Grammar Girl here. I'm in Yann Fogarty and you can think of me as your friendly guide to the English language.

We talk about writing, history, rules, and other cool stuff.

Today we'll talk about why some people call your parents sister and aunt and others call her an aunt.

And we'll talk about when you should capitalize the names of cocktails.

But first, thank you so much to Ethan for leaving a nice review on Apple Podcasts.

Writing, I like this show, but I don't understand why the tips have to be dirty, which made me laugh.

And it's a question I get pretty regularly about the full name of the podcast.

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

And actually the whole podcast network that I founded Quick and Dirty Tips.

And it's been a long time since I've answered that question, so I guess it's time again.

Here's the story. When I was growing up, my mom would always use the phrase Quick and Dirty for something that was just the essentials.

For example, she might say, let's do a Quick and Dirty job on these dishes before we watch TV.

And we'd get things loaded in the dishwasher and probably get an especially dirty pan soaking in the sink.

But we wouldn't completely finish doing the dishes.

So to me, doing the Quick and Dirty job meant getting the most important parts done.

And the parts that would set you up for an easier time in the future.

I haven't been able to verify this, but I have a feeling it might be a regional saying,

or at least be more popular in the Pacific Northwest where I grew up.

For example, most people I encountered in the early years of the podcast didn't seem familiar with the phrase.

But when I was back visiting Seattle many years ago and was walking on the waterfront,

I came across a banner for a Quick and Dirty boat-building contest.

It looked like people had just a few hours to build a boat out of plywood,

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