# The secret language of gamers. Plus, why ducks don't ‘duck’ from danger Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-secret-language-of-gamers-plus-why-ducks-don-t-duck-from-danger Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-secret-language-of-gamers-plus-why-ducks-don-t-duck-from-danger.md Podcast: [Grammar Girl](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700) Published: 2026-07-28T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/the-secret-language-of-gamers-plus-why-ducks-dont-duck-from Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a626b2e22500f71203638ac/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/the-secret-language-of-gamers-plus-why-ducks-don-t-duck-from-danger Duration seconds: 730 ## Resource 1206. This week, we look at the secret language of video gamers — including why getting "nerfed" is a bad thing and what it means to "rage quit" — and we answer a listener's question about whether the bird "duck" or the verb "duck" came first and whether real ducks actually duck for cover. The duck segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and editor [who spent nine years as a video game journalist.] These days, she writes I'll Go First, a newsletter where she shares her story, then hands you a weekly writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her on igofirst.org . 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in   Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my   LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the   newsletter . 🔗  Find an edited   transcript . 🔗  Get   Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer:  Castria Communications Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by  Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media:  YouTube .  TikTok .  Facebook .  Threads .  Instagram .  LinkedIn .  Mastodon .  Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/the-secret-language-of-gamers-plus-why-ducks-don-t-duck-from-danger/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-secret-language-of-gamers-plus-why-ducks-don-t-duck-from-danger.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.