1111. This week, we look at the phrase "near miss" and why this seemingly illogical term actually makes sense. Then, in honor of National Dog Day, we look at how 16 different dog breeds got their names, including why a dachshund is a "badger dog," a poodle is a "puddle dog," and a mastiff is a "tame dog."

The "near miss" segment was by Natalie Schilling, a professor emerita of linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and who runs a forensic linguistics consulting firm. You can find her on LinkedIn.

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
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| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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1110. This week, we talk with Jane Friedman, an expert on the business of being a writer. We look at how to build a strong email newsletter and why it's a critical tool for authors in today's publishing world. Jane shares her best tips for getting started, what to write about, and how to get new subscribers — offering advice that can help any writer create a platform that lasts.

This episode was originally a bonus episode released in May for people who support the show, the Grammarpaloozians. If you'd like to support the show, and get ad-free podcasts and bonuses right away, visit quickanddirtytips.com/bonus for more information.

Jane Friedman's website

Jane's book, "The Business of Being a Writer"

🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.

🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.

🔗 Take our advertising survey.

🔗 Get the edited transcript.

🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1109. This week, we look at why kids and video gamers talk about "versing" someone. Then, we look at the linguistics of placeholder words like "whatchamacallit" and "thingamajig," including some fun international examples and the now-obsolete word "whiblin."

The "thingamajig" segment was by Ursula Kania, a Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Liverpool. It originally appeared on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license.

🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.

🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.

🔗 Take our advertising survey.

🔗 Get the edited transcript.

🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.