We have fun with rhetoric and some commonly used rhetorical devices, including how we might be using them even when we don't realize it.
May 04, 2024•29 min
We look at some names of famous people that, when you pronounce them correctly, can let people know you're an expert... or a snob.
Apr 27, 2024•29 min
This week, Kathy and Ross quiz Fletcher on a list of words that may or may not have been coined by Shakespeare. You might be surprised by which ones we still use today.
Apr 20, 2024•29 min
We look at why Americans love to talk like our friends from across the pond— or like to think that's what we're doing.
Apr 13, 2024•29 min
Today we're looking at sentence stress and how the meaning of a sentence can completely change depending on which words you emphasize.
Apr 06, 2024•29 min
Ouch! Unfortunately, we won't have an episode this week, because even more unfortunately, one of us had an accident and sustained a not-insignificant personal injury. Everything's basically ok, but, you know, it hurts, so we need a week off. Sorry about that, and we'll see you next week!
Mar 30, 2024•2 min
We get back to one of our favorite topics: Words that sound a lot like other words but have totally different meanings.
Mar 23, 2024•29 min
We look at some words that we think are related to other words, but actually aren't. Except sometimes they are.
Mar 16, 2024•29 min
We look at some "rules" of the language that were mostly just made up so people could feel like they were speaking proper English.
Mar 09, 2024•29 min
We run through some particularly confusing grammar mistakes and how sometimes we might think we’re saying one thing when we’re really saying another.
Mar 02, 2024•29 min
We run through a few of the many, many English words that contain silent letters and some of the baffling reasons we pronounce those words the way we do.
Feb 24, 2024•29 min
We dig into why certain words are spelled ridiculously thanks to a bunch of scholars a few hundred years ago who got a little too nutso about making everything look Latin.
Feb 17, 2024•29 min
Some of us like to be rule breakers, but here are a few rules of the English language we can’t help but follow. And we probably don’t even know they exist.
Feb 10, 2024•29 min
We look at what happens when we approach non-English words with a little too much gusto, and how exactly we should be saying foreign words so that we don’t sound silly (a tall order for some of us!).
Feb 03, 2024•29 min
We look at unconscious ways we follow the rules of English by doubling sounds and words, and how meanings of words can change when we say them twice. Now: are you confused? Or are you confused confused?
Jan 27, 2024•30 min
You’re Saying It Wrong is now more than just a podcast!
Jan 19, 2024•1 min
This week we rizz you up (did we say that right?) by looking at what dictionaries picked as the words of the year for 2023!
Jan 05, 2024•24 min
We look at the origins of some holiday-related words, including a reindeer controversy and a little bird that's surprisingly rude.
Dec 22, 2023•28 min
This week, we look at the official (?) rules of negativity in English.
Dec 08, 2023•28 min
Today we look at phrases that seem at first glance to mean something, but are actually complete nonsense.
Nov 24, 2023•32 min
Sometimes what we say or write can be grammatically correct but still make no sense whatsoever. Come along with us down this winding road...
Nov 10, 2023•28 min
Now that we're out of summer, it's finally cooled down enough for us to go outside to check the mailbox! We tackle some listener questions and pet peeves, and we take a look at a bizarre new phrase that's entered the language.
Oct 27, 2023•27 min
We continue on with our look at the newest words that have been added to dictionaries, and Kathy offers an enormous mea culpa.
Oct 13, 2023•33 min
Hot off the presses (or whatever the internet is... cyberpresses?), we look at the newest entries into Dictionary.com!
Sep 29, 2023•33 min
This week, we look at some of those nitpicky little grammar traps that sometimes trip us up.
Sep 15, 2023•32 min
With the kids headed back to school, Kathy and Ross decided to challenge Fletcher (former two-time district spelling bee runner-up) to a spelling bee!
Sep 01, 2023•30 min
It's hot! Still. And why mess with a good thing? We heat up a little more with a quiz about summer-related words!
Aug 18, 2023•34 min
Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia... England... a lot of places have tough to pronounce names for Americans, and our listeners aren't letting us forget it. It's time for a global road trip!
Aug 04, 2023•34 min
Having been bamboozled by Kathy and Ross in the previous episode, Fletcher resolves to get at one question right this time around. Don't hold your breath, Fletch.
Jul 21, 2023•36 min
With the words we use in English coming from so many different languages, Kathy and Ross challenge Fletcher to a quiz about word origins. And somehow we end up talking about both bazookas and grenades, so things escalate quickly.
Jul 07, 2023•34 min
