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Jumping off from some recent Twitter confusion, we look at how much trouble there can be when we misplace our modifiers, or just let them dangle in the wind. Recording this podcast, no animals were harmed.

We set aside our usual games and quizzes for a wide-ranging discussion about the necessity of grammar rules, when we need them and when we don't, who gets to decide what's "right" and what's "wrong," and whether we need to rethink that.

We continue on with our discussion of trademarks by looking at words that were once trademarked, but have become so widely used that they've actually lost that trademark. Also, Kathy sings! And Ross explains why he never sings.

Hey, can we trademark this? No, I mean, can we trademark the word, "this"? We may not be lawyers, but that's never stopped us from having opinions, especially when it comes to trademarking every word under the sun. I'm sure we can trademark "digression" though, we've cornered the market on that one...

Which came first, the chicken or the chickening out? The egg or the egging on? The noun or the verb? Today we're looking at verbing nouns and nouning verbs, and maybe even a little adjectiving while we're at it. Trust us, this episode is NOT cringe!

Have you ever wondered who Jimi Hendrix was talking about when he sang, "'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy"? We don't know! Because that's not what he said. Today we look at mondegreens, those times we mishear lyrics or phrases in ways that completely change their meaning.

Horrors! As a result of some unforeseen circumstances, we're without a new episode this week. We're disappointed, too! But this does give us a chance to listen back to one of our favorite episodes (actually two of them, combined), from early 2020, which also contains some information that's very relevant to current global events. We really do apologize, and we'll be back in two weeks with a shiny new episode for your ears to enjoy.

First we take a look at a survey of words that people think make other people sound smart, and then we tackle the most difficult word quiz we've ever had on the show. No, really, this is sorta nuts. Plus, some investing advice you should definitely NOT take.

If I were you, I'd hold on to my hat, because in this week's episode we're going to try to tackle the subjunctive mood! We're doing a lot of this under protest.

Some listener emails prompted Kathy and Ross to take a look at the idea that women are the real drivers of innovation in language.