Kathryn Petras & Ross Petras

What’s New

Our newest book, published August 30 2022!  It’s … A History of the World Through Body Parts: The Stories Behind the Organs, Appendages, Digits, and the Like Attached to (or Detached from) Famous Bodies

A grab bag of historical spleens, chins, and more, this is your ultimate literary dissection of body parts throughout history!

From famous craniums to prominent breasts, ancient spleens and bound feet, this book will bring history to life in a whole new way. With their inimitable wit and probing intelligence, authors Kathy and Ross Petras look at the role the human body has played throughout history as each individual part becomes a jumping-off point for a wider look at the times. In far-ranging, quirky-yet-interrelated stories, learn about Charles II of Spain’s jaw and the repercussions of inbreeding, what Anne Boleyn’s heart says about the Crusades and the trend of dispersed burials, and what can be learned about the Mayans from Lady Xoc’s pierced tongue. A History of the World Through Body Parts is packed with fascinating little-known historical facts and anecdotes that will entertain, enlighten, and delight even the most well-read history buff.

Available from:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Bookshop.org
Chronicle Books

Want to sound and feel more confident? Ditch these 11 phrases from your vocabulary, say psychologists  A rundown of the phrases that can undermine your attitude (CNBC)

An interview on Seattle’s KIRO Newsradio, in which we weigh in on the persistence in calling Oregon (ORE-uh-gn to those who live there) Ore-uh-GONE. (And where’d the name come from anyway? )

SAT Prep: A look at some of the words that surveys say people have the most difficulty with, ones that show up in articles, books, and (groan) standardized tests but that tend to trip us up.  (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Brains, Breasts, Bowels, and Bladders: A History of the World Through Body Parts: Kathryn and Ross Petras in Conversation with Andrew Keen on Keen On (LitHub)

Separated by a Common Language, Part 2: We continue our discussion of spelling differences between American English and British English, including what will probably be the last conversation you’ll ever want to hear about the nuances of “get,” “got,” and “gotten.” (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

What Happened to Anne Boleyn’s Heart?: Inside the strange medieval custom that separated the famed queen’s most essential organ from her body. (excerpted on LitHub’s CrimeReads from A History of the World Through Body Parts) 

Separated by a Common Language: On one side, you have people spelling it “realise,” on the other, it’s “realize.” And the poor Canadians are caught right in the middle. A listener question from Spain prompts us to dig into why Americans and Brits spell so many words differently when they’re supposed to be using the same language.  (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Wait… Is There a Difference? Part 2: After we take another (brief) run at the lie/lay problem, we continue our discussion of words we often use interchangeably that might actually have different meanings.  (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Wait… Is There a Difference? A listener question has us talking about words we often use interchangeably that actually might mean different things. Don’t mistrust us or distrust us, we’ll never lead you astray! (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

100th Episode of You’re Saying It Wrong: Yup, 100 episodes of words, laughter, etymology, grammar, and everything and anything word related …. and this time we’re taking listener questions. (Do you say toMAYto? Or do you say toMAHto … and is one “righter”? There’s more to it than you’d think!) (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Don’t make these 11 punctuation mistakes that ‘irritate people the most,’ say grammar experts: A brief look at pesky punctuation problems (CNBC) 

A dangling modifier walks into a bar…  Jumping off from some recent Twitter confusion, we look at how much trouble there can be when we misplace our modifiers, or just let them dangle in the wind. Recording this podcast, no animals were harmed. (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Dead Grammar Is? We set aside our usual games and quizzes for a wide-ranging discussion about the necessity of grammar rules, when we need them and when we don’t, who gets to decide what’s “right” and what’s “wrong,” and whether we need to rethink that. (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Genericide: We continue on with our discussion of trademarks by looking at words that were once trademarked, but have become so widely used that they’ve actually lost that trademark. Also, Kathy sings! And Ross explains why he never sings. (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Trademark this! Hey, can we trademark this?  The word “this”? We may not be lawyers, but that’s never stopped us from having opinions, especially when it comes to trademarking every word under the sun. I’m sure we can trademark “digression” though, we’ve cornered the market on that one… (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

We’re Doing Some Verbing Which came first, the chicken or the chickening out? The egg or the egging on? The noun or the verb? Today we’re looking at verbing nouns and nouning verbs, and maybe even a little adjectiving while we’re at it. Trust us, this episode is NOT cringe! (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

A Visit from Lady Mondegreen Have you ever wondered who Jimi Hendrix was talking about when he sang, “‘Scuse me, while I kiss this guy”? We don’t know! Because that’s not what he said. Today we look at mondegreens, those times we mishear lyrics or phrases in ways that completely change their meaning. (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

The most likable people always avoid these 13 communication mistakes, say speech and words experts: A look at the most common communication mistakes to avoid if you want to win friend and influence people (CNBC article)

A really, really, really hard quiz: A look at a survey of words that people think make other people sound smart, and then we tackle the most difficult word quiz we’ve ever had on the show. (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

We’re in a Mood: If I were you, I’d hold on to my hat, because in this week’s episode we’re going to try to tackle the subjunctive mood! We’re doing a lot of this under protest … (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Driving Linguistic Change: Prompted by a listener email, we look at the idea that women tend to be the ones who initial changes in language. Do they? If so, how? (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Get Thee Behind Me, 2021!: In which we air our grievances and discuss the words and phrases from 2021 we’d like most to be retired (or at least sent on a long vacation). (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Want to sound less annoying? Avoid these 15 words and phrases that are ‘embarrassingly cliched,’ say grammar experts (CNBC)

The (Most Mispronounced) Words of the Year! From “cheugy” to “chipotle” (Still!?!), these are the words that plagued newscasters  (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Language experts Kathryn and Ross Petras on the year in words  – Leonard Lopate at Large/WBAI Radio , New York

A Grab Bag of Confusion: More of those easily confused words, from a slew of listener emails! (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Medial Cluster Reduction!  Or … is it WRONG to pronounce the “t” in “often”? (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Weird Origins of Everyday Phrases: The sometimes surprising, usually murky origins of phrases we use every day — from the theatrical beginnings of “stealing your thunder” to the somewhat sloppy “getting caught red-handed.” (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Want to sound more confident? Avoid these 11 words and phrases that make you look weak: Grammar experts (CNBC)

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Apostrophes? Who Needs ‘Em!: A talk about apostrophes used and misused, the problems with possessives, and the all-too-common “greengrocer’s apostrophe” ! (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)

Fun with Plurals!: What we get wrong when we try to use Latin plurals, the rules of English plurals, pluralizing compound words… Look out, our opinions on plurals are like a charging herd of rhinocerotes! ! (You’re Saying it Wrong podcast on NPR)