You're Saying It Wrong
ఛానెల్ వివరాలు
You're Saying It Wrong
From KMUW Studios and part of the NPR Podcast Network, You're Saying It Wrong is a podcast that looks at what we get wrong—and what we sometimes get right—when it comes to this English language. Hosted by KMUW's Fletcher Powell, each episode features a conversation with the sister and brother who wr...
ఇటీవలి ఎపిసోడ్లు
241 ఎపిసోడ్లు
Getting Your House in Order
We look at the confusing, but surprisingly intuitive, world of adjective and adverb order and how we can know what we're doing without knowing what we...
Technical Difficulties
This week, we look at the (sometimes huge) differences between the technical, specialized definitions of words, and what they mean to everybody else.
Congrats, Grads!
School's out, so we're celebrating all the new graduates by looking at the backgrounds of some graduation-related words.
More Unknown Knowns
We return to one of our favorite (and sometimes most confusing) topics: rules of English that we know instinctively, but that we have no idea we know.
Meh, Duh, D'oh, and Other Communicative Grunts
Today we make a lot of noise by exploring nonverbal vocalizations: all those sounds that aren't words, exactly, but that still carry a lot of meaning.
Common Grammar Controversies
To split infinitives or to not split them? (Ir)regardless, we'll dive into some everyday language arguments that get people all worked up.
How Tiny Differences Can Make a Huge... Difference
Oh, so you think those two words mean exactly the same thing? Not. Even. Close.
A Lowdown Dirty Spelling Quiz (Part 2)
Kathy and Ross did their darndest to stump Fletcher in last week's spelling quiz, to moderate success. How will things go this week? The thrilling con...
A Lowdown Dirty Spelling Quiz
Kathy and Ross pull out all the stops to try to trick Fletcher with a new spelling quiz. Fletcher does his best to upset them.
Cymraeg
Kathy, Ross, and Fletcher try to tackle the Welsh language, with... questionable results. Look, we're all doing our best here.
Phonotactics!
Think you don't know what phonotactics are? Even our youngest English speakers do! You might just not realize it...
What's in a Name?
This week, Kathy and Ross challenge Fletcher to an epic eponym quiz, and somehow they detour again into an analysis of pavement. How? You'll have to l...
[Encore] Where Are the Beeves?
The plural of thief is thieves, so why isn't the plural of chief chieves? And as the old woman once said, where are the beeves??? On today's show, we...
Euphemisms
We'll be happy to tell you what this episode is about just as soon as we get back from using the bathroom—I mean, the restroom—I mean, the washroom—I...
If We Knew You Were Comin' We'd've Baked a Cake
Today we address a couple of listener questions, including one about the Third Conditional (???), before moving on to a quiz about Middle English vs....
Register and Power
Today we have a wide-ranging discussion about the words we use, when we use them, and the enormous power they can have.
Broadening Our Horizons
Sometimes words get a whole lot less specific over time, and sometimes people get really mad about that!
Beginnings and Endings
We look at how a tiny little prefix or suffix can completely change the meaning of a word. Or how it could do nothing at all!
Banished and Un-Banished Words
We finish our discussion of the words people would like to see banned from the English language in 2026 and then we uncover some uncommonly odd things...
Banish These Words! (Some of them... at least for a little while)
We go through a list of words people want to banish in 2026 and then take a swing over to the weird world of contractions. You ain't heard nothin' yet...
Valentine's Day, When Our Thoughts Turn to Lufu
We explore all sorts of love and love-related words as we honor St. Valentine (and some other unexpected saints).
[Re]Bracketing
We look at how much a word can change if we just give it a little nudge this way or that, which leads us into a discussion of how certain Arabic words...
Chances Are... You're Spelling It Wrong
We look at the top 10 most commonly misspelled words. Watch those double letters!
It's a Cold One Out There!
It's been a strange winter so far, so let's talk about some strange winter words! Brrrrrrrrrr!!!
Either/Or
We indulge in one of our favorite pastimes: quibbling over tiny differences in the way people say things. What fun!
Feeling French (and Fancy)
We all like to feel a bit fancy from time to time, but when we turn to French, it can get us in trouble.
The 2025 Words of the Year
We continue our annual tradition of looking back at the words that defined the year, as chosen by dictionaries, listeners... and us!
Let's See What Sticks
As we reach the end of the year, we get some grab-bag whiplash with English questions and conundrums from all over the language spectrum.
A Plethora of Plurals! (Encore)
What could be more fun for the holidays than digging into the bizarre world of Latin and Greek plurals? Nothing! That's what! (This episode originally...
Abbrs.
We extend our quiz about abbreviated words into a second episode, and Kathy learns that people don't always do things just to look fancy (a lot of the...
Mailbag Day!
We answer a few listener questions, including one about a changing pronunciation that drives one person nuts, and another about abbreviations that lea...
It's a Thanksgiving Feast!
In celebration of Thanksgiving and all the food that comes with it, we’ll take an etymological trip around the dinner plate.
Grab Bag Day!
After an extended discussion about plurals, Kathy and Ross give Fletcher a wide-ranging quiz on grammar, pronunciation, etymology, and whatever else t...
Going for Gold on the SAT
We return to our series looking at the hardest words ever found on the SAT by exploring the letter "G."
Frankenwords
We mark Día de los Muertos with some words about the dead, some of which have been brought back to life, and some that should have remained dead.
It's Spooky Season!
We celebrate the season by taking a look at the origins of some Halloween-related words, and we introduce two of the most horrifying words we've ever...
More Weird Word Origins
We return to one of our favorite topics: the surprising and strange origins of everyday words.
Getting a Little Too Fancy
After we talk a bit about some British/American English pronunciation differences, we'll take a look at a few words that listeners think are simply to...
Pet Peeve-a-Palooza! (Part 2)
We continue sifting through the language complaints that drive our listeners up the wall.