Glenn takes a seat while panelists discuss literal American-style pants and trousers around the world that are designed for people who identify as women—and the many styles that fail to fit many bodies! Also: missing pockets—the agents of the patriarchy never rest. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign, Jean MacDonald, Julia Skott, Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, Saskia Koehler and Shelly Brisbin.
This episode features outbursts of descriptive words of body parts and fluids—and not just in English. We talk both about stuff people are uncomfortable saying and words that they use as freely as breathing air. With our international cast of characters on this episode, spanning three continents and two hemispheres, we mix English, Dutch, Russian, and Swedish, with a dash of Scots England. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign, Jean MacDonald, Julia Skott, Sarah Hendrica Bickerton,...
Languages are full of, um, filler words, you know, like, what’s it? We talk in this episode about doodads, whatchamacallits, mojang, and oder, right? Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign, Jean MacDonald, Julia Skott, Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, Saskia Koehler and Shelly Brisbin.
We’re back with a new set of Pants in the Boots episode with our largest, most geographically and linguistically varied set of panelists—from New Zealand/Aotearoa in the southern hemisphere to 10,000 miles (16,000 km) away in Sweden, we spanned several time zones and multiple native tongues…all to talk about that most English language of things: muesli! After a recent Gameshow episode in which a mini-muesli kerfuffle emerged, we enlisted help from a Swede named Skott and a Scot born in Germany t...
Two of our panelists have Dutch origins and so we veer from our usual discussion of things related to English to dive briefly into salty licorice, Christmas holiday letters made of chocolate, and stroopwafel dipping. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Chris Phin, Dan Moren, James Thomson and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
We’re sweet on sugar, but many of our panelists don’t cotton to American candy—including the American participants. We discuss our favorite chocolate bars and confections, Glenn forgets the word for licorice briefly, seaside rock crops up, and we drop into dipping Tim Tams. The Surgeon General warns that this episode might exceed your sugar allocation for the year. This is our membership drive episode—become an Incomparable member! Sign up, support our show, and get access to exclusive podcasts!...
Soda, pop, soda pop, soft drink, tonic, seltzer, and other fizzy drinks form the sweet backbone of our discussion as panelists talk about their childhood drinks, fountains and soda jerks, and a special beverage from Malta. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Chris Phin, Dan Moren, James Thomson and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
People who speak English with one accent trying to ape another region or country’s often sound ridiculous to the people of that other place—but convincing to those from their native land’s impression of what people in that other place sound like. Benedict Cumberbatch, just for instance. Confused? It’ll all make sense when we go to Glasgow. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Chris Phin, Dan Moren, James Thomson and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
There’s something about the way people in different countries makes those from others swoon. But there’s often a disdain for regional accents, particularly ones that have class markers. In a language with few accent marks above letters, we talk about the dulcet tones we like from around the world. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Chris Phin, Dan Moren, James Thomson and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
Hokey crokey, Batman! We start by talking about nonsense words—words that are filler and mean nothing in the language or dialect in which they’re used—but then transition to more meaningful matters, like the way in which aboriginal and native languages in various countries have made inroads into English. The movie Brave is mentioned and, of course, Johnny Vegas of St Helens. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Chris Phin, Dan Moren, James Thomson and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
The television license is mythical to those of us in the United States, but it’s prosaic part of having high-quality programming in the UK. We talk about the kinds of over-the-air, satellite, streaming, and cable TV available to us, our feelings on Rupert Murdoch, and did you know Glenn’s dad sold cable door to door in 1979? Glenn Fleishman with Antony Johnston, Dan Moren, Jean MacDonald, Jenny Phin and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
Money is the root of all evil and the topic of this podcast. What in heaven’s name is spondulix? A pound is not a guinea. A five might be a finif, if you’re a gangster or read hard-boiled detective novels. Learn a little history and our favorite terms for money, as well as why those terms feel like they’re going extinct. Stay tuned after the episode for tooth-fairy inflation. Glenn Fleishman with Antony Johnston, Dan Moren, Jean MacDonald, Jenny Phin and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
We’re in a jam about jelly. What Americans think of as jelly is rarely eaten outside North America, while other folks worried we were putting a gelatin-brand product on our peanut-butter sandwiches. It’s all about the pectin! We compute the compote and cut our way through the fruit thicket, including having our way with curd. Stay tuned to the exciting post-show discussion about tiny hotel spreads. Glenn Fleishman with Antony Johnston, Dan Moren, Jean MacDonald, Jenny Phin and Sarah Hendrica Bic...
