iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

I guessed that "STBX" meant "Starbucks," but I was wrong! It's one of 5,900 new Dictionary.com words (and it means "soon-to-be ex"). This week, I talk with lexicographer Steve Johnson about what made the cut, including "padawan," "quesabirria," "throw hands […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Why do we call ships "she" even when they're named Hercules or Henry? We apologize to our phones and threaten our printers, so maybe it's no surprise sailors have said, "She's a sturdy one" for centuries. We go through some of the theories about why in this week's […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A thumbnail featuring a smiling woman with long brown hair on the left side, who is pointing her index finger toward the center of the frame. In the background, a large white cruise ship sails on the ocean under a cloudy sunset sky. A bright pink ribbon bow is digitally superimposed near the upper right section of the ship. Overlaid across the center of the ship's hull is the word "'She'" in a large, white serif font. In the top right corner, the title "GRAMMAR GIRL" is displayed in a bold, stylized white and teal font.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

There's a linguistic pattern so reliable that scientists think they can use it to detect alien life. It's Zipf's Law, which states that the most common word appears ~2x as often as the 2nd most common, 3x as often as the 3rd, and so on. Many, many human languages follow Zipf's law, and […]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

Join us for word games 9/24! Team 2 is locked in for Grammarpalooza — The Game Show! @jesszafarris, @likeliterallydude, and @gabe.henryy are joining me for the 20th anniversary trivia show — three people who know their way around a word. They are … team MC […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Promotional graphic for the "20th Grammar Girl Grammarpalooza Trivia Gameshow!" displayed against a red comic-book style halftone background adorned with quotation marks, semicolons, and question marks. On the bottom left, a spiral-bound lined notebook sheet displays "Team Two" written in red cursive with "Two" circled in red. On the bottom right, set against a black-and-white composition notebook pattern, are three arched portrait headshots labeled with the names Valerie Fridland, Gabe Henry, and Jess Zafarris.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

Twenty years of Grammar Girl?! I still can't quite believe it. 🥳 To celebrate, I'm hosting a free live game show with some of my favorite language lovers and past guests. We'll play with foreign idioms, fake definitions, and more. Mark your calendar for the […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A vibrant promotional image featuring a red and orange halftone dot background. At the top, teal badges display white block text reading "GRAMMAR GIRL" next to white text that says "20th Anniversary." A large yellow banner in the middle contains bold blue text reading "RSVP NOW FOR FREE DIGITAL CONTENT FROM MIGNON!" At the bottom, a teal rounded button with a black border reads "THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 | 5pm PT | 8pm ET."

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

Did you know one of history's most influential color definers got almost no credit because she was married? I talked with lexicographer Kory Stamper about the fascinating (and catastrophe-attracting) people behind color definitions in Webster's Third. Highlights: * […] [Original post on zirk.us]

At the top left, large white bold text framed in teal outlines reads "NEW EPISODE" above "EP #1215". To the top right, a teal oval badge displays the word "INTERVIEW" in white text.

The lower portion of the image features headshots of two women side by side:

Left: Mignon Fogarty smiling warmly, labeled below in a teal box as "GRAMMAR GIRL with Mignon Fogarty".

Right: Kory Stamper wearing glasses, a patterned sleeveless shirt, and short purple hair, labeled below in a teal box as "KORY STAMPER".

The background is an orange-and-yellow polka dot halftone.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 22/08/2026

A bookbar just opened in Reno, and I have three thoughts: 1) This is the most Reno thing ever! 2) What a great idea! 3) I can't wait to visit next time I'm in town!

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026

"So, what's your book about?" Authors and readers struggle with this question because they *describe* instead of *sell*. Describing says what. Selling says why. Communication coach Joel Schwartzberg shares his formulas for nonfiction and fiction pitches — plus, when […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Books with solid, bright-colored jackets on an orange background. White text reads, "What's your book about?" Mignon is on the right, pointing to the books.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

Ginger mint lemonade at the parade. Highly re!

Mignon in a big lifeguard hat holding a huge clear plastic cup with a green straw and mint leaves visible in the yellow-green liquid. You can see pine trees and an American flag in the background.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 23/06/2026

My camera doesn't do it justice, but I feel like I could sit and stare at this ocean forevermore.

