Word Matters
Word Matters is a show for readers, writers, and anyone curious about the English language. Join Merriam-Webster editors as they challenge supposed grammar rules, reveal surprising word origins, tackle common questions, and geek out about the beautiful nightmare that is our language.
Episodes
The Making of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Twelfth Edition
While the famous Merriam-Webster.com online dictionary is constantly being updated, creating a new edition of our Collegiate Dictionary print book is a different matter. We'd been updating it regularly since its publication in 2003, but it wasn't until fall of 2025 that we released a brand-new edition, different from all those that preceded it. Here's the story of the making of Merriam-We
An Interview with John Morse, Part 3
Part three of a three-part interview with John Morse, former president and publisher of Merriam-WebsterHosted by Emily Brewster and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media, with much gratitude to John Voci.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my
An Interview with John Morse, Part 2
Part two of a three-part interview with John Morse, former president and publisher of Merriam-WebsterHosted by Emily Brewster and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media, with much gratitude to John Voci.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i
An Interview with John Morse, Part 1
Part one of a three-part interview with John Morse, former president and publisher of Merriam-WebsterHosted by Emily Brewster and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media, with much gratitude to John Voci.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Episode 100: How did we get here?
It’s our 100th episode, which seemed like a good occasion to answer a listener question of a more personal type: how did we—that is, we three editors—get here?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https
Do we repeat ourselves? Very well then, we repeat ourselves.
A listener questions a tautology in one of our definitions and starts us off on a discussion of all types of repetition and redundancy.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-s
Hackneyed Phrases, Both Old and New
Writing advice often includes hackneyed phrases we’re supposed to avoid. The phrases we're warned against today are different from the ones of yesteryear. We'll explore both.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notic
Tips for Frenchifying Your French
Whether you're hoping to improve your high school French or just order that croissant with more confidence, we have some tips for you.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-se
Eggcorns, Mondegreens, and Spoonerisms—Oh My!
A discussion of various kinds of slips of the tongue and errors of the ear.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Traveling Words: Luggage, Baggage, and the Recombobulation Station
In the disconcerting event that your travels by air deliver you, but not what you've packed, to your destination, you may find yourself filing a lost luggage claim, or a lost baggage claim—it could be either. Instead of ruminating over the awful circumstances, we turn our attention to the words themselves; we also revisit the recombobulation area we first discussed in episode 86.Hosted by
Skunked Words
Sometimes a word, over time, will take on a meaning that doesn’t play very nicely with its original meaning, leaving a person who knows both meanings unsure what to do. Is the word still usable? Or is it … skunked? Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://
When Dictionaries Drop Words
We’ve discussed how words come to be entered in our dictionaries before, but today we’re going to talk about removing words from dictionaries. Which words get dropped? And why? Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice
Wordle Does Not Make Us Nauseous
Some listeners want to know if working with words professionally makes a dictionary editor better, or worse, at Wordle, and another listener wants us to weigh in on the difference between 'nauseated' and 'nauseous'—which doesn’t turn our stomachs in the least.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript avail
The Invention of the Modern Dictionary
The earliest dictionaries were the fruit of one person’s labor, but the 1864 Webster's Unabridged changed all of that.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
An Interview with Jacques Bailly, Official Pronouncer for Scripps National Spelling Bee
Jacques Bailly has been the official pronouncer for Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2003—23 years after winning the bee himself. A professor in the Classics department at the University of Vermont, his language expertise is vast, and talking to him is a delight.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript
Nashe's 8 Types of Drunkards Includes No Octopi
An exploration of Thomas Nashe's use of animals as metaphors for those who imbibe heavily; And what *is* the plural of octopus?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i
Will 'ect.' become an acceptable spelling of 'etc.'? And if it does, will that be unexplainable or merely inexplicable?
An exploration of spellings—like 'ect.' for 'etc.'—that reflect alternative pronunciations, and the unexplainable favoritism that is shown to 'inexplicable.'Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art1
Corrections, Clarifications, and Grave Transgressions
A visit to the mailbag provides us with a sartorial use of ‘hipster,’ some schooling on 19th century locomotive technology, and a question about sneaking words into dictionaries.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N
Uncommon Opposites
We all know how to find opposites by removing prefixes: 'unhappy' becomes 'happy'; 'disagree' becomes 'agree.' Easy peasy. But some words resist prefix removal—or, at least they try. Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California
George Orwell's 'Politics and the English Language'
George Orwell published his famous essay "Politics and the English Language" in 1946, and we mostly wish he hadn't.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Linguistic Double Dipping
English borrowed lots of words from French. And it liked some of those words so much it borrowed them twice. Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
All About Abbreviations
If brevity is the soul of wit, are abbreviations the language's best jokes?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The History of 'Whistleblower'
Whistleblowers didn't always tell secrets and hipsters weren't always hip. This episode explains how 'whistleblower' and 'hipster' came to have their current meanings.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at ht
What does it mean to be 'at large'?
