Rafaella in Wausau, Wisconsin wonders about unwritten rules of etiquette regarding when it is okay as something of an outsider to talk about certain subjects within a family. The rules depend in part on in-group and out-group dynamics within the...
If an older man and woman spend lots of time together, going to family gatherings and the like, but they’re NOT dating, what do you call their relationship? Best friends? Dear friends? Or . . . something else? And a marathon runner who’s crossed 31...
The term less-than, often written in quotation marks, is an increasingly common way to denote status inequality, especially when it comes to gender. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”Less-Than”” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Contrary to what you might think, new research by psychologist James Pennebaker suggests that people who use the pronoun I a lot actually tend to occupy the lower status in a conversation. In addition, Pennebaker and his associates found that people...
What do your pronouns say about your own psychological makeup? If you use the word I a lot, does it mean you’re a leader . . . or a follower? A surprising study suggests that people of lower status in a group tend to use I the most. Also, a look at...
A transplant from Zimbabwe finds the word irregardless annoying and ungrammatical. Grant explains that regardless of its status, “irregardless” is needlessly redundant. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Regardless vs. Irregardless”...