That's What They Say

If you know how the sound ‘f’ worked in Old English, it suddenly isn’t mysterious why the ... more

If I say I’m gonna do it, I don’t necessarily mean I’m headed out the door right now to do... more

The New York Times announced that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary “is wordsmaxxing” and NBC... more

Concerns about redundancy are back this week. It's the exact same thing we’ve talked about... more

This may be one of the only times that throw pillows, golf, and curling all get wrapped in... more

While people may agree that being proactive is a positive trait, the word proactive can el... more

Is your cat running around in circles? Be advised, that kitty might be pixilated.

When we talk about Middle English, it suggests that we know when English began and when it... more

There are lots of cards we can still play now, but we’ve lost some good ones too.

If "hunky dory" means the same thing as "right as rain," then we face the question of how ... more

While we may know highfalutin language when we hear it, we don't all agree about how to sp... more

We exchange scuttlebutt at the proverbial water cooler, and there's an etymological clue i... more

The little clock we wear on our wrist could be called a clock. Instead, it has long had it... more

Sometimes new slang jumps out in front of you, waving its hands, or thumbs, so that you ca... more

We can count fathoms when we’re measuring things. We can also metaphorically fathom or not... more

This is a bespoke segment of That’s What They Say that focuses on “bespoke.”

If it’s up your alley, it might also be up your street. And perhaps it’s down rather than ... more

You say "lieutenant," I say “leftenant” but let’s not call the whole thing off.

There’s more than one way to be wonky, and not all of them are bad.

Adverbs don’t always get a lot of love, captured powerfully in the writing tip “Abolish th... more