Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Why 'Tiny' Sounds Smaller Than 'Huge.' Nixing the Horrid 'Of.' Kokopelli.

Episode Summary

The sounds of certain words make us think of things that are big or small, round or spiky, and the tendency is nearly universal. For example, people can often pick words that refer to something big or small even in languages they don't speak. Here's why. Plus, we look at the ways people sometimes overuse the word "of" and how to fix it. | Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. | Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course. | Peeve Wars card game.  | Grammar Girl books.  | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. | Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk. | Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/ https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl http://twitter.com/grammargirl http://facebook.com/grammargirl http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl

Episode Notes

The sounds of certain words make us think of things that are big or small, round or spiky, and the tendency is nearly universal. For example, people can often pick words that refer to something big or small even in languages they don't speak. Here's why. Plus, we look at the ways people sometimes overuse the word "of" and how to fix it.

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.

| Peeve Wars card game.

| Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

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

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

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.

| Links:

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe

https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl

http://twitter.com/grammargirl

http://facebook.com/grammargirl

http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl

http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl

https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl