Episode
Why English creates so many words spelled the same. Why we say 'ye olde' instead of 'the old.'
- Published
- Apr 28, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 955
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/1180
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Summary
1180. Why does "Ye Olde Shoppe" look old-fashioned? This week, we look at the vanished letters of English — thorn, eth, and yogh — and at why English has so many words that are spelled the same but have different meanings, such as "compact" (an agreement) and "compact" (to press together). The homographs segment was written by Samantha Enslen who runs Dragonfly Editorial. You can find her at dragonflyeditorial.com . The Old English segment was written by Karen Lunde who writes the newsletter I'll Go First. 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.