenza.' Hersband.

Do You Call In, Out, or Off Sick? How Kids Learn Language. Hexaboobiated.

Tips for Learning a New Language: The Fluent Show

Why 'Tiny' Sounds Smaller Than 'Huge.' Nixing the Horrid 'Of.' Kokopelli.

'Strollout,' 'Insurrection,' 'Yassify,' and Other Words of the Year for 2021

Cardsharp. The Old-New Singular 'They.' Grignug.

Questions, Questions, So Many Questions!

Is "Milk and Cookies" One Thing or Two? A New Language Term: The Santaback. Shoedabakers.

How Lori Rader-Day Wrote a Historical Novel About War Evacuees in Agatha Christie's Vacation Home

Pretending to Be British. How to Use Ellipses. Spiders.

Shibboleth. Greeting Card Grammar. Bunkaree.

How to Use a Semicolon, Amirite? Partu.

Penultimate. Veni, Vidi, Vici. Smidge.

New Words from WWII. How Places Like Featherstonehaugh Get Their Names. Uncoming.

Editing an Anthology: 'Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed'

Is That a Tombstone, Gravestone, or Headstone? Why Is the Sound of a Human Scream So Terrifying?

Using Present Tense in a Story About the Past. Beck and Call. Tie-Dye Trees.

Surprise! These Names Are Trademarks. How to Write 'Dos and Don'ts' (or Is That 'Do's and Don'ts'?). Wording Your Mixes.

The Hedonometer and Your Feelings. What Does 'Schnozz' Mean?

How Do You Pronounce 'Tomato'? Why Is 'Chiropractic' Singular. Fish.

The Power of Very Specific Words, with Joel Schwartzberg

How to Really Talk Like a Pirate. When Do You Need a Comma Before 'Because'?

Why and When 'Very Unique' Is Wrong. Capitalizing 'Delta Variant' (or Not). Happy to You.

Naked Idioms. Short-Lived. Capitalizing Earth. Hector Protector.

The Origin of 'Honeymoon.' 'Where' Versus 'In Which.' Fevesteter.

Weird Words for Alcohol. Starting a Sentence with 'However.' Fam-ished.

How Storytelling Makes a Difference (and How to Do It Well)

What's the Opposite of Deja Vu? Commas Between Adjectives

The Best Stories from 15 Years of Grammar Girl

What the Two Spellings of Stationary/ery Have to Do with Booksellers. Why Pronunciations Change.

'Fish' or 'Fishes'? Why Do We Call Out 'Nothing' as 'Bupkis'?

'If' Versus 'Whether.' Why We Say 'The Exception That Proves the Rule.'

Trundle, Amble, Roam, and Shamble. How Some Preposition Use Has Changed Over Time.

Pedantic Nonsense Up with Which I Will Not Put! 'Discreet' or 'Discrete'?

Starting a Sentence with a Conjunction: Right or Wrong? Good 'Subpar' and Bad 'Subpar.'

How Long Is a Good Sentence? 'Cord' or 'Chord'? Grumple.

What Made 'Friends' Funny. How Cicadas Got Their Name. Dog Replacer.

Is 'Graduated College' Wrong? Five Wonderful Latin Phrases.

'Bring,' 'Take,' and 'Carry.' 'The Queen's Gambit.' Sweepy Thing.

Writing Dialogue. 'Associate Degree' or 'Associate's Degree'? Wiffy.

'Ketchup' or 'Catsup'? How to Punctuate Questions. Gmoing Gmoing.

What Does ‘Op-Ed’ Really Mean? The Perfect Paragraph Length. Items.

The Intrusive "Of." What Makes English Weird.

How to Write Faster. The Origin of the Odd Letter W

'Borrow' and 'Lend.' When to Use 'Nor.' Boncho.

Squirrelly Animal Verbs. 'People,' 'Peoples,' and 'Persons': Why It Matters.

A vast number of words have surprising origins. We talked about some today, including "scientist," "impressionist," "beatnik," and "paradigm."

'Normalcy' or 'Normality'? A Punctuation Question from a Famous Movie Line. Taco Cats.

It's Not Just March. Other Months Have 'Ides' Too! Are You on the Pig's Back Today?

813 - The History of National Grammar Day. My Favorite Resources. Anniversity

812 - Kibosh. Sidekicks. Misolation.

811 - Inigo Montoya and Coining Phrases. 'Dose' or 'Dosage'?

810 - Words out of Time. Why 'OK' Is OK.

809 - Rethink Descriptions Like 'Diabetic.' The Wonderful World of Italics,

808 - 6 Latin Abbreviations You Should Know. 'Imply' or 'Infer'?

807 - Why We Call Them Sea 'Shanties.' A Trick to Remember How to Spell 'Conscience'

806 - Why You Should Try Fanfiction. How to Find Tricky Pronunciations.

805 - 'Acedia': the lost name for the emotion we're all feeling right now

804 - Another Think/Thing Coming. 'Sanction,' 'Cleave,' 'Dust,' and More

803 - Pandemic, COVID, anderhalvemetersamenleving: 2020 Words of the Year

802 - Brandon Sanderson on Writing, Character and Place Names, and the Future

801 - How to Get Your 'Just Deserts.' Comma After 'But'? Why?

800 - What Did You Step On? And Is That a Desert or a Dessert?

799 - What 'Whence' Has to Do with 'Where Are You At?' 'Regime' or 'Regimen'?

798 - Why 'Hilarious' Is Funnier than 'Hysterical.' How to Start a Novel.

797 - Why Dickens' Character Names Are So Revealing. 'Continual' or 'Continuous'?

796 - What Is a 'Crony'? Why Doesn’t 'Veterans Day' Have an Apostrophe?

795 - Why People Use Scare Quotes. 'Dialog' or 'Dialogue'?

