Historically, bloodletting and bloodshed have been different things, but the line has blurred. Linguist Anne Curzan breaks down the evolution of words.
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5:32
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5:32
TWTS: Smack dab in the middle, give or take a little
When you’re smack dab in the middle of something, you can’t be more in the middle of it.
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4:47
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4:47
TWTS: Getting through the history of "gh" is tougher than we thought
English spelling can be a museum of earlier pronunciations, as we see in words like "night," "through," and "cough."
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5:10
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5:10
TWTS: You can tuna fish, but you may not need the "fish"
Given that tuna is a fish, it can seem unnecessary to call that out in the compound tuna fish.
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4:49
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4:49
TWTS: Here's what's up with "up"
When we eat up or fix up or heal up or hurry up, we’re not actually moving in an upward direction.
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 Public that explores our changing language. University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan studies linguistics and the history of the English language. Each week she'll discuss why we say what we say with Michigan Public All Things Considered host Rebecca Hector.That's What They Say airs Fridays at 4:45 p.m. and Sundays at 9:35 a.m. on Michigan Public and you can podcast it here.Do you have an English or grammar question? Ask us here!
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