669 - 'Red Tape,' 'Red Herring,' 'Paint the Town Red,' and More 'Red' Idioms.
Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.
Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
4.5 • 2.9K Ratings
🗓️ 11 March 2019
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, we investigate the origin of "red tape" and other "red" idioms.
FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/grammargirl
Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl
Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl
SPONSORS AND LINKS
http://calm.com/grammar
GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME
Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad
For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop
GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page
GRAMMAR GIRL IS PART OF THE QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS PODCAST NETWORK.
VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ |
| 0:04.6 | Grammar Girl here, I'm Minyeon Foggedy. |
| 0:07.0 | This week, I have a grammar limerick, |
| 0:09.1 | a meaty middle about red idioms like red tape, |
| 0:12.3 | and one of your kitchen table lingo stories. |
| 0:15.3 | For March 4th National Grammar Day, |
| 0:17.4 | the American Copy Editor's Society held a grammar-limeric contest on Twitter, |
| 0:22.8 | and I have the winner, Claire Felgurdsson, |
| 0:26.0 | reading her limerick for you. |
| 0:28.4 | According to the American Copy Editor's Society, |
| 0:31.0 | Claire is an academic copy editor based in Toronto, |
| 0:34.7 | who's worked in almost every subject that uses APA style |
| 0:38.3 | from architecture to psychology to education. |
| 0:41.6 | She also edits non-fiction manuscripts, business reports, |
| 0:45.0 | and anything else the wonderful world of freelancing throws her way. |
| 0:49.2 | She says she enjoys loose leaf tea, |
| 0:51.4 | books about unusual hobbies, and to amateur, |
| 0:53.9 | classification. |
| 0:55.4 | Her website is effective-editing.com. |
| 0:59.2 | There were lots of great entries, |
| 1:00.4 | but the judges had Claire impressed them |
| 1:02.4 | with her well-metered take on the singular they. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mignon Fogarty, Inc., and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Mignon Fogarty, Inc. and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.