
What do the words companion and mate have in common with food? What is a Calque? Listen to this episode to find out!
Sources:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/history-of-word-companion
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/companion#:~:text=companion%20(plural%20companions),accompany%20or%20travel%20with%20another.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mate
https://www.smh.com.au/national/mate-what-s-the-history-of-our-most-treasured-salutation-20210513-p57rhk.html
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comrade
Aug 31, 2023
2 min

What do ancient theatre goers of Rome and the word explode have in common? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://mashedradish.com/2017/03/28/the-dramatic-roots-of-explode/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explode
Aug 13, 2023
2 min

What are words which contradict themselves called? Fast means to go fast, but, to stand fast means to not move at all. Listen to this episode to understand such words!
Sources:
https://medium.com/@jackashepherd/these-extremely-cool-words-mean-the-opposite-of-themselves-8e4f5fd63cd3
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites#:~:text=A%20'Janus%20word'%20is%20a,antagonyms%2C%20or%20auto%2Dantonyms.
https://blog.maltalingua.com/what-are-janus-words/
https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/09/08/some-words-have-two-opposite-meanings-why
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus#:~:text=In%20ancient%20Roman%20religion%20and,named%20for%20Janus%20(Ianuarius).
https://www.andersonlock.com/blog/god-doors/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym#:~:text=An%20auto%2Dantonym%20or%20autantonym,or%20%22to%20bind%20together%22.
Oct 30, 2022
2 min

What is the difference between a pirate and a privateer? What link has the pirate William Dampier has to guacomole, mango chutney, and to Charles Darwin? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dampier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Hatley
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/eat-like-a-pirate
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/first-food-writer
https://ocean.si.edu/human-connections/exploration/william-dampier-pirate-who-collected-plants
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/arrival-of-english-explorer-william-dampier
https://www.britannica.com/story/pirates-privateers-corsairs-buccaneers-whats-the-difference#:~:text=A%20privateer%20was%20a%20pirate,belonging%20to%20a%20rival%20country.
https://blog.marinersmuseum.org/2012/09/the-difference-between-pirates-privateers-and-buccaneers-pt-1/
Jul 16, 2022
6 min

What does the word cereal and panic have to do with Greek mythology? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cereal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_(god)
https://drhoffman.com/article/the-origin-of-panic-3/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-mythological-origin-of-panic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos
https://www.etymonline.com/word/victory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_(mythology)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_(mythology)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanus
Nov 20, 2021
3 min

Are the words humid and humour related? What does the word melancholy have to do with bile? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-origin-of-the-word-humor/
https://www.britannica.com/science/humor-ancient-physiology
https://uselessetymology.com/2017/11/29/the-etymology-of-humor/
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/112655/how-did-the-word-humor-which-originally-represented-bodily-fluids-end-up-rep
https://www.thecolourworks.com/hippocrates-galen-the-four-humours/
Nov 5, 2021
4 min

What does the word 'ado' mean in the phrase much ado about nothing? Why do we say fast food and not quick food? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_word
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/fossil-words/shod-in-slipshod-and-roughshod
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_binomial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_collocations
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/Malkiel1959.pdf
Oct 24, 2021
4 min

What does pandemic and pandemonium have in common? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://letsproofread.com/text/124/
https://wordhistories.net/2016/08/25/pandemonium/
https://blog.oup.com/2008/10/pandemonium/
https://www.etymonline.com/word/pandemonium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pand%C3%A6monium_(Paradise_Lost)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost
Sep 21, 2021
2 min

Was the animal sloth named after the Cardinal sin or was it the other way around? Listen to this episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/sloth
https://mashedradish.com/2016/02/26/sloth/
https://www.etymonline.com/word/sloth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth_(deadly_sin)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acedia
Sep 12, 2021
2 min

What does the Goddess of love have to do with the etymology of the word venom? Listen to find out!
Sources:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/venom-and-the-goddess-of-love
https://www.etymonline.com/word/poison
https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/o4x247/the_revered_deadly_beasts_loved_gonorrhea_venus/
https://www.etymonline.com/word/*wen-?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_52678
https://www.etymonline.com/word/venom
Jul 3, 2021
2 min
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