Best Rebecca Kruth Podcasts (2025)

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TWTS: "Crummy" and "lousy" have a crummy relationship 5:19

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20h ago5:19

5:19

If something is crummy, then we could also call it lousy, which gives us a clue about how crummy came to mean what it means.By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: "Primer" is pronounced "primer," unless you prefer "primer" 5:28

10d ago5:28

5:28

When we’re talking about a small book for teaching children to read, or really any short book that introduces a topic, there are two competing pronunciations of the word for that book.By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: Won't someone think of the kiddos? 5:27

15d ago5:27

5:27

The word "kid" is already informal, and now we have the word "kiddo" living alongside it.By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: The media is the message, or are they? 5:35

22d ago5:35

5:35

When it comes to media, here's the message: It’s time for a truce between the singular agreement people and the plural agreement people.By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: Goody goody whose shoes? 5:34

25d ago5:34

5:34

Oh goody, it's time to talk about all the goodies!By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: Are do gooders as good as good doers? 5:37

1M ago5:37

5:37

If you are trying to do good in the world, some would now argue it’s better to be a “good doer” than a “do gooder.”By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: When clarity is needed, badly 4:53

1M ago4:53

4:53

It is less ambiguous to say “I badly need to shower” than it is to say “I need to shower badly.”By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: Both may come from a hare, but it's still "hide nor hair" 5:17

2M ago5:17

5:17

There’s the hair on our heads and the hares in our yards, and there has been some confusion about which one is part of the expression "harebrained."By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: Presumptions and assumptions about "presume" and "assume" 5:19

2M ago5:19

5:19

We can presume things, which may or may not be presumptuous. We can also assume things, which then raises the question of whether things can be "assumptuous."By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: Taking a whack at "whack" 4:57

2M ago4:57

4:57

For those of us of a certain age, if we whack a tennis ball or a softball too hard or at the wrong angle, we could throw our back out of whack.By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: How "heist" was lifted for a life of crime 4:53

2M ago4:53

4:53

We sometimes talk about stealing or robbery in terms of "lifting" things, and this is relevant to "heists" as well.By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: That's what they used to say (we think) 5:12

3M ago5:12

5:12

We will never know some of the informal language that was bandied about among speakers in the time of Beowulf.By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: Think hard before pointing out language quirks 5:11

3M ago5:11

5:11

There are so many interesting bits of language in the world, we can’t help but notice. The question is, when you notice someone saying something interesting, should you point it out?By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: When word nerds fight crimes 5:25

3M ago5:25

5:25

In a criminal case, you just might need a linguist.By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: Why your high school forensics club didn't solve crimes 4:32

3M ago4:32

4:32

There's competitive forensics, but there's also forensic medicine, forensic accounting, and forensic linguistics too.By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth

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TWTS: The expressionless expression of "deadpan" 5:23

4M ago5:23

5:23

The word "deadpan" is on the rise, as multiple parts of speech. That "pan" is related to the historical expression “shut your pan."By Rebecca Kruth, Anne Curzan

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TWTS: Whenever you say "whenever" 5:24

4M ago5:24

5:24

Not all of us use the word 'whenever' in exactly the same way, and people are noticing.By Anne Curzan, Rebecca Kruth