# What 'kith and kin' and 'beck and call' have in common Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/what-kith-and-kin-and-beck-and-call-have-in-common Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/what-kith-and-kin-and-beck-and-call-have-in-common.md Podcast: [Grammar Girl](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700) Published: 2026-08-18T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/what-kith-and-kin-and-beck-and-call-have-in-common Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a7d33537cf3c58886cea693/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/what-kith-and-kin-and-beck-and-call-have-in-common Duration seconds: 724 ## Resource 1212. This week, we look at fossil words β€” old words like "kith," "beck," and "hue" that survive only inside phrases like "kith and kin," "beck and call," and "hue and cry." We also look at listener follow-ups about the game "huckle buckle beanstalk" and the "Nimrod" mascot of Watersmeet, Michigan, plus a familect about "lawn motors" and "underbrellas." The fossil words segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and editor. She writes I'll Go First, a newsletter where she shares her story, then hands you a writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her on igofirst.org . A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon . We appreciate your support! Larry Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna BjΓΆrnsdΓ³ttir πŸ”—  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. πŸ”—  Share your familect recording in   Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) πŸ”—  Watch my   LinkedIn Learning writing courses . πŸ”—  Subscribe to the   newsletter . πŸ”—  Find an edited   transcript . πŸ”—  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/what-kith-and-kin-and-beck-and-call-have-in-common/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/what-kith-and-kin-and-beck-and-call-have-in-common.md` β€” 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.