First, we'll look at how 'at large' came to be applied to editors, criminals, and sometimes the world itself. Then, we'll trace the word 'large' itself. It's kind of a big deal.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N
Dictionary Arcana
This week's episode is all about the small details that make up the dictionary. How do we decide the guide words that appear at the tops of pages? What are those dots that break up a headword at a dictionary entry? (Hint: they have nothing to do with pronunciation.)Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript
A Pair of Suffixes and The History of 'Ditto'
The ending of a word can tell you a lot. Just the slight difference between '-ity' and '-ness' can create a wide variety of distinctions and nuance. Today we're starting at the end.Plus, everything you'll ever need to know about the history of 'ditto.'Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available her
On Secretly Gendered Language
Most of the time, there's nothing about an adjective that makes it refer only to any gender. And yet, there are some words that get subconsciously used by English speakers in very specific ways. Let's take a look at some of the surprising habits the language might not even know it has.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Pub
How to Order Adjectives
In English, there's a certain way adjectives tend to fall in line. It's natural to hear something like "brown leather wallet," but "leather brown wallet" would sound slightly off. So... why? We'll look into it.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/
When Nouns Act Like Adjectives
We all know that nouns have a specific job. So do verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and the like. But what happens when they start moonlighting in other roles? Meet the attributive noun. Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva
Dipping Into the Mailbag: 'Yeet,' 'Typeface' vs. 'Font,' and 'Lo and Behold'
We're back to the mailbag this week with some excellent questions, including:Is 'yeet' ready for the dictionary?What's the difference between a typeface and a font?Why do people say 'lo and behold'?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and
The History of the English Language (The Podcast)
English is often called a "Germanic" language, and yet huge parts of it come from Latin and Greek. So: what gives? Here's the story of English, in 17 minutes.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more info
Words That Began as Metaphors
Usually, a word begins with a literal, concrete meaning. (Like concrete, for example.) Then, eventually, it starts being used metaphorically. (Hey again, concrete!)But with these words, that's not the case. These words began as metaphors and then went backwards.Then: what's the difference between ferment and foment?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in col
Inside Our Citation Files
Our Springfield office holds a file of 16 million alphabetized scraps of paper, each containing a citation for a word. Some of them are from as far back as the 19th century. Many are written by hand. So... how did we create this bit of living history? It's a long story.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transc
Getting Philosophical About the Dictionary
Should we only enter words everyone knows, or does the dictionary need to cover the obscure as well? The answer is, well, pretty philosophical.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#
The Newest Words in the Dictionary
We recently added a whole bunch of new words. Here are some of our favorites!Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here. Our podcast is sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please visit: ce.uci.edu/learnnowAnd we are sponsor
The Year in Words 2021
Last week we told you about our Word of the Year. This week, we'll get into the rest of the words that made up 2021.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please visit: ce.uci.edu/lea
Our Word of the Year 2021
The word 'vaccine' was about much more than just medicine this year. Here's what we looked at to make it our 2021 Word of the Year.Read up on 'vaccine' and the rest of the runners up here.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California
Researching Slang (with Ben Zimmer)
This week we're joined by Wall Street Journal language columnist and Spectacular Vernacular podcast host Ben Zimmer! Learn all about Ben's research on the history of words like 'hella' and 'Ms.', plus how slang is studied and tracked through time.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Our
Why Is There No 'N' in 'Restaurateur'?
First: someone who owns or runs a restaurant is called a restaurateur. What? How did that happen? Is 'restauranteur' a valid word? We'll get into it.Then: why do people say 'meteoric rise' when meteors are famously things that fall?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy
'Decimate': Use It However You Want
Few words in the English language get people as riled up as the supposed "incorrect" use of 'decimate.' Does it have to keep its Roman meaning of "reduce by one tenth" or can it generally mean "destroy," as it's been used by millions of speakers for hundreds of years? (Hint: see title.)Then we'll look at the language of invitations, and the rescinding thereof: yep, it's the difference bet
What It Means to 'Call an Audible'
How did 'audible' move from the football huddle to general conversation?And why do we have both 'inexplicable' and 'unexplainable'?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-
'Sneaked' vs. 'Snuck'
When is it 'sneaked' and when is it 'snuck'? And how about 'dreamed' vs. 'dreamt'? 'Creeped'/'crept'?It's Irregular Verbs Week here on Word Matters.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Our podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp. To receive 10% off your first month, visit betterhel
The Etymology of Insults
How did 'snake-oil salesman' become a term for a swindler? It's a complex story.How was 'asshat' formed? It's about what you'd expect.Today we're getting into the intricacies of vulgarities.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californ
How Words Are Dropped from the Dictionary
We talk all the time about how words are entered. But what about the ones that fall away? How are those decisions made? Let's get into it.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please
Words Named After Real People
You know that old cliche, "When they look up X in the dictionary, they'll see your picture"? Well, for these folks, that saying is true. Today we're talking eponyms.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at htt
Taking an Ax—or Axe?—to the 'Podium' vs. 'Lectern' Debate
Today we're looking at two of the English language's most persistent questions. First, is there an actual difference between 'ax' and 'axe'? What's up with that? Then, the great debate continues to rage over what can be called a 'podium' and what is a 'lectern.'Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript ava
What's a folk etymology?
