359 GG Do You Tell People to Pound Sand or Po...

1151. This week, we look at the deep history of words with Doug Harper, creator of Etymonline. We look at the "gravitational" link between digging a grave and having a grave problem, the surprising 1839 origin of "OK," and why some of our favorite word stories are actually "folk ...  Show more

1150. This week, we look at "impact" as a verb and why it's a pet peeve for so many editors and readers. Then, we look at the linguistic shift between sympathy and empathy, exploring how "sympathy" began to sound patronizing and how "empathy" expanded to fill the gap.Links to Get ...  Show more

Idioms 

Idioms 

An idiom is a phrase that you can't guess the meaning to if you haven't heard it before. These are some useful ones that anyone learning English should know. (To see them written out, check the YouTube version of this episode!)

Learn an English expression about being polite.