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Grammar Girl

Grammar Girl

Beowulf’s ‘you know,’ Shakespeare’s ‘prithee,’ and the myth of Valley Girl ‘like,’ with Dr. Laurel Brinton

Oct 22, 2026 · 38m

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About this episode

1231. This week, Valerie Fridland steps in for Mignon and sits down with linguist Laurel Brinton to talk about little words like “well,” “you know,” and “like.” They look at why “well” signals bad news, how “Beowulf” may open with the Old English version of “you know,” and why “prithee” disappeared. Then they look at why most uses of “like” are older than Valley Girl speech. Find Laurel Brinton at blogs.ubc.ca/laurelbrinton . Find Valerie Fridland at ValerieFridland.com . A hearty thank you to the Keepers of the Commas on Patreon . We appreciate your support! Larry Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir Kate Wade 🔗 Share your familect recording…