Ben Yagoda

Ben Yagoda

@byagoda.bsky.social

Author "Gobsmacked!”; “About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made"; "Will Rogers: A Biography"; "How To Not Write Bad" etc.

970 Followers 445 Following 190 Posts Joined Aug 2023
2 days ago

If you were waiting for the paperback….

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2 days ago
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The Gift of O. Henry's Slang When it came to using--and inventing--lingo, his nibs was swell.

O. Henry as slangmeister open.substack.com/pub/benyagod...

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1 month ago
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"Whoever"? "Whomever"? Whatever. A surprisingly thorny grammatical question.

My final musings on the word “whomever.” I promise. open.substack.com/pub/benyagod...

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1 month ago

Seems to be fixed. But I’m honored.

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3 months ago

I’m gonna create a summer drink called Tizz so I can run an ad in June, Tizz, the season.

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3 months ago

To be fair, that confuses me sometimes too.

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3 months ago

A byline that commanded respect.

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3 months ago

H/t to @fritinancy.bsky.social for the first comment on the trend I’m aware of, in 2011.

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3 months ago

Always a pleasure to write for @grammargirl.bsky.social

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3 months ago
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“I’ll leave you to it” I knew a tipping point of sorts had been reached last week, when I was at the gym of the small liberal arts college in my town. (I have gym privileges because my wife works at the college.) Two und…

Haven't done a Not One-Off Britishisms post for a while, but a line I heard while catching up on @abbottelementary.bsky.social the other night inspired me to get back on the stick. notoneoffbritishisms.com/2025/12/05/i... @lynneguist.bsky.social

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3 months ago
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Where 'Posh' Doesn't Come From The funnest etymologies, alas, are almost always wrong.

Why the funnest etymologies are almost always wrong benyagoda.substack.com/p/where-posh...

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3 months ago

No, terrible examples, both would be “got” in US. Better, “I’ve gotten used to this rubbish.”

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3 months ago

At least they spelt/spelled our names right.

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3 months ago

He didn’t use my quote where I called you the OG and the GOAT

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4 months ago
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If you’re in or near Baltimore, Monday, November 3, come on by. For tickets and info, check out @profsandpints.bsky.social

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4 months ago

The Daze of [Bobby] Wine and Rojas

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4 months ago

Reminds me of “ant-ee-bee-otics

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4 months ago
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How Do You Pronounce "Biopic"? Does the word rhyme with "myopic" or ... "Why, oh, Nick"?

If you’re so inclined, please check out my Substack, “Mush from the Wimp.” This post is on the pronunciation of my least favorite movie genre open.substack.com/pub/benyagod...

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4 months ago

Thanks Jesse!

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7 months ago
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"The Lives They're Living" has been on hiatus but we're back with a vengeance. On the new episode, the great Dave Barry talks about the also great Roy Blount Jr. Among our topics: why Roy hasn't won the Mark Twain Prize, while Adam Sandler has.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

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7 months ago
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Profs & Pints DC: How to Speak British Profs and Pints DC presents: “How to Speak British,” a crash course on bantering, yammering, waffling and otherwise carrying on like someone across the pond, with Ben Yagoda, professor of English at t...

Chuffed to be talking Not One-Off Britishisms at @profsandpints.bsky.social in Washington D.C. on Monday 7/21. Hoping you capital lot can come. @princetonupress.bsky.social www.ticketleap.events/tickets/prof...

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11 months ago
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Folk Icons I: Varda Bar-Kar on Janis Ian Podcast Episode · The Lives They're Living · 04/03/2025 · 27m

Delighted to talk with Varda Bar-Kar about the legendary @janisian.bsky.social on “The Lives They’re Living” pod. Varda’s documentary on Janis is playing in NY and LA podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

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1 year ago

Possibly last stop on the “Gobsmacked!” tour—Zoom talk (with fun multimedia!) on Monday, March 10, 7 PM Eastern. @princetonupress.bsky.social @lynneguist.bsky.social Register here bit.ly/AnEveningWithBenYagoda

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1 year ago
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Delighted to talk with John Barth about the public broadcasting pioneer Bill Siemering, on The Lives They’re Living. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

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1 year ago
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David Leaf on Van Dyke Parks Podcast Episode · The Lives They're Living · 02/12/2025 · 42m

New episode of The Lives They’re Living: #BeachBoys chronicler David Leaf on the legendary Van Dyke Parks. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

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1 year ago
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Casey Schwartz on Jonathan Schwartz Podcast Episode · The Lives They're Living · 01/30/2025 · 42m

When I first had the idea for The Lives They're Living podcast, one name on my shortlist was Jonathan Schwartz, legendary disc jockey, writer and raconteur. Big thanks to his daughter Casey Schwartz for agreeing to come on and so generously sharing her insights. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

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1 year ago
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“Opposite number” Back to H.L. Mencken and his The American Language. In a supplemental volume published in 1945, he writes: The English opposite number, signifying a person in corresponding office or position, e.g.…

“Opposite number” as a Not One-off Britishism. Plus I antedate the first OED citation by two years. notoneoffbritishisms.com/2025/01/20/o...

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1 year ago
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Jasmine Paolini is like, “Why does my shirt say ‘Where’ on it?”

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1 year ago

All star lineup!

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1 year ago

“Tools” seems to have disappeared for me from both Google and Google books, both on phone and computer

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