That's What They Say

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Funner, snuck, and LOL are all things that we're hearing people say these days. That's What They Say is a weekly segment on Michigan Radio that explores our changing language.University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan studies linguistics and the history of the English language. Each week s…

Michigan Radio Newsroom


    • Jun 23, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 5m AVG DURATION
    • 239 EPISODES

    4.9 from 109 ratings Listeners of That's What They Say that love the show mention: ever wondered, usage, english language, program, short, fun, listening, thank, show, love.


    Ivy Insights

    The That's What They Say podcast is a must-listen for any word nerd or lover of the English language. Hosted by Anne Curzan and Michael Patrick Shiels, this show delves into the fascinating world of language usage, spelling, and etymology. With their engaging chemistry and evident passion for the subject matter, Curzan and Shiels make each episode both fun and informative. It's clear that they enjoy sharing their knowledge with their audience, making for an enjoyable listening experience.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is its ability to explore the power and nuances of words. The hosts delve into why certain phrases or words are used in specific contexts, shedding light on the historical perspectives and cultural influences behind their usage. This not only deepens our understanding of language but also adds richness to literature and spoken communication. The hosts' enthusiasm for their subject matter is infectious, making it easy to get lost in each episode as they uncover the intricacies of our language.

    However, a downside to this podcast is that the segments often feel too short. The program length is likely governed by the time slot made available by the morning NPR news broadcast, but it can leave listeners wanting more. Given how engaging and interesting each topic is, it would be great if there was more time dedicated to exploring them in depth. Nonetheless, even with shorter segments, That's What They Say manages to provide valuable insights into language usage.

    In conclusion, That's What They Say is a shining example of why WUOM Michigan Radio deserves support. It offers a delightful blend of entertainment and education as it explores the evolution of language usage, spelling variations, and etymology. While some may find the segments too short at times, this podcast still provides valuable insights into linguistic dichotomies with clarity and historical perspective. Whether you're interested in word origins or simply appreciate good communication skills, That's What They Say is a podcast worth adding to your playlist.



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    Latest episodes from That's What They Say

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 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.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 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.

    TWTS: Won't someone think of the kiddos?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2025 5:27


    The word "kid" is already informal, and now we have the word "kiddo" living alongside it.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 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.

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    TWTS: Goody goody whose shoes?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 5:34


    Oh goody, it's time to talk about all the goodies!

    TWTS: Are do gooders as good as good doers?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 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.”

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    TWTS: When clarity is needed, badly

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 4:53


    It is less ambiguous to say “I badly need to shower” than it is to say “I need to shower badly.”

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

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2025 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."

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2025 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."

    TWTS: Taking a whack at "whack"

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2025 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.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2025 4:53


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

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2025 5:12


    We will never know some of the informal language that was bandied about among speakers in the time of Beowulf.

    TWTS: Think hard before pointing out language quirks

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2025 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?

    TWTS: When word nerds fight crimes

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 5:25


    In a criminal case, you just might need a linguist.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2025 4:32


    There's competitive forensics, but there's also forensic medicine, forensic accounting, and forensic linguistics too.

    TWTS: The expressionless expression of "deadpan"

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2025 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."

    TWTS: Whenever you say "whenever"

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 5:24


    Not all of us use the word 'whenever' in exactly the same way, and people are noticing.

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    TWTS: One hundred is worth a hundred

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2025 5:14


    It's 100% true that people online are asking about sentences like, “I got an a hundred on the test.”

    TWTS: Not all sounds resonate

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 5:20


    The way some people use "resonate" doesn't resonate with all of our listeners.

    TWTS: Sweep

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2025 4:49


    We can sweep the floor, sweep the board, sweep the stakes, sweep the series – and maybe it will even be called a "clean sweep."

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    TWTS: May as well get comfortable with "comfortability"

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2025 5:15


    While you may not find “comfortability” in many standard dictionaries yet, it is out there in circulation with “comfortableness.”

    TWTS: If you find “the lurch,” don't stick around

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2025 4:55


    Sometimes we're left in the lurch. It's probably fair to say that most of us don't know where that lurch is.

    TWTS: Where did that pit in your stomach come from?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2025 5:13


    It appears that some of those bad or uneasy feelings we may feel in the pit of our stomach have become a pit in our stomach.

    TWTS: The American Dialect Society's 2024 Word of the Year

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2025 5:18


    It's that time again. With 2024 behind us, we can vote on the word of the year.

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    TWTS: When language gets spicy

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 5:14


    We can pepper our food or pepper our speech. If the mood strikes us, we can be peppy in a pep rally sort of way.

