A fun romp through some quirky words you may see when you're playing Scrabble.
Remember to check out my new game, Grammar Pop, for your iPhone or iPad.
Yesterday
The sinful fork (and other dinner-table surprises)
<p>1136. This week, we go full Thanksgiving, talking about the origin of butter knives, forks, and more. You'll love all the tidbits you can share with your family or friends during dinner.</p><p>🔗 <strong>Share your familect recording via </strong><a href="https://www.speakpipe ... Show More
14m 49s
Nov 20
Why print dictionaries still matter, with Peter Sokolowski
<p>1135. This week, we talk with Peter Sokolowski, editor at large at Merriam-Webster, about the new print 12th Collegiate Dictionary. We look at why print still matters, how the dictionary used lookup data to decide which words to drop (least looked-up compounds), and the import ... Show More
35m 31s
Nov 18
Personification in language and AI. Dictums, maxims, and proverbs. Expensitive.
<p>1134. This week, we look at the poetic power of personification (the language quirk that gives human traits to nonhuman things) and why style guides advise against using it for AI. Then, we look at the different names for common sayings, defining a proverb and breaking down th ... Show More
17m 26s
Oct 2020
Learning Vocabulary: Game shows
In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast, Rich, Jack and Rowan roleplay four popular UK game shows. The language focus is on words and phrases we use when are guessing, when we get things right and when we get things wrong. In this week's task, we want you to write a quiz qu ... Show More
26m 19s
Feb 2022
#271 20 Clever Word Combinations in English you Should Add to your Vocabulary (Brunch, Staycation and MORE)
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It's become very popular and trendy to combine words in English in recent years, but this can leave learners feeling pretty confused and conversations, or when watching TV series movies and listening to podcasts. These combinations of words happ ... Show More
37m 59s