Author: Mignon Fogarty
Mignon Fogarty
Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips and the author of seven books on language, including the New York Times bestseller "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." She is an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and the show is a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She has appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better. Find her on Mastodon.
Do you have trouble spelling the word “dilemma”? I’m nearly certain I was taught the wrong spelling in school, and when I got older and checked a dictionary, I was shocked to find that the word is spelled “dilemma.” Further, the only correct spelling is “dilemma.” I thought it was spelled “dilemna.” It’s not as if “dilemna” is a substandard variant or regional spelling. Dictionaries often note alternative spellings and sometimes even nonstandard spellings, but “dilemna” doesn’t even show up that way. The wrong spelling (‘dilemna’) shows up in a few books in the Google Book Corpus—not a lot of books—it peaked…
A listener named Salomé from Santa Clara, California, wrote, “I have a question regarding the word ‘sneaked’ versus ‘snuck.’ I religiously hammer into my students’ heads that ‘snuck’ is not a word, but I hear it used all the time (in public speaking and in the media). My students have even noted the instances and have asked me to explain. [Can you help?]” Salomé is right that “sneaked” has been considered the proper form of the word for a long time, but she and her students are also on to something when they notice people using “snuck” out in the…
Christians, Jews, and Muslims will all be celebrating religious holidays in the coming weeks, so it seems like a good time to answer questions about religious words. Do You Capitalize the Word ‘God’? One of the most common questions people ask about religious words is whether to capitalize the word “god.” The name or title of any specific deity is capitalized just like any other name, so when “God” is used to refer to “the one God” (in other words, in any monotheistic religion), it is capitalized. For example, you’d capitalize “God” in these sentences: Some Christians give thanks to…
(Paraphrased listener question) When my son was in elementary school, I started hearing kids use the phrases “these ones” and “those ones,” and that doesn’t sound right to me. It should be “that one” or “those over there,” not “those ones.” But I’ve also heard other people use the phrases “these ones” and “those ones.” Is that now acceptable English, or even used? You aren’t the first person to complain about “these ones” and “those ones” sounding wrong, and I’m sure you won’t be the last. So you’re not alone, but there’s no real rule against using those phrases except…
I’ve been interviewing authors for the podcast lately, and one question we always ask is what words give them trouble, and I think more than half of the authors—successful, and in many cases New York Times bestselling authors—more than half of the authors say they can’t spell “bureaucracy,” so if you struggle with it, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. It’s just a tough word. First, let’s stipulate that most people don’t have a problem with the “cracy” part at the end. We’re familiar with that from “democracy,” “theocracy” and so on. So we need help with the “bureau”…
In 2017, I asked people on Twitter what it’s called when a family has words only they understand, and some people said it’s called family slang or kitchen table lingo, and a couple of people said it’s called a “familect” or “familiolect.” If a dialect is the language of people in a certain region or group, and an idiolect is one person’s way of speaking, then a familiolect is one family’s way of speaking. People shared their funny stories, for example, Caroline’s father calls the microwave “Chernobyl” and Norma’s family calls pants “ralls” because they are the bottom part of…
Today, we turn to run-on sentences. I bet a lot of you think that run-on sentences are just really long sentences that go on and on like the Energizer bunny. But actually, run-on sentences are sentences that lack punctuation; they can be long, but they can also be short. What Is a Run-On Sentence? Here’s an example of a short run-on sentence: “I’m a woman I am a truck driver.” (I was in a writing group a few years ago with an interesting woman who was writing a book about her experience as a female truck driver.) The reason “I am a…
I like myriad 10,000 Maniacs songs—”These Are Days,” “Candy Everybody Wants,” “Few and Far Between,” and probably more that I can’t think of right now. But should I really use “myriad” to describe just a few songs like this? First, the reason I’m telling you about my love for 10,000 Maniacs is that the word “myriad” is derived from the Greek word for “10,000.” Second, the word has long since come to have a meaning beyond specifically 10,000. Today, it means “a whole bunch,” “an uncountable multitude,” or “something with an innumerable variety” so it’s hard to argue that “myriad” is a good way…
Today we’re talking about the asterisk: how you use it and how it differs from other footnote symbols. What Is An Asterisk? The asterisk is the little star symbol above the “8” key on your keyboard. The word comes from a Greek word meaning “ little star.” (1) In the past, asterisks were used to show the omission of a letter or a passage in time, but that role has largely been taken over by the ellipsis. It’s also commonly mispronounced. The right pronunciation is “aste-risk.” You’ve probably heard it pronounced like “aste-rix” or “aste-rick,” but it’s “aste-risk.” (2) How to Use…
A listener named Manasi says she has been avoiding the words “purposely” and “purposefully” because she isn’t sure of the difference between them. I know that problem! I used to avoid words like that before I became Grammar Girl, but it’s better to learn how to use them, so let’s break it down because the difference can be subtle. First, both “purposely” and “purposefully” come from an Old French word that meant “intention,” and they’re both adverbs, which means they’re usually describing how you do something: how you do the action of the verb. ‘Purposely’ “Purposely” is the word you…