The English language 1) is not logical, and 2) loves to hold onto its mistakes. Enter folk etymology, or, attempts to apply logic to the language, and the mistakes that took root.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Our podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp. To receive 10% off your fi
'Possum' or 'Opossum'?
This week we finally address it: the two spellings of everyone's favorite North American marsupial.Plus, we do a deep dive on 'staycation' and various other leisure-related portmanteaus!Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California P
How We Approach Compound Words
We're back to the mailbag this week with two great user questions:What makes a compound word worthy of dictionary entry?Is there one correct way to spell 'yay'?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at http
How Language Evolves (with Grammar Girl)
We're joined this week by Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of her show Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Today's sponsor is BetterHelp. Listeners get 10% off their first month by visiting betterhelp.
The Brothers Merriam: An Introduction
Last week we told you about our irascible forefather Noah Webster. But where does the "Merriam" factor in? Here's the story of George and Charles Merriam, the brothers who took Webster's work and brought it to the world stage.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Today's sponsor is Bette
Who was this Webster guy, anyway?
Dictionary writer. Spelling reformer. Lovable crank?Meet our ancestor—and the father of American English—Noah Webster.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Today's sponsor is BetterHelp. Listeners get 10% off their first month by visiting betterhelp.com/mattersSee Privacy Policy at https
All About Subject-Verb Agreement
Most of the time, the subject of a sentence and its verb get along just fine. But when they don't, they can be just a tiny bit... wildly confusing. We'll try to clear up the trickiest subject-verb situations for you.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here. Today's podcast
The Invention of 'Introvert' (with Science Diction)
We're joined this week by Johanna Mayer and Chris Egusa from the Science Diction podcast to discuss the psychological origins of the word 'introvert'!Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Science Diction is a production of Science Friday and WNYC.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https:
The Political 'Dog Whistle': Loud and Clear
First: what does it mean when someone in politics is accused of sounding a 'dog whistle'? And why does the canine metaphor continue in the term 'red meat'?Then: aces are wild as we explore some of the words and phrases from the card table.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available&nbs
Is 'vice versa' changing? & More Listener Questions
We're back to the mailbag this week with some of our favorite recent inquiries!Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Story of a Trending Word
When a lot of people look up the same word on our site at the same time, we generally know one thing: something happened, somewhere. So we do a little research, and then that research becomes one of the most enduring M-W features: Trend Watch. Here's the story of how we started tracking the stories.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collabo
A Totally Original History of 'Stereotype'
What do French printing presses have to do with overused phrases and unfair opinions? We'll look at how the word 'stereotype' got so... stereo-y. Then, we'll answer the age-old question: is there a difference between someone being your 'colleague' and being your 'coworker'?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Pu
Is it 'pled' or 'pleaded'?
It's one of the biggest questions we get: Is there one "correct" past tense of the verb 'plead'? We'll get into its various legalities. Also: why do some technical words get used in general language, while others are forever stuck in their specific lanes?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcri
What is a word's 'first known use'?
Finding the first time a word was ever used: seems pretty simple, right? All you have to do is read everything ever written, and then write down where you first saw it. And then hope that it wasn't used for years in speech before ever being written down (it pretty much always was). Then you get to do the same for every other word. Like we said, easy.Today we're getting into the inexact, e
Different Words for the Same Thing
Is a simple task "doable," or would you consider it "feasible"? Is it different to "buy" something than it is to "purchase" it? Is this description "readable" or merely "legible"?This week we're looking at what happens when English pulls words from different roots, but uses them in similar ways. Then, we find out how the 'jay' got into 'jaywalking.'Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, A
The Words We Mispronounce
Are we language professionals? Certainly. Does that mean we pronounce every word perfectly? Oh, not even close. Today we'll get into the words that we, the lexicographers, still struggle to say, as well as the joy of learning a word from reading it.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript ava
The Language of Spy and Detective Stories
Shadowy spies, brilliant detectives, danger and action. The language of spy and mystery thrillers has always been a source of captivation for readers, sometimes even affecting the world of spycraft itself. This week we'll look at the contributions and popularizations of some of the genre's biggest names.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in co
Is it 'further' or 'farther'?
