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

1179. This week, we talk to Valerie Fridland, a linguist and professor who grew up in Memphis surrounded by Southern accents and now researches the history and social power of speech. We look at her new book, "Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents," which explores ...  Show more

1178. Do you cringe when someone says "Hopefully, he'll pass the test"? This week, we look at why "hopefully" as a sentence adverb has been controversial for decades, even though the Associated Press accepted it in 2012, and it's been common since the 1930s. Then, we look at xeno ...  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.