Decoding the colon: AP vs. MLA style. Plus, words with no known origin.

About this episode

This episode decodes the use of colons in different writing styles and explores words with unknown origins.

1182. This week, we solve the mystery of the colon: when do you actually need to capitalize the next word? We compare AP, Chicago, and MLA styles to give you a clear answer. Then, we look at common words with surprisingly "shadowy" histories — from the sudden appearance of the word "dog" to the apocryphal origin of "quiz." The words with no origins segment was written by Karen Lunde. 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 .&nbsp…

People in this episode

Host: Mignon Fogarty

Topics covered

• colon usage
• AP style
• MLA style
• word origins
• language history

Keywords

• colon
• AP style
• MLA style
• word origins
• language

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: QuickAndDirtyTips.com, Grammar Girl, Castria Communications, LinkedIn Learning

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