A sandy beach with some small driftwood, a blue green ocean with one white wave, a low fog bank, and a clear blue sky -- vast, beautiful, and blank.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 09/06/2026

New grads always ask me how to find freelance work, so I put together my best tips. → Here's just one: Find local events a national publication might want to cover. An editor may be more willing to take a chance on a new writer to save money on travel. I got gigs this way as a new science […]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 03/05/2026

I made a calendar outline on a watercolor note card, and now I'm doing a tiny drawing each day. * Friday's highlight was a delicious burrito. * Saturday, I read part of a book about cake. * Today was gray and drizzly. Make art.

A rectangular piece of watercolor paper (you can see some of the texture) with the monthly calendar for May 2026 drawns in black pen. Friday the 1st is filled in with a sketch of a burrito sitting on a wood table wrapped in red checkered paper. Saturday is filled in with a sketch of a yellow cake sitting on a cake stand. Sunday is filled in with an orange sun, gray sky, and brown fence. All the other days are still blank.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 20/04/2026

This beast joined us on our walk tonight. The turkeys don't usually get agitated by our presence, but this guy definitely wanted us to know he is B.I.G.

A large wild turkey stands on a gray paved driveway with its tail fully fanned and its dark, glossy feathers puffed out in a strutting display. Its head is bright blue and red, and a tall green hedge and a wooden gate fill the background.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 13/04/2026

I wrote a book with 101 tips about misused words, and here’s just one great reason to buy it: it's on sale right now! Find the ebook at Bookshop and Barnes & Noble for only $2.99. These deals don’t last long, so grab your copy while you can! 📕 […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 02/04/2026

Do you think "gray" and "grey" are just American and British spellings? I did — for my whole career. But it turns out color scientists say they can be different colors. This week, I talked with former Merriam-Webster editor Kory Stamper about her new book "True […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 28/03/2026

Our No Kings event isn't until later this afternoon, so I got to go see some cute goats this morning!

Two black and white goats butting heads behind a wire fence.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 25/03/2026

Have you ever groaned at an elaborate pun? It might have been a *feghoot*! The term comes from a 1956 sci-fi series about time-traveling troubleshooter Ferdinand Feghoot, whose adventures always ended in cringey puns. This episode is guaranteed to make you laugh […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026

In today's show, Peter Sokolowski traces the word "dictionary" back to a 16th-century Latin work by a monk named Calepino. We look at how this original source led to the first monolingual dictionaries in both English and French, all within a year of each other […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 17/03/2026

An Irish person is less likely to answer "yes" or "no" than you might expect. Instead, they'll answer with something like this: ☘️ Can you swim? I can! ☘️ Do you like tomato juice? I don’t. ☘️ Are you coming? I amn’t. The article explains why. Happy St. Patrick's […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A simple illustration of a green, white, and orange clover leaf on a light green background with the word "How to speak English ilke the Irish."

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 17/03/2026

Leprechauns may have started as Roman priests running naked through the streets. Yes, really. Most of us picture a tiny guy in green with a pot of gold, but in older Irish tradition, leprechauns wore red and lived under water. The word itself has changed so much […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Bright, pop-art style podcast artwork featuring a smiling woman with long brown hair ) against an orange background with red dots. Large teal and white text reads “GRAMMAR GIRL,” with smaller text “with Mignon Fogarty” and episode number “1168.” A red circle in the corner contains the letters “QDT.”

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 16/03/2026

How do you pronounce "Celtic"? If you're a basketball fan, you probably say "Seltic." If you study history or linguistics, you probably say "Keltic." So who's right? Both pronunciations are in the dictionary, but they have different histories. The original Greek […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A Celtic cross silhouetted against a golden sunset beside a small stone church with bare trees in the background.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 10/03/2026

Have you ever seen people use "Academy Awards" as though it were singular? Jim Norrena did and wondered whether it's always wrong. Hear what he found in today's Grammar Girl podcast! WATCH: youtu.be/ZM9oS-hAtjg READ […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 08/03/2026

Should you write "don't" or "do not"? It depends. Contractions are the default in everyday writing such as emails, dialogue, and conversational prose. But they're almost always absent in scholarly papers, legal writing, formal business documents, and (surprisingly) […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A young white woman with brown hair in a pony tail has her hand up in front of her face as though she's hiding or blocking something. The test to the left reads "do not or don't?"

