Episode

Word wagons and bobbasheelys: Life at DARE, with Joan Houston Hall

Podcast
Grammar Girl
Published
Aug 13, 2026
Duration seconds
1223
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not_requested
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https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/word-wagons-and-bobbasheelys-life-at-dare-with-joan-houston
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https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a75e6cb7811de82a54da700/media.mp3
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Summary

1211. Today, we look at the behind-the-scenes history of the Dictionary of American Regional English with Joan Houston Hall. We look at her personal journey into linguistics, the "word wagons" that traveled the country to collect oral histories, and the fascinating origins of regional words like "scrid" and "bobbasheely." Finally, Joan shares her top three book recommendations for fellow word lovers. This episode originally ran in March for the Grammarpaloozians. To get bonus content like this, custom crosswords, and fun tidbits from Mignon, go to Patreon.com/GrammarGirl. "Dictionary of American Regional English" (DARE) Support DARE by visiting the  University of Wisconsin's giving page. 🔗  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: Dan Feierabend 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.