Everyone else’s postal codes seem bizarre until you start decoding them. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
North American house numbering makes no sense to people with more rational systems, like that of Glasgow, which James reads out during this episode. Why do U.S. and Canadian homes have extremely long numbers and how can you use this to find cross streets? Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
Panelist Chris Phin asked the innocent question, “What’s a duplex?” We went off half-cocked, then fully loaded as we discussed the difference between American duplexes and triplexes, townhouses, UK semi-detached housing, and a “two flat” in New Zealand. A common wall means you have to talk to your neighbor to get anything done—and we know how that goes. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
We quake with fear as we address the tricky question of floor numbering. If the ground floor is the floor that is level with the ground, what’s the first floor? What if your ground floor is a flight of stairs up? Why does James have shops in his basement? Did you park in the garage or lob yourself into the lobby? Going up. Or down. We’re not sure which. Please make sure and consult this document, referenced after the official closing theme of this episode, which will “help” “explain” apartment a...
Now for the most exciting of all topics: real-estate ownership! Americans try to explain condos and coops, Scots tell us about mysterious “factors” and trying to talk your neighbo(u)rs into things like spending huge sums to repair holes in the floor, and our New Zealand correspondent brings up…BODY CORPS?! Own, rent, or lease, we’ve been co-opted. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
An off-handed remark from James that he lived in—nay, owned—a “tenement flat” led to an extended discussion about flats, apartments, and tenements, and about how we refer to the kind of sub-building dwelling we live in. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
We thought we’d start a run of episodes continuing our theme of things around the house with a simple topic: bench or counter/countertop. It turns out after finishing a meal, we need to sidle into the bathroom, find the pocket door. We also learn that we must stop sitting on top of things off which one normally eats food—it’s rude! And, in some parts of the world, a cultural social catastrophe extending to tapu. Nothing is ever easy when we investigate English’s migration around the world. Shall...
A buttermilk biscuit is one of humanity’s greatest inventions. But it is somehow different from an English or Scottish (or New Zealand) scone, whether you pronounce it skown or skon. In this episode, we tear biscuits apart, peer inside sausages, and swim in gravy. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
We wade into the contentious debate of what constitutes a sandwich in this episode, but fortunately get sidetracked into whether a chicken patty is a burger or a sandwich, and then start remembering chip butties fondly, we discuss “the bits” of fries/chips, and Chris informs us about “a fly cuppie and a fine piece.” We avoid getting into a jam about jelly (reserving it for a future episode). Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton...
Welcome to tea or not! A podcast in which we…never mind. This episode, we discuss a cuppa, a fly cup, broken orange pekoe, tea bags, tea with toasted brown rice, and what is absolutely not tea. Bonus content at the end. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
A flat white isn’t just a boring person who frequents Starbucks, but a drink invented in New Zealand. Fortunately, we have a Kiwi on this episode to talk about that and other coffee we drink out in the best of times (and, in New Zealand, right now) and we make at home. We add sugar and milk to flat white, americano, mocha (pronounced both ways), Nespresso, and cowboy coffee, among other caffeinated topics. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hen...
Broil, broil, toil, and trouble, cooktop flame and grill bubble! On this episode, panelists talk around the hob about knobs, grill each other over flames, and do not, I repeat, do not put another shrimp on the barbie. Barbecue is meat. Unless it’s a kind of cookout. We mention our episode on vans, caravans, and RVs, and Chris enlightens us about two UK brands: Aga, a popular kind of fancy grill, and Baby Belling, a popular model of electric cooker. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, ...
In this first episode of the fifth series of Pants in the Boot, our panelists turn on the tap and fill their kettle—or is it a pot, pan, or jug?—with cold, clear water, before boiling it. We debate voltage. Also, Jean reveals her regifting habit. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.
Oof, it’s been a long day of eating, but it’s finally time for dinner, whether we consume it at 5:30 p.m. with children or midnight in Barcelona. Panelists discuss what they eat on what surface and when, and discover all of them grew up eating their evening meal together with their family. This is the last episode in this meals series. Join us again soon for a new series with new set of culture and words. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Antony Johnston, Chris Phin, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign...
Here’s one in which our British compadres have Americans (and most Canadians) beat hands down: tea! While our feckless host admits he thought high tea was an invention, English and Scottish panelist explain tea, afternoon tea, and high tea, and ask the butler to bring more scones. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Antony Johnston, Chris Phin, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign and James Thomson.
We’ve finished off a mid-morning snack and elevenses, and it appears to be time for lunch. Our UK, Canadian, and American panelists talk about the sandwich as holy center of lunch, but wouldn’t something deep fried be nice, too? Or a burrito? “The Holy Lunching Friars of Voondon claimed that just as lunch was at the center of a man’s temporal day, and man’s temporal day could be seen as an analogy for his spiritual life, so lunch should be seen as the centre of a man’s spiritual life, and be hel...
The most important meal of the day is breakfast. And we seem to agree on that. We might call it “brekkie,” though we usually do not, but it is the least contentiously named meal. Panelists discuss cereal, stacks of things, the breakfast burrito, the American diner, and stay through to brunch, a no longer uniquely American invention. As mentioned on this episode, you can find Antony “Anthony Johnson” Johnston’s Joe Shelter series here. Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Antony Johnston, Chris...