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 08/03/2026

Think a "bully pulpit" is about bullying an audience? Think again. The phrase actually goes back to Theodore Roosevelt, who used "bully" to mean excellent or first-rate. It's the same idea as in the phrase "Bully for you!" When Roosevelt called the presidency a […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A woman with a ponytail in a white blouse and brown skirt stands on a stage with her arms outstretched, facing a large, blurred audience under warm stage lights.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 07/03/2026

The word “tattoo” has two distinct meanings, with two distinct etymologies. The first, meaning skin art, comes from Polynesian. The second, meaning a military drumbeat, comes from the Dutch.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 07/03/2026

AP style is all lowercase and "saving" (singular). Don't forget to move your clocks an hour forward before you go to bed tonight. In the U.S., daylight saving time officially starts at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 06/03/2026

Some people call these the same thing, and other people have different names for them — and it can depend on where you live! That's just one of the cool things you'll learn this week from my chat with Joan Houston Hall, former editor of the Dictionary of American […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Rubber or silicone spatula and slotted turner side by side under the heading “What Do You Call These?” with “VS” between them.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 04/03/2026

Happy National Grammar Day! In case you missed it, I made my LinkedIn Learning writing course free for 24 hours. How are you going to celebrate? Link and details in the first comment. #GrammarDay

Cream background with colorful confetti and streamers. Centered bold black text reads "HAPPY NATIONAL GRAMMAR DAY." Along the bottom, a row of illustrated books in muted reds, blues, yellows, and creams sits on a black shelf above an orange tiled floor.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 01/03/2026

Calling all poets and word lovers! Don't miss your chance to enter the ACES #NationalGrammarDay poetry contest. The deadline is tomorrow (March 2, noon Eastern)! The winner gets their poem featured on the Grammar Girl podcast, a signed copy of my book "The Grammar […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A promotional graphic for a National Grammar Day Haiku Contest on a warm beige background. Bold black distressed-style text on the left reads "National Grammar Day" at the top, with "HAIKU CONTEST" in large block letters below. In the lower left corner, smaller text reads "Deadline: March 2, noon Eastern." On the right side of the image, a glass inkwell filled with dark ink holds a quill pen with a vibrant teal feather, resting on a sheet of cream-colored paper.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 26/02/2026

Teens aren't destroying language. They're playing with it! I talked with Sali Tagliamonte, a "language detective" who's studied teen talk for years. She busts myths about texting, explains why "like" dominates, why "very" is back, and shares her linguistic […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 19/02/2026

Did you know people were using capital letters to shout in print as far back as 1856? This week, I talked with Mastodon's very own technology historian, @glennf, who traced the history of "shouty caps" through centuries of newspapers, old Usenet posts, and even […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 18/02/2026

Are you ever confused about "awhile" versus "a while"? Here's how I remember the difference: "A while" (two words) is a noun phrase, so test whether you can use a different noun: ✅ It's been A WHILE = It's been A YEAR "Awhile" (one word) is an adverb, so test […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 17/02/2026

Do media moguls have anything to do with ski moguls? Nope, at least not etymologically! SKI BUMPS: From German/Norwegian for "mound." Skiers create them as they carve turns. POWERFUL PEOPLE: From "the Great Mogul" rulers of the Mughal Empire (1526). It eventually […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 05/02/2026

Did you know ChatGPT's earlier versions barely used em dashes at all? This week, I talked with Sean Goedecke, a software engineer who's looked at *why* AI models went em-dash wild. The shift may have happened when companies started digitizing public domain books […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A promotional image for a podcast interview titled "Why AI loves em dashes" featuring Grammar Girl and Sean Goedecke. The graphic includes a friendly white robot at a laptop against a green background, with Spotify and Apple Podcasts logos at the top.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 04/02/2026

Listeners recently told me about an important "dozens" phrase: "the dozens," an African American game where two people trade increasingly inventive insults, usually in front of an audience. The origin of "the dozens" is surprisingly hard to find. There's the slave […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 03/02/2026

THE SLOPPER BOWL! What wonderful wordplay. I wish this would have come out a day sooner because I was on WOSU just yesterday talking about the word "slop" and how one thing that makes it special is the way people play with it to make other words like "slopaganda." […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Screenshot of a Hollywood Reporter article page. The headline reads, “The First Mainly AI-Generated Super Bowl Ad Is Here, For Better or Worse.” A subhead mentions LLM robots, synthetic people, and “the Slopper Bowl.” The byline credits Steven Zeitchik with a February 3, 2026 publication date.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 03/02/2026

