Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.

1199. In this bonus episode first released to Grammarpaloozians in January, we look at what it means to turn a "channeled obsession" into a resource used by millions of language fans. Doug Harper shares how he built Etymonline as a solo act, fueled by late-night shifts and "ink in his blood." We also look at the "Nimrod" mystery — from a biblical king to a Bugs Bunny insult — and the obsessive sidequests that Doug and his team take to find the truth behind words.Find Doug at Etymonline.com.🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Find an edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1198. This week, we look at how to answer the question every author dreads: "So, what's your book about?" with workplace communications coach Joel Schwartzberg. We look at the difference between describing a book and selling it, how nonfiction authors can craft point-driven responses, and how fiction writers can distill their stories into a compelling pitch.Joel Schwartzberg is a workplace communications coach, speaker, and speechwriter. He's the author of "Get to the Point: Simplify, Sharpen, and Sell Your Message," and you can find him at joelschwartzberg.net🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Find an edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1197. This week, guest host Valerie Fridland steps in for Mignon and talks to Jess Zafarris and Shannon Miller about their new book, "A Miscellany of Weird and Wonderful Facts for Curious Humans." They look at fossil words, eponyms, and the surprising origin of the word "electric." They also look at mountweazels, the medieval roots of modern romance, and why emoji has nothing to do with emotion. Get the book, "A Miscellany of Weird and Wonderful Facts for Curious Humans."Find Jess Zafarris online: Useless Etymology, TikTok, Twitter, InstagramFind Shannon Miller online: Threads, LinkedInFind Valerie Fridland online: Website, LinkedIn🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey.🔗 Get the edited transcript here.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1196. This week, we look at why "love" means "zero" in tennis, from egg-shaped zeros to playing for the love of the game, and how the sport's quirky 15-30-40 scoring system came to be. 🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Find an edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Castria CommunicationsDirector of Podcast: Holly HutchingsAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah SebastianPodcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Insta Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer Saturdays: Best of QDT