Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers. cover art

Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.

Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.

Written by: QuickAndDirtyTips.com
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Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mignon Fogarty, Inc. Social Sciences
Episodes
  • How many people is a 'troop'? Why spelling bees are called 'bees.'

    How many people is a 'troop'? Why spelling bees are called 'bees.'
    May 19 2026

    1186. This week, we look at why the word "troops" is surprisingly ambiguous and what style guides say about using it to refer to individual service members. Then, we look at why spelling bees are called "bees" and explore fun bee-related phrases like "a bee in your bonnet," "make a beeline," and "put the bee on someone."


    🔗 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: Castria Communications
    • Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
    • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
    • Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
    • Podcast 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.
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
  • The hidden logic of English spelling, with Colin Gorrie

    The hidden logic of English spelling, with Colin Gorrie
    May 14 2026

    1185. Today, we look at why English spelling is secretly optimized for readers. Colin Gorrie, linguist and creator of the Dead Language Society newsletter, shared the real history of silent letters, why medieval scribes weren't bothered by inconsistent spelling, and how the printing press and social ambition drove standardization. We also look at the surprisingly dramatic origin of "went" — a past tense stolen from an entirely different verb.


    Dead Language Society newsletter


    🔗 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.

    🔗 Take our advertising survey.

    🔗 Get the edited transcript here.

    🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

    | HOST: Mignon Fogarty

    | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

    • Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
    • Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
    • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
    • Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
    • Podcast 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.
    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
  • How the Crusades gave us 'lingua franca.' 'That' or 'who' for animals? Doot doot doot

    How the Crusades gave us 'lingua franca.' 'That' or 'who' for animals? Doot doot doot
    May 12 2026
    1184. This week, we look at the history of lingua francas, from the original mix of Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Turkish used during the Crusades to today's global English. Plus, we look at whether it's wrong to use "who" for animals, "that" instead of "who" for people, and "whose" for inanimate objects.The lingua franca segment was written by Alexandra Aikhenvald, a Professor and Australian Laureate Fellow at Jawun Research Institute, CQ University in Australia. It originally ran on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license.AI systems confusing dog faces with blueberry muffins.🔗 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: 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.
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
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