Ever confidently use a word your whole life, only to discover you might be wrong — or that half the people don't believe you? F-O-R-T-E is TWO different words! One from French (your strong point), one from Italian (loud in music). But Americans mixed up the […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 02/02/2026

I'm going to be on All Sides with AmyJuravich on WOSU in Ohio tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern talking about familects, misheard song lyrics, and eggcorns like "windshield factor" for "windchill factor." Get your story ready and call in! www.wosu.org/show/all-sides 614-292-8513

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 30/01/2026

I'm ASTONISHED by how many people are saying they write and ellipsis with no space on the left and a space on the right! I feel like I've never seen it before the last 6 months, but clearly, I'm mistaken. I will definitely defend your right to have a "house style," […] [Original post on zirk.us]

A Chicago-style ellipsis consists of three spaced periods . . . like that.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 30/01/2026

What's with people writing ellipses like this lately... with a space on only one side? I suspect it's an AI thing because I've never seen it before, and suddenly, it's everywhere — so much so that I doubted myself and just checked AP & Chicago. But nope, they still do a space on both sides.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 29/01/2026

Did you know there's an Inuktitut word for "noisy walking on hard snow"? And a Yup'ik word for "powdery snow that enters through cracks in a house"? This week, I talked with Dr. Charles Kemp about using big data to answer the big question "Do the Inuit really have […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Promotional podcast image with an igloo in the background and falling snow. Large text reads, “Are there really 100 Inuit words for ‘snow’?” Two smiling adults are shown side by side; text labels beneath them read “Grammar Girl” and “Charles Kemp.” Icons at the top say “Listen on Spotify” and “Listen on Apple Podcasts,” with an “Interview” badge.

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 27/01/2026

You may not have noticed, but "scarecrow" is a grammatical outlaw — it describes what the object does, not what it is. Linguists call these "exocentric compounds." "Pickpocket" isn't a pocket. "Cutthroat" isn't a throat. And these words have a surprisingly dark […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 24/01/2026

I needed some books this morning, so I bought them from Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis. You could too! Just pick them as your bookstore at bookshop.org or buy directly from their website: moonpalacebooks.com

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 21/01/2026

The plurals of words that end in "o" are weird. Why is it "tomatoes" but "photos"? "Potatoes" but "pianos"? I always thought there must be a rule, but there are SO MANY exceptions! The guideline is to add "-es" after a consonant + "o" and "-s" after a vowel + "o." […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 20/01/2026

Have you ever wondered why "baker's dozen" means 13 instead of 12? It's not because bakers are generous — it comes from medieval bakers trying to avoid punishment! Bakers who sold underweight bread could face fines, flogging, and even the pillory. There's also a […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Grammar Girl episode 1152 cover art showing the host smiling on an orange background, with text about a baker’s dozen, pluralizing O-words, and ‘wrong pew.’

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 15/01/2026

Why does grave mean both “serious” and “a hole in the ground”? Is news really just “new things”? And can AI be trusted with word history? Today, I talk with Doug Harper from one of my favorite resources — Etymonline — about word origins and how he built the site […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 13/01/2026

Is "impact" really a bad verb? And why did "empathy" quietly edge out "sympathy," except when someone dies? In this week’s Grammar Girl, I dig into the history, the data, and the emotional nuance behind these two everyday language debates. WATCH […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 08/01/2026

I know there's a lot going on, but if you need a mental health break, this morning I have an interview with one of my favorite Mastodonians: In addition to posting delightful items here, @overholt curates the Samuel Johnson collection at Harvard's Houghton library […] [Original post on zirk.us]

Split-screen promotional image with an orange border. On the left, Mignon Fogarty smiles while wearing large headphones and speaking into a microphone, with bookshelves behind her. On the right, a man in glasses and a jacket smiles slightly, seated indoors with framed artwork in the background. White text across the center reads, “Rare books, burned letters, and Johnson’s dictionary.”

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.zirk.us.ap.brid.gy · 26/12/2025

If you're traveling this weekend, download this interview with @bgzimmer to listen to on your trip! He has DELIGHTFUL stories about: — The origin of "hella" — Run DMC and "drop" — 1960s slang from cots in military barracks — Stephen Colbert & "truthiness" I promise […] [Original post on zirk.us]

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