# Why does 'shh' mean the same thing in so many languages, and what's 'broad' about daylight? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/why-does-shh-mean-the-same-thing-in-so-many-languages-and-what-s-broad-about-daylight Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/why-does-shh-mean-the-same-thing-in-so-many-languages-and-what-s-broad-about-daylight.md Podcast: [Grammar Girl](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700) Published: 2026-08-11T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/why-does-shh-mean-the-same-thing-in-so-many-languages-and-wh Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a6b6b2c0bf0e6212feb1d3e/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/why-does-shh-mean-the-same-thing-in-so-many-languages-and-what-s-broad-about-daylight Duration seconds: 664 ## Resource 1210. This week, we look at why the sound "shh" means "be quiet" in so many different languages, and we trace the phrase "broad daylight" back to Old English to find out why it shows up so often in crime stories. The "Shh" 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 . 🔗  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/why-does-shh-mean-the-same-thing-in-so-many-languages-and-what-s-broad-about-daylight/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/why-does-shh-mean-the-same-thing-in-so-many-languages-and-what-s-broad-about-daylight.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.