That's What They Say
Friday at 4:45 p.m. and Sunday at 9:35 a.m.
Funner, snuck, and LOL are all things that we're hearing people say these days.
That's What They Say is a weekly segment on Michigan Public that explores our changing language. University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan studies linguistics and the history of the English language. Each week she'll discuss why we say what we say with Michigan Public All Things Considered host Rebecca Hector.
That's What They Say airs Fridays at 4:45 p.m. and Sundays at 9:35 a.m. on Michigan Public and you can podcast it here.
Do you have an English or grammar question? Ask us here!
Latest Episodes
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When we eat up or fix up or heal up or hurry up, we’re not actually moving in an upward direction. -
Funnily enough, two listeners wrote to us this summer about the phrase funnily enough.
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Working out with dumbbells may be a fitness craze now, but the fitness craze that started it all sounds even better.
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If you’d just as soon not learn about an eggcorn that some language pundits really dislike, then you might want to stop reading now.
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We can be angry or infuriated or outraged or furious or livid or incensed, all of which make us fit to be tied.
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Usage guide writers, seeing some confusion afoot, tell us to be wary about the distinction between "wary” and “weary.”
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Even though "mug shots" do not involve drinking or "mugs" in that sense, we can draw a historical connection between these two mugs.
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From campfire wood to troubleshooting, English usage provides plenty of curiosities for another lightning round.
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Only some English speakers have grammars that allow them to say “We might could make that better” or “We might should eat before the movie.”
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When you have a language podcast, you come across a lot of usages that make you think, “I would never say that.” A little research and a few contextual examples later, you might just change your mind.
