Mignon Fogarty
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grammargirl.bsky.social
Mignon Fogarty
@grammargirl.bsky.social
Grammar Girl. Podcaster. Author of seven books about language. Quick and Dirty Tips founder. Bad skier. she/her http://linktr.ee/grammargirl

#AmWriting The 12/9 GG podcast
#AmReading The Future (Alderman)
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
I think some of the greatest delights in the business of etymology are words—especially everyday words—whose origins we just don’t know.

So, this year, I’ll do an etymological Advent calendar on this theme: words with origins that are obscure, uncertain, or otherwise unknown.
December 1, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”

Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
December 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Wow, I will pass 50K YouTube subscribers today! 😱 🎉

If you want to be among them, you can find me here: https:youtube.com/grammargirl

I post quite a few Shorts there that I don't post anywhere else.
December 2, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Thursday is National Cookie Day, which got me thinking about the difference between "cookie" and "biscuit" in US and UK English!

What I'd call a cookie, my friends in the UK would often call a biscuit.

🎧 APPLE: bit.ly/48zkCaF
🎧 SPOTIFY: bit.ly/4pg2GsR
Why Brits eat biscuits and Americans eat cookies.
YouTube video by Grammar Girl
youtu.be
December 2, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
CONFIRMED: Oxford University Press has named ‘rage bait’ as the Oxford Word of the Year 2025.

#OxfordWOTY
December 1, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Did you know people who stammer can often sing without any difficulty?

Or that bilingual friends might use English when being funny but use their native language when discussing politics?

@robdrummond.bsky.social delights us with stories of "languaging" today!

APPLE: bit.ly/4ojU0Ac
November 27, 2025 at 4:30 PM
My turn to drive! No more messing around on the phone for a couple of hours. :)
November 25, 2025 at 8:20 PM
If you use Shortcuts, what do you use it to automate?

And if you’re only just learning about this, what would you *like* to use it to automate?

I’m looking for ideas because this seems cool!
This is wild! I just created an iPhone shortcut automation that runs when I tap my phone to an old hotel key card!

Now I just have to think of something that is worth actually automating. www.instagram.com/reel/DPMlxOa...

(Yes, I am bored in the car on a road trip.)
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November 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
This is wild! I just created an iPhone shortcut automation that runs when I tap my phone to an old hotel key card!

Now I just have to think of something that is worth actually automating. www.instagram.com/reel/DPMlxOa...

(Yes, I am bored in the car on a road trip.)
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:55 PM
As someone who once ran a vacation rental, I say to you with as much intensity as possible:

🚨Make sure you have all your chargers when you leave! 🚨
November 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
After today's show, you'll be the most interesting guest at dinner with *fascinating* tidbits about the history of tableware.

For example, the fork was originally viewed as sinful, but then pasta got involved. 😈

Get the details and be the life of the Thanksgiving party!

🎧 pod.link/173429229
November 25, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
Introducing my new project… Your Wrong (yourwrong.co.uk). It’s all about the language rules and judgements that appear in different forms of popular culture. Films, series, podcasts, music, books, even graffiti!

I’d love your help to find examples!
Your Wrong
yourwrong.co.uk
February 5, 2025 at 9:34 AM
New study suggests that just walking around dressed like Batman may make the world a better place.

www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect - npj Mental Health Research
npj Mental Health Research - Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect
www.nature.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:54 PM
I'm making graphics for a project I'm launching soon, and nobody — absolutely nobody — is going to look at them and think I used AI, lol <sob>

Amateurish is good now, right?
November 23, 2025 at 6:21 PM
I feel completely incapable of even guessing what is real anymore.
He said "Amen" straight into the drop

Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
November 22, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
Which reminds me of one of my favorite New Yorker corrections
November 21, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
Love the idea of dictionary exercises. Even dictionary stats.

"She's got a 1.21 'Time to Lookup' in the Twelfth. Bananas!"

"Have you seen his IAS rating? His Inflections After Search are generational."
Delivery for my order of @merriam-webster.com's Twelfth Edition of its Collegiate Dictionary keeps getting delayed.

Guess this means I have extra time to keep working up the calluses on my thumbs to be ready for its sweet, sweet notches. And for strength training for its five-pound heft!
November 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
November 21, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Reposted by Mignon Fogarty
Love to see this and can't wait to listen!

Dictionaries are often the most requested book by incarcerated Americans. It's lifesaving. (Must be paperback do donate. Here's a link to read more about that: prisonbookprogram.org/donate-books... )
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
@merriam-webster.com just released the first new print edition of its Collegiate Dictionary in 22 years — and it weighs five pounds! So of course, I had questions. :)

In today's podcast, I talk with @petersokolowski.bsky.social about why print still matters.

APPLE PODCASTS: bit.ly/3LMhwbL
November 20, 2025 at 4:03 PM
This one surprises to me. The Cambridge Dictionary 2025 Word of the Year is "parasocial."

"Parasocial" feels more 2017 to me. Have you heard it more lately?
The Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2025
Cambridge Dictionary has announced parasocial as its Word of the Year 2025. Learn what parasocial relationships mean in social media, AI companions, fandom culture and celebrity obsession.
dictionary.cambridge.org
November 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Don't miss this wonderful detail on the cake:
YES the cake has THUMB TABS
November 18, 2025 at 8:36 PM
It's publication day for the first new Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in print in 22 years!

www.wbur.org/news/2025/11...
November 18, 2025 at 8:35 PM