From KMUW Studios and part of the NPR Podcast Network, You're Saying It Wrong is a podcast that looks at what we get wrong—and what we sometimes get right—when it comes to this English language. Hosted by KMUW's Fletcher Powell, each episode features a conversation with the sister and brother who wrote the book on it. Literally. You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse is by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras.
On June 24, 2022, You’re Saying It Wrong received first place in Division B for Interview Podcasts from the Public Media Journalists Association. The awards recognize the best work in public media journalism from across the country.
You're Saying It Wrong is available to public radio stations through PRX.
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The plural of thief is thieves, so why isn't the plural of chief chieves? And as the old woman once said, where are the beeves??? On today's show, we tackle the tricky nuance of plurals and synonyms that aren't actually synonyms. -
We'll be happy to tell you what this episode is about just as soon as we get back from using the bathroom—I mean, the restroom—I mean, the washroom—I mean, the facilities—I mean… -
Today we address a couple of listener questions, including one about the Third Conditional (???), before moving on to a quiz about Middle English vs. Latin spellings. -
Today we have a wide-ranging discussion about the words we use, when we use them, and the enormous power they can have. -
Sometimes words get a whole lot less specific over time, and sometimes people get really mad about that! -
We look at how a tiny little prefix or suffix can completely change the meaning of a word. Or how it could do nothing at all! -
We finish our discussion of the words people would like to see banned from the English language in 2026 and then we uncover some uncommonly odd things about one particular prefix.
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We go through a list of words people want to banish in 2026 and then take a swing over to the weird world of contractions. You ain't heard nothin' yet! -
We explore all sorts of love and love-related words as we honor St. Valentine (and some other unexpected saints). -
We look at how much a word can change if we just give it a little nudge this way or that, which leads us into a discussion of how certain Arabic words made their way into English.
