Kathy and Ross pull out all the stops to try to trick Fletcher with a new spelling quiz. Fletcher does his best to upset them.
May 09, 2026•29 min
Kathy, Ross, and Fletcher try to tackle the Welsh language, with... questionable results. Look, we're all doing our best here.
May 02, 2026•32 min
Think you don't know what phonotactics are? Even our youngest English speakers do! You might just not realize it...
Apr 25, 2026•31 min
This week, Kathy and Ross challenge Fletcher to an epic eponym quiz, and somehow they detour again into an analysis of pavement. How? You'll have to listen to find out!
Apr 18, 2026•34 min
The plural of thief is thieves, so why isn't the plural of chief chieves? And as the old woman once said, where are the beeves??? On today's show, we tackle the tricky nuance of plurals and synonyms that aren't actually synonyms.
Apr 11, 2026•32 min
We'll be happy to tell you what this episode is about just as soon as we get back from using the bathroom—I mean, the restroom—I mean, the washroom—I mean, the facilities—I mean…
Apr 04, 2026•31 min
Today we address a couple of listener questions, including one about the Third Conditional (???), before moving on to a quiz about Middle English vs. Latin spellings.
Mar 28, 2026•37 min
Today we have a wide-ranging discussion about the words we use, when we use them, and the enormous power they can have.
Mar 21, 2026•33 min
Sometimes words get a whole lot less specific over time, and sometimes people get really mad about that!
Mar 14, 2026•31 min
We look at how a tiny little prefix or suffix can completely change the meaning of a word. Or how it could do nothing at all!
Mar 07, 2026•32 min
We finish our discussion of the words people would like to see banned from the English language in 2026 and then we uncover some uncommonly odd things about one particular prefix.
Feb 28, 2026•33 min
We go through a list of words people want to banish in 2026 and then take a swing over to the weird world of contractions. You ain't heard nothin' yet!
Feb 21, 2026•33 min
We explore all sorts of love and love-related words as we honor St. Valentine (and some other unexpected saints).
Feb 14, 2026•39 min
We look at how much a word can change if we just give it a little nudge this way or that, which leads us into a discussion of how certain Arabic words made their way into English.
Feb 07, 2026•35 min
We look at the top 10 most commonly misspelled words. Watch those double letters!
Jan 31, 2026•34 min
It's been a strange winter so far, so let's talk about some strange winter words! Brrrrrrrrrr!!!
Jan 24, 2026•36 min
We indulge in one of our favorite pastimes: quibbling over tiny differences in the way people say things. What fun!
Jan 17, 2026•35 min
We all like to feel a bit fancy from time to time, but when we turn to French, it can get us in trouble.
Jan 10, 2026•29 min
We continue our annual tradition of looking back at the words that defined the year, as chosen by dictionaries, listeners... and us!
Jan 03, 2026•33 min
As we reach the end of the year, we get some grab-bag whiplash with English questions and conundrums from all over the language spectrum.
Dec 27, 2025•38 min
This week, we look at some words that have come unstuck in time.
Dec 20, 2025•31 min
What could be more fun for the holidays than digging into the bizarre world of Latin and Greek plurals? Nothing! That's what! (This episode originally aired on 12/14/24.)
Dec 13, 2025•30 min
We extend our quiz about abbreviated words into a second episode, and Kathy learns that people don't always do things just to look fancy (a lot of the time they do, though!).
Dec 06, 2025•34 min
We answer a few listener questions, including one about a changing pronunciation that drives one person nuts, and another about abbreviations that leads us to some surprising (and confusing) places.
Nov 29, 2025•33 min
In celebration of Thanksgiving and all the food that comes with it, we’ll take an etymological trip around the dinner plate.
Nov 22, 2025•39 min
After an extended discussion about plurals, Kathy and Ross give Fletcher a wide-ranging quiz on grammar, pronunciation, etymology, and whatever else they decide to throw at him.
Nov 15, 2025•41 min
We return to our series looking at the hardest words ever found on the SAT by exploring the letter "G."
Nov 08, 2025•34 min
We mark Día de los Muertos with some words about the dead, some of which have been brought back to life, and some that should have remained dead.
Nov 01, 2025•37 min
We celebrate the season by taking a look at the origins of some Halloween-related words, and we introduce two of the most horrifying words we've ever had on the show. Boo!
Oct 25, 2025•34 min
We return to one of our favorite topics: the surprising and strange origins of everyday words.
Oct 18, 2025•36 min
