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That's What They Say

Michigan Radio

That's What They Say is a weekly segment on Michigan Radio that explores our changing language. Each week University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan will discuss why we say what we say with Michigan Radio Weekend Edition host Rebecca Kruth.

  • 5 minutes 9 seconds
    TWTS: Language pet peeves don't always stand the test of time
    Looking at late 19th century language peeves can often point to a change in progress, but not always.
    17 November 2024, 2:35 pm
  • 5 minutes 17 seconds
    TWTS: "These ones" made the lightning round
    Of all the topics we could cover this week on That's What They Say, we chose these ones over those ones.
    11 November 2024, 10:48 pm
  • 5 minutes 24 seconds
    TWTS: We've seen a change with "sea change"
    A sea change can now be caused by many things other than the sea, and some of its dramatic effects have been lost in the process.
    4 November 2024, 10:43 pm
  • 5 minutes 26 seconds
    TWTS: The touchy third rail
    We're going to try not to touch the third rail, but we are going to talk about it.
    28 October 2024, 4:55 pm
  • 5 minutes 19 seconds
    TWTS: In America, it's always hot dog season
    Major League Baseball playoffs and football tailgate season both mean the smell of hot dogs is in the air.
    14 October 2024, 9:43 pm
  • 5 minutes 16 seconds
    TWTS: Petards are for hoisting, not stabbing
    We don't encounter petards very often anymore. That’s unless we’re being, metaphorically speaking, “hoisted with our own petard.”
    4 October 2024, 9:54 pm
  • 4 minutes 38 seconds
    TWTS: Should we stop utilizing "utilize" and just use "use"?
    There are plenty of people out there who see "utilize" as a pretentious substitute for "use." However, some people are completely comfortable utilizing the verb "utilize."
    23 September 2024, 12:05 pm
  • 4 minutes 59 seconds
    TWTS: Yeah, we need to talk about "yay"
    There’s the “yea” in voting “yea” or “nay," and then there’s the celebratory “Yay!" Oh yeah, there's also "yeah."
    16 September 2024, 10:53 pm
  • 5 minutes 8 seconds
    TWTS: Whoa, is that how you spell "whoa"?
    Whoa, whoa, whoa. There are a lot of ways to spell "whoa."
    9 September 2024, 8:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 37 seconds
    TWTS: Your caring about gerunds is noble, but you caring is nice too
    You could say, "I don't like him singing," or you could say, "I don't like his singing." Believe it or not, some folks have very strong feelings about which of those is correct.
    1 September 2024, 1:35 pm
  • 4 minutes 4 seconds
    TWTS: The case of "pleaded" v. "pled"
    It's all so grammatically straight forward in the present tense if you plead innocent. Later on though, should you tell people you "pleaded" innocent or "pled" innocent?
    25 August 2024, 1:35 pm
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