Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

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

Hinzugefügt: 21. Januar 2021

If you're enjoying sea shanties these days, have you wondered why they're called "shanties"? Plus, I always have a hard time remembering how to spell "conscience." Here's my trick for getting it...

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

Hinzugefügt: 14. Januar 2021

Why writing fanfiction can make you a better overall writer. Plus, my tricks for figuring out tricky pronunciations.
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805 - 'Acedia': the lost name for the emotion we're all feeling right now

Hinzugefügt: 7. Januar 2021

"Acedia": the lost name for the emotion we're all feeling right now. Plus, when does "thank you" need a hyphen?
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804 - Another Think/Thing Coming. 'Sanction,' 'Cleave,' 'Dust,' and More

Hinzugefügt: 31. Dezember 2020

Are Americans ruining the put-down "You've got another think coming," or was it the British band Judas Priest? Also, everyone loves Janus words like "sanction," "cleave," and "dust." We talk about...

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

Hinzugefügt: 24. Dezember 2020

It's the Oscars of the language world: word-of-the-year data analysis and voting! A spirited conversation with Merriam-Webster's Emily Brewster about the 2020 words of the year.
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802 - Brandon Sanderson on Writing, Character and Place Names, and the Future

Hinzugefügt: 17. Dezember 2020

Brandon shares funny stories about character and place names gone wrong, his writing struggles, and what the future holds for his work.
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801 - How to Get Your 'Just Deserts.' Comma After 'But'? Why?

Hinzugefügt: 10. Dezember 2020

More people get the phrase "just deserts" wrong than get it right, but we're here to help! Also, why do some people put a comma after "but"? They shouldn't, but we have some theories about why they...

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

Hinzugefügt: 3. Dezember 2020

Here's why you can ignore zombie rules and why it's actually better to write "What did you step on?" than "On what did you step?" (But also when you can't ignore those rules!) Then, I have two...

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

Hinzugefügt: 26. November 2020

Why the decline of 'whence' and 'whither' led to 'Where are you at?' And weird memory tricks to help you remember the difference between 'regime,' 'regimen,' and 'regiment.' (Don't say you weren't...

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

Hinzugefügt: 19. November 2020

The root of "hysterical" may surprise you (and make you want to use "hilarious" instead). Also, things to remember when starting a novel.
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797 - Why Dickens' Character Names Are So Revealing. 'Continual' or 'Continuous'?

Hinzugefügt: 12. November 2020

What Dickens can teach you about choosing your characters' names. Plus, how to remember the frustratingly different meanings of "continuous" and "continual."
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796 - What Is a 'Crony'? Why Doesn’t 'Veterans Day' Have an Apostrophe?

Hinzugefügt: 6. November 2020

What Is a 'Crony'? Why Doesn’t 'Veterans Day' Have an Apostrophe?
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795 - Why People Use Scare Quotes. 'Dialog' or 'Dialogue'?

Hinzugefügt: 29. Oktober 2020

We have some theories on why people write things such as "'fresh' meat." Plus, we dig in to the two spellings of "dialog" (or is that "dialogue"?).
Read the transcript: Scare Quotes. 'Dialog' or...

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

Hinzugefügt: 22. Oktober 2020

6 steps to help you create gripping characters. Plus, we talk about how to format internal dialogue: italics, quotation marks, or nothing?
Read the transcript: Character Creation. Formatting...

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

Hinzugefügt: 15. Oktober 2020

Journalists "bury the lede," not the "lead." But why do they spell it that way? And what do HTK, TK, and CQ stand for? From "hed" to "spox," here's all the journo jargon that's fit to print.
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792 - A Totally, Like, Bitchin' Podcast About 'Like'

Hinzugefügt: 8. Oktober 2020

It's not lazy and it's not just filler, but using "like" too much can still get you in trouble.
Read the transcript: Like
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791 - 'Although' Versus 'While.' Why We Write with Cliches (and How to Stop)

Hinzugefügt: 1. Oktober 2020

What happens when I discover that my pet peeve is wrong? Also, why do we write with cliches? Should we stop, and if so, how?
Read the transcript: Although. Cliches.
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790 - 'Laureate' Is Good. Why Is 'Resting on Your Laurels' Bad? 'Smarmy.'

Hinzugefügt: 24. September 2020

If getting laurels is good, and being a Nobel laureate is good, how did we get to "resting on your laurels" being bad? Also, we learn that the word "smarmy" started as a joke (in fact, a kind of...

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

Hinzugefügt: 17. September 2020

Believe it or not, there are actually rules to being funny. Also, do you think "woah" is a separate word from "whoa"? Some people do, and they think it has a separate meaning.
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788 - Why 'Out of Pocket' Means Both 'Inappropriate' and 'Unavailable'

Hinzugefügt: 11. September 2020

People have been asking about the "unavailable" meaning of "out of pocket" for decades, but there's also an "inappropriate" meaning that is spreading.
Read the transcript: Out of Pocket
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