TWTS: Double the modals, double the nuance

If you’d just as soon not learn about an eggcorn that some language pundits really dislike, then you might want to stop reading now.

We can be angry or infuriated or outraged or furious or livid or incensed, all of which make us fit to be tied.

Usage guide writers, seeing some confusion afoot, tell us to be wary about the distinction between "wary” and “weary.”

Even though "mug shots" do not involve drinking or "mugs" in that sense, we can draw a historical connection between these two mugs.

From campfire wood to troubleshooting, English usage provides plenty of curiosities for another lightning round.

Only some English speakers have grammars that allow them to say “We might could make that better” or “We might should eat before the movie.”

When you have a language podcast, you come across a lot of usages that make you think, “I would never say that.” A little research and a few contextual examples later, you might just change your mind.

Mountains may be peaked, collars may be peaked, but when we’re sick, we’re not “peaked” but “peak-ed.”

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

Listeners write to us regularly with their language peeves, which we love. Sometimes they call these peeves their "pet peeves."