794 - Create Characters as Great as Hamlet. How to Format Internal Dialogue

793 - Why Journalists Use Misspellings Like 'Lede' and 'Spox'

792 - A Totally, Like, Bitchin' Podcast About 'Like'

791 - 'Although' Versus 'While.' Why We Write with Cliches (and How to Stop)

790 - 'Laureate' Is Good. Why Is 'Resting on Your Laurels' Bad? 'Smarmy.'

789 - How to Make Your Readers Laugh. 'Whoa' or 'Woah'?

788 - Why 'Out of Pocket' Means Both 'Inappropriate' and 'Unavailable'

787 - Why We Associate Political Parties with the Colors Red and Blue

786 - 'Doomscrolling' (OK, Doomer). 'Each Other' or 'One Another'?

785 - 'Gantlet' or 'Gauntlet'? Do You Want to Say 'Had Went'?

784 - A Historical Tip for Remembering When to Use 'Historical.' Put More Thought into Your Punctuation.

783 - How Hurricanes Get Their Names. When You Should Avoid Using Contractions.

782 - What are those dots over letters? Why does 'money' have a plural, and how do you spell it?

781 - Blursday or Whensday? Middle Grade Versus Young Adult Fiction

780 - Which Comes First? Who or Where?

779 - How You Can Help the OED. Capitalizing 'Black.' How Playwriting Techniques Can Improve Your Writing.

778 - Do We Say 'Red Skies at Night, Sailor's Delight' Because of the Saharan Dust Plumes? Also, 'Yoiks!'

777 - How to Write Fight Scenes (and How to Get Started as a Fiction Editor)

776 - Why a Detective Searched for 'Clews' in a 1929 Novel. ‘Systemic’ or ‘Systematic’?

775 - Why We Talk About 'Bad Apples.' 'A Few' Versus 'a Couple'

774 - Roy Peter Clark on Civic Clarity

773 - Postal Zones. Reenter. Bougie.

772 - The History of ZIP Codes and Addresses (Plus How to Write Them)

771 - Writing Lessons from Bad Job Applications

770 - 'Muslim' or 'Moslem'? 'Fishfolk'? 'Fishist'? What Is the Gender-Neutral Term for 'Fisherman'?

769 - Why Do We Say 'Cool Your Heels'? What's Up With 'Zhuzh'?

768 - Why Aren't We 'Whelmed'? And Cabin 'Fever,' Anyone?

767 - The semicolon is so much more interesting than you imagine

766 - 'Flaunt' and 'Flout.' 'Band Together.'

765 - Say No to Marshall Law. How 'Vaccine' Is Related to 'Cow.'

764 - Skeleton Crew. Hunker Down. Uncharted. Existential.

763 - How to Write Better Email. 'Pandemic' vs. 'Epidemic.' 'Canceled' vs. 'Cancelled.'

762 - How to Pronounce 'Celtic.' 'Whiskey' or 'Whisky'?

761 - Why It's Called 'Daylight Saving Time.' The Origin of the Word 'Woman.'

760 - What Is Genre. 'Bangs' Versus 'Fringe.'

759 - What Does ‛Mardi Gras’ Mean? "Drive to Work" Versus "Drive Home"

758 - Why 'XOXO' Means 'Hugs and Kisses'

757 - The days of the week are names you've known your whole life, but do you know their origin?

756 - High Odds or Low Odds?

755 - How to Write Anything

754 - The Tie Between Ann Landers and 'Could Care Less.'

753 - Take Heart! Here's Why You Still Have Time to Write Your First Novel

752 - Why Do Asian Languages Have So Many Different Scripts?

751 - Why Are There So Many Spellings for 'Hanukkah'? (Or Is That 'Chanukah'?)

750 - Pitch Black. Frankincense and Myrrh.

749 - How to Identify Your Main Point. It's Harder Than You Think!

748 - Your Language Affects Your Perception of Time. 'Star Wars' Languages.

747 - You Don't Have to Get Up on Stage for Improv to Boost Your Creativity

746 - How to Make Family Names Plural. How Come We Ask 'How Come?'

745 - 'More Than' Versus 'Over.' Is a Hamburger a Sandwich?

744 - Cold Turkey, Talk Turkey, and More. The Weird Origin of the Cornucopia.

743 - How to Get Your Characters Right (Especially When They Aren't Like You)

742 - Famous Quotations. Silent Letters.

741 - Behind the Scenes in Publishing.

740 - Do You Know When to Use Quotation Marks? Also, How to Create a House Style.

739 - The Problem with Sarcasm. Filthy Lucre.

738 - Can a Boy Raised by Wolves Learn to Speak Human Language? It Depends.

737 - Curtis Chen: Using NaNoWriMo to Kickstart Your Novel

736 - Ghastly Words for Ghosts. Quid pro Quo.

735 - Dave Itzkoff on Writing a Biography of Robin Williams

734 - Ghost Words

733 - Why People Hate Words Like 'Moist'

732 - How to Write a Conclusion. ‘Rebut’ or ‘Refute’?

731 - Compound Possession. 'Friday' or 'On Friday'?

730 - Turning a Podcast into a Novel: 'The Bright Sessions' to 'The Infinite Noise'

729 - Making Words That End in Y Plural.'Primer' Pronunciation.

728 - How English Words Came Into French After World War II

727 - The Quirky Australian 'Crime' Tense. 'Hopefully.'

726 - A Cup of Joe. ‘Smokey’ and ‘Smoky.’

725 - Interviewing, Story Structure, and Writing Tools with Jonathan Small

724 - Why Esperanto Is an Amazing Language. 'Fall' or 'Autumn'?

723 - Grammar Girl #723. Tips for Fact Checking. Why We Use the Term 'Watershed Moment.'