Claim OwnershipThat's What They Say
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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!
104 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.
Working out with dumbbells may be a fitness craze now, but the fitness craze that started it all sounds even better.
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.
We can be angry or infuriated or outraged or furious or livid or incensed, all of which make us fit to be tied.
Usage guide writers, seeing some confusion afoot, tell us to be wary about the distinction between "wary” and “weary.”
Even though "mug shots" do not involve drinking or "mugs" in that sense, we can draw a historical connection between these two mugs.
From campfire wood to troubleshooting, English usage provides plenty of curiosities for another lightning round.
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.”
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.
Mountains may be peaked, collars may be peaked, but when we’re sick, we’re not “peaked” but “peak-ed.”
This is a bespoke segment of That’s What They Say that focuses on “bespoke.”
Listeners write to us regularly with their language peeves, which we love. Sometimes they call these peeves their "pet peeves."
When we inquire about something, it doesn’t really matter if we "inquire" or "enquire." However, with the verb "insure," it matters if we "insure" or "ensure."
With the words "disinterested" and "uninterested," it’s not that a distinction has been lost, but rather that a distinction has been intentionally created.
If something is crummy, then we could also call it lousy, which gives us a clue about how crummy came to mean what it means.
When we’re talking about a small book for teaching children to read, or really any short book that introduces a topic, there are two competing pronunciations of the word for that book.
The word "kid" is already informal, and now we have the word "kiddo" living alongside it.
When it comes to media, here's the message: It’s time for a truce between the singular agreement people and the plural agreement people.
Oh goody, it's time to talk about all the goodies!
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