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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.

  • 4 minutes 55 seconds
    TWTS: If you find “the lurch,” don’t stick around
    Sometimes we’re left in the lurch. It’s probably fair to say that most of us don’t know where that lurch is.
    25 January 2025, 2:07 am
  • 5 minutes 13 seconds
    TWTS: Where did that pit in your stomach come from?
    It appears that some of those bad or uneasy feelings we may feel in the pit of our stomach have become a pit in our stomach.
    18 January 2025, 12:16 am
  • 5 minutes 18 seconds
    TWTS: The American Dialect Society's 2024 Word of the Year
    It's that time again. With 2024 behind us, we can vote on the word of the year.
    13 January 2025, 9:48 pm
  • 5 minutes 14 seconds
    TWTS: When language gets spicy
    We can pepper our food or pepper our speech. If the mood strikes us, we can be peppy in a pep rally sort of way.
    6 January 2025, 10:52 pm
  • 4 minutes 24 seconds
    TWTS: There are reasons to use "there are" before a plural, and there's reasons to use "there's"
    There's examples all over the the place of people using "there's" before a plural noun. In fact, we just gave you one.
    29 December 2024, 11:27 am
  • 4 minutes 47 seconds
    TWTS: The "doink" heard 'round the stadium
    As 2024 comes to a close, the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs football team gave us a reason to use the verb "doink."
    23 December 2024, 8:44 pm
  • 5 minutes 15 seconds
    TWTS: Reach out and ping someone
    We can still reach out the car window to grab a parking ticket, but today, "reaching out" can also mean "pinging" someone to make a connection.
    16 December 2024, 7:31 pm
  • 5 minutes 9 seconds
    TWTS: A quintessential enough guide to "quintessential"
    The words "decimate" and "unique" are quintessential examples of how a word’s meaning can shift from its etymological roots.
    8 December 2024, 4:59 pm
  • 5 minutes 20 seconds
    TWTS: The not-so-ordinary world of "ordinary" and "ornery"
    "Ornery" seems like an ordinary enough word, but its link to "ordinary" might surprise people.
    1 December 2024, 2:35 pm
  • 4 minutes 54 seconds
    TWTS: Dilly dallying in the lightning round
    As listeners wait with bated breath, we will not dilly dally or shilly shally to get to this lightning round.
    24 November 2024, 2:35 pm
  • 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
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