When we eat up or fix up or heal up or hurry up, we’re not actually moving in an upward direction.

That's What They Say

TWTS: Here's what's up with "up"

English spelling can be a museum of earlier pronunciations, as we see in words like "night," "through," and "cough."

TWTS: Getting through the history of "gh" is tougher than we thought

Given that tuna is a fish, it can seem unnecessary to call that out in the compound tuna fish.

TWTS: You can tuna fish, but you may not need the "fish"

Funnily enough, two listeners wrote to us this summer about the phrase funnily enough.

TWTS: "Funnily enough" is more than enough

Working out with dumbbells may be a fitness craze now, but the fitness craze that started it all sounds even better.

TWTS: Just ring the dumb bell

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.

TWTS: Some would just as soon say "just assume"

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

TWTS: Fit to be furious

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

TWTS: When you're wary of confusing "weary" and "wary"

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

TWTS: The many faces of "mug"

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

TWTS: Campfire up the lightning round

Education

Society & Culture

Language Learning

Funner, snuck, and LOL are all things that we're hearing people say these days.That's What They Say is a weekly segment on Michigan Public that explores our changing language. University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan studies linguistics and the history of the English language. Each week she'll discuss why we say what we say with Michigan Public All Things Considered host Rebecca Hector.That's What They Say airs Fridays at 4:45 p.m. and Sundays at 9:35 a.m. on Michigan Public and you can podcast it here.Do you have an English or grammar question? Ask us here!

TWTS: Here's what's up with "up"

That's What They Say

More episodes from "That's What They Say"

TWTS: Getting through the history of "gh" is tougher than we thought

TWTS: You can tuna fish, but you may not need the "fish"