    TWTS: There are reasons to use "there are" before a plural, and there's reasons to use "there's"

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2024 4:24


    There's examples all over the the place of people using "there's" before a plural noun. In fact, we just gave you one.

    plural twts
    TWTS: The "doink" heard 'round the stadium

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2024 4:47


    As 2024 comes to a close, the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs football team gave us a reason to use the verb "doink."

    TWTS: Reach out and ping someone

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024 5:15


    We can still reach out the car window to grab a parking ticket, but today, "reaching out" can also mean "pinging" someone to make a connection.

    TWTS: A quintessential enough guide to "quintessential"

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2024 5:09


    The words "decimate" and "unique" are quintessential examples of how a word's meaning can shift from its etymological roots.

    TWTS: The not-so-ordinary world of "ordinary" and "ornery"

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2024 5:20


    "Ornery" seems like an ordinary enough word, but its link to "ordinary" might surprise people.

    TWTS: Dilly dallying in the lightning round

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2024 4:54


    As listeners wait with bated breath, we will not dilly dally or shilly shally to get to this lightning round.

    TWTS: Language pet peeves don't always stand the test of time

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2024 5:09


    Looking at late 19th century language peeves can often point to a change in progress, but not always.

    TWTS: "These ones" made the lightning round

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2024 5:17


    Of all the topics we could cover this week on That's What They Say, we chose these ones over those ones.

    TWTS: We've seen a change with "sea change"

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2024 5:24


    A sea change can now be caused by many things other than the sea, and some of its dramatic effects have been lost in the process.

    TWTS: The touchy third rail

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2024 5:26


    We're going to try not to touch the third rail, but we are going to talk about it.

    TWTS: In America, it's always hot dog season

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2024 5:19


    Major League Baseball playoffs and football tailgate season both mean the smell of hot dogs is in the air.

    TWTS: Petards are for hoisting, not stabbing

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2024 5:16


    We don't encounter petards very often anymore. That's unless we're being, metaphorically speaking, “hoisted with our own petard.”

    TWTS: Should we stop utilizing "utilize" and just use "use"?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2024 4:38


    There are plenty of people out there who see "utilize" as a pretentious substitute for "use." However, some people are completely comfortable utilizing the verb "utilize."

    TWTS: Yeah, we need to talk about "yay"

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2024 4:59


    There's the “yea” in voting “yea” or “nay," and then there's the celebratory “Yay!" Oh yeah, there's also "yeah."

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    TWTS: Whoa, is that how you spell "whoa"?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2024 5:08


    Whoa, whoa, whoa. There are a lot of ways to spell "whoa."

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    TWTS: Your caring about gerunds is noble, but you caring is nice too

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2024 4:37


    You could say, "I don't like him singing," or you could say, "I don't like his singing." Believe it or not, some folks have very strong feelings about which of those is correct.

    TWTS: The case of "pleaded" v. "pled"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2024 4:04


    It's all so grammatically straight forward in the present tense if you plead innocent. Later on though, should you tell people you "pleaded" innocent or "pled" innocent?

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    TWTS: Goods in the can may not always be "canned"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2024 5:20


    The sign at the grocery store said “can goods,” not “canned goods.”

    TWTS: Keeping track of “track” and “tract"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2024 5:00


    We keep track of things, we lose track of things, we run track, and listen to tracks. Sometimes though, we confuse “track” with “tract.”

    TWTS: The “all” in “alls” is just another tough one to call

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2024 5:06


    Alls our listener wanted to know is what's going on with the “alls” in “alls I know.”

    TWTS: Are you really a Realtor?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2024 5:14


    Technically, not everyone you buy real estate from is a realtor.

    TWTS: The day sped by when time speeded up

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2024 5:19


    The summer sped by and the car sped off, but perhaps we speeded up the process.

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    TWTS: Bare, bald, and boldfaced lies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 4:42


    A bare-faced lie may also be bald. Sometimes, it may even be bold.

    TWTS: When "thank you" is your only option

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2024 4:06


    It doesn't seem like coming up with a response to "thank you" should be that complicated. When you think about it though, there are a lot of options.

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    TWTS: When it comes to "lie" and "lay," even English professors get confused

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2024 5:17


    Even for speakers who feel solid about the distinction between "lie" and "lay," they may lose that distinction when "low" is added to the mix.

    TWTS: We're not done talking about "alright," all right?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2024 5:20


    All right, last week, we got distracted by the versatility of "all right." This week, we look at why spelling it as one word, "alright," makes some people really mad.

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