Further and farther. They're one letter apart; how different could they be? Well, we regret to inform you that English is at it again. Also, let's get into another linguistic curiosity: how did we end up with the phrase "raining cats and dogs"?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript availabl
40. A 'Wicked' Good Episode
How did 'wicked' become THE New England signifier? We'll look into that, along with some more questions from readers.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Sponsored by BetterHelp. For 10% off your first month, visit betterhelp.com/mattersSee Privacy Policy at https://ar
39. A Lexical History of 'Jazz'
When it comes to defining an entire musical genre, especially one with as many forms and perspectives as jazz, the work can get pretty tricky. Even the word itself has a long and sometimes controversial history. Today we'll look at the story of jazz, from the language's point of view.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New
38. What Is a Learner's Dictionary?
Wait, shouldn't every dictionary be a learner's dictionary? Technically, sure. But today we're discussing a specific resource: Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary, which was designed and written directly for people coming to English from another language. Here's the story of that book and how it changed how our other definitions were written.Hosted by Emily Brewster, N
37. Can You End a Sentence with a Preposition?
It's one of the most notorious grammar peeves in the entire English language: the commandment that one shall not ever end a sentence with a preposition. But is it actually a rule that holds up? Hmm...Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c
36. On Jane Austen's Use of 'Condescension'
We're going back to our inbox this week to answer some of your most pressing concerns. Such as: what did 'condescension' mean in the work of Jane Austen? Why does 'brilliant' mean "smart"? And what is it about the letter 'S' that strikes fear into a lexicographer's heart?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Publ
35. 'Fewer' vs. 'Less'
You might've seen the sign at the grocery store: "12 items or less." Depending on what you've been taught, you might also have considered the sign a grave grammatical sin. Today we'll look at one of the most popular "rules" in the English language. Plus, is there a difference between being 'uninterested' and being 'disinterested'?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Pete
34. What Is a 'Retronym'?
You probably encounter them all the time: new words created to describe the older version of a thing. (Like an acoustic guitar. Or skim milk.) Let's talk about them. Then, we'll check in on the English language's former 27th letter: &. No, that's not a typo. We're talking about the ampersand. (And how it got that name.)Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokol
33. Tracing the Origins of Famous Phrases
We're catching up on our email! This week, we answer some listener questions about the murky origins of two famous idioms.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Today's Podcast is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/matters to rec
32. The Story of the Backward Index
Strange but true: in the basement of our Springfield office, we have a file of 315,000 words typed in reverse. Why would anyone want (or do) such a thing? We'll explain.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Today's Podcast is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit&n
31. Why Is It Called an 'Adam's Apple'?
The Adam's apple: it's neither an apple nor is it possessed exclusively by people named Adam. We'll talk about why that is, plus another linguistic conundrum: how did 'physician' become a word for "doctor" while 'physicist' stayed in the realm of matter and energy?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Medi
30. How We Wrote Our Bilingual Dictionaries
We're going deep on dictionary lore this week! Listen in for an interview with editor Peter Sokolowski on how we wrote our French and Spanish bilingual dictionaries.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Today's Podcast is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit
29. There Is No Such Thing as "The Dictionary"
No, we don't mean that we've been ghosts this whole time. (Or do we?)What we're saying is we are not "the" dictionary. We're just one among many, all with their own aims and procedures and standards. We'll explain.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Today's Podcast is
28. The Onomatopoeia Episode
O-N-O-M-A-T-O-P-O-E-I-A. The forming of a word in imitation of a sound.First, we'll look at some words that first described a sound (like pop, or buzz) that then went on to describe completely different things (like pop, or buzz). Then, we'll get into the phenomenon known as back-formation, or, the creation of a word by the alteration of an existing word (like burgle from burglar). It lea
27. What's the Longest Word in the Dictionary?
This episode is all about dictionary myths and mysteries. Is the longest word the one you think it is? Probably not. Are some words harder to define than others? Undoubtedly. Are there multiple philosophies on how to even write a definition in the first place? You'll find out.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England
How do you pronounce 'often'?
First, we examine the common word 'often.' Is one way of saying it more correct than the other? And does the English language delight in making us distrust our eyes and ears? Then, we look into the language of getting out of a rut and the difference between getting "on track" vs. "untracked."Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration
25. New Words in the Dictionary
Language never rests, and neither do we. In January 2021, Merriam-Webster added 520 new words and definitions to the dictionary. In this special episode, editors Emily Brewster and Peter Sokolowski break down the new additions.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.Read more
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