705 - 'Blue Collar,' 'Bluestocking,' and 'the Blue Hair Brigade.' 'Oral' Versus 'Verbal.'
Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.
Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
4.5 • 2.9K Ratings
🗓️ 16 July 2019
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We talk about the origins of the phrases "blue collar," "bluestocking," and "blue hair," and discuss whether you should follow a rule you may not have even heard before: Don't use "verbal" to mean "spoken."
LINKS AND SPONSORS |
Blinkist: http://blinkist.com/grammar
Native: http://nativedeodorant.com code:GRAMMAR |
Grammar Girl Email Newsletter | https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/newsletters |
Grammar Girl's AP style webinar: http://bit.ly/APStyle2019 |
GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME |
Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/iPadGrammarPop |
For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopMobile |
GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS |
http://bit.ly/GrammarPopBooks |
GRAMMAR GIRL IS PART OF THE QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS PODCAST NETWORK |
VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)
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 in Yon Foggerty, |
| 0:06.7 | and you can think of me as your friendly guide |
| 0:08.8 | to the English language, writing history, |
| 0:11.7 | rules, and cool stuff. |
| 0:13.3 | Today, I have a meaty middle about idioms |
| 0:15.9 | that use the word blue. |
| 0:18.1 | A quick and dirty tip about the difference |
| 0:19.7 | between the words oral and verbal |
| 0:22.2 | and a listener-familicked story. |
| 0:24.5 | Let's get started. |
| 0:25.9 | [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ |
| 0:28.3 | I've talked on previous podcasts |
| 0:30.0 | about idioms that use the word blue. |
| 0:32.8 | We talked about blue bloods, the blue moon, |
| 0:35.7 | and blue laws just to name a few. |
| 0:38.4 | Today, I'm going to share a few more. |
| 0:40.7 | First up is blue collar. |
| 0:43.6 | This term originated in the United States. |
| 0:46.6 | It's been used since the 1920s to refer to people |
| 0:50.0 | who perform manual labor. |
| 0:52.2 | That is, who work with their hands. |
... |
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.