CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part II - podcast episode cover

CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part II

Mar 14, 202639 min
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Episode description

Language is beautiful and, in many cases, continually evolving. As a result, we end up with hundreds of strange idioms and figures of speech that we use on a daily basis, with little to no understanding of what they originally meant. Join Ben and Noel with special guests Frank Mulherin and Rowan Newbie, the creator of the Pitches podcast, as they explore the bizarre origins of your favorite turns of phrase in this Classic episode.

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Transcript

Speaker 1

Fellow ridiculous historians. We're back with another classic episode. This is a follow up to our legendary Idiomatic for the People Too Part one. This is Idiomatic for the People to Part two, which we thought was just an amazing inside joke we did and it was.

Speaker 2

We stand by it.

Speaker 3

If anyone's not familiar with the incredible Athens, Georgia based you know Indie well, they became huge mega rock stars, but they originally were kind of like heroes of the early indie rock kind of scene. Rim Automatic for the People is the name of one of their biggest albums and is named after a really amazing soul food restaurant in Athens, Georgia called Weaver Dies and their slogan was

whatever it means, Automatic for the People. Sadly that spot recently closed and as long as I've been going to Athens and even living there, I'd never been until very recently and then they closed and it was awesome have squash casserole delicious And speaking of awesome, we have a lot of fun with this one, Max, I think it was a little bit before.

Speaker 1

Your time maybe, so we had talked previously when we aired part two. Part one still hilarious. We had talked about re resurrecting this series with more idioms and things for the etymology nerds. Max, would you be on board to hop on mic with us for a gritty reboot? You know I would all right good, because it'd be awkward if you said no. Anyway, let's roll the tape.

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio, and we've returned in an earlier episode we launched our continuing exploration into idioms. This is the next episode of Idiomatic for the people.

Speaker 2

Come on knock Idiomatic for you something something bad people and phrases and we got to work shop that.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 4

No, Ben.

Speaker 2

You pointed out though, that the Three's company theme kind of dirty, clearly.

Speaker 1

Not as innocent as the melody would imply. And this is something that we we should look back into because I know that you and I and our super producer Casey Pegram had a fantastic time tripping the light of music history in our Louis Louis episode, So maybe we can look at theme songs one day.

Speaker 2

Are you trying to make trip the Light happen? Ben?

Speaker 1

No, But I was thinking about making cast the pod fantastic.

Speaker 5

That could be a whole thing.

Speaker 3

We hear voices. Hear these voices. Man, We've got voices, that's right. Are not just the ones in our heads?

Speaker 1

No, no, it's not just you and Casey myself. Today we are rejoined by our good friends Ruin Newby and Frank mulheran. Hey, mahallo, guys, thanks thanks for is that a well hello or a mahallow?

Speaker 5

Both?

Speaker 2

Okay?

Speaker 1

With that multifunctional so we are. We're really glad that you guys didn't didn't give up the ghost. It's another idiom didn't give up the ghost at intermission and came and came back. So thanks so much for giving us a second date. We've established the rules videomatic for the people already. I almost tapped out myself, Ben. Yeah, yeah, you've been You've had a long day, my friend.

Speaker 2

It's been a long journey.

Speaker 3

I was telling the superducer Casey Pregram, that I did get good sleep last night. I went to bed like a good boy around nine. We'll go bet four thirty. But it's not about the lack of sleep, but just about the length of the day. We are up at four it feels like an eternity, but I'm kind of liking this.

Speaker 2

Punchy vibe that I'm riding now. I'm hoping that it'll lend itself to some fun idiomatic dissection.

Speaker 1

I am one hundred percent agreed with you, and I've just been struck by inspiration. Noel, will you be the first brave soul to explore an idiom with us today?

Speaker 3

I would love to ben jamn. My idiom is the name of a spice girl? Can you guess which one it is?

Speaker 1

Is it scary?

Speaker 5

The story?

Speaker 2

The story is a little bit scary. It does involve some sport, some potential sports, some sports individual sporty individuals.

Speaker 1

It's a baby.

Speaker 2

What are the other ones? There's baby baby? There may be some babies in the story.

Speaker 1

Sure, there's baby spice. Gingerne Ginger spice.

Speaker 5

Was she ginger spice?

Speaker 4

Or she was?

Speaker 2

Wasn't she?

Speaker 1

There was ginger spices?

Speaker 2

Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 5

Ginger is a spice? I think? Is what you mean?

Speaker 2

Ginger is a spice multiple levels.

Speaker 3

Yeah, the story of the spice girl in question, or at least her namesake, does involve some spices potentially, Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2

Aha. It involves a journey to India to the land of exotic spices, right, like turmeric, like you know, peppercorns, peppercorns, that's right, that's right. But it's not just any journey, my friend. It is the journey of the wealthy via steam ship.

Speaker 3

You see, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, it was the thing to do for the well to do, the wealthy, the upper crust of England to go to India for what they call in England holiday, which means vacation h or. It's also a fabulous Madonna song.

Speaker 2

Wouldn't that be funny?

Speaker 1

She was.

Speaker 3

There's a Go Go song called vacation and then there's a Madonna song called holiday, and they're both. You know, Madonna's talk about holiday is about taking a holiday, if we took a holiday, just sometime to celebrate.

Speaker 2

Now, I think she's more talking about like a Christmas type experience. Sure, she's talking about celebrating.

Speaker 6

Well, as long as you wake me up before you go.

Speaker 2

Go, oh, you know, I will ruin you.

Speaker 3

You know, I will listen, hear listen here my friends. So they have to take this journey on steamship. And here's the thing. In those days, it was not a good look for the wealthy to have a tan because the tan was not what it is today. Or people you know, get literally spray painted on their bodies so

they look they have that like glow. No, that was the look that was reserved for like a field hand, that was considered like we would call like a redneck or something like that, someone that was like the lowest of the low. And these these wealthy types wanted to maintain their ghostly complexion. So here's the thing, the story of the word posh.

Speaker 2

That is my work. It was a long preamble to get there. I know. But Ben, you know I love a good acronym.

Speaker 1

That's true.

Speaker 3

You know you know this about me, Frank, you know this about me. I'm always talking about acronyms. I won't shut up. I'm like acronym, acronym, acronym. Yet I can't seem to think of.

Speaker 2

Radar race car.

Speaker 5

That's it's a palindrome, not an acronym.

Speaker 1

I just want to chime in here. One of my favorite palindromes doctor awkward, really wow beautiful.

Speaker 6

Also one of my favorite Spider Man villains. No wait, ac, I know my favorite is a lonely tail and all wow, that's a good one. Yeah, but palindromes may be something for a different tale, right, you.

Speaker 2

Know, the word palindrome is itself a palindrome. I'm pretty sure other language that's fair.

Speaker 3

So I'll tell you the story of the word posh is really fascinating because there is a popularly circulated, let's call it, I don't know, a rumored origin of this word that these mucky muck English types that were going on their holiday to India thea steamship required a very particular type of seat so they would not get that tan.

So they wanted to sit in the part of the ship that would shield them from the afternoon sun, which is the hottest of the hot during the day when you're out on the open sea, which would, according to this version of events, be the right or the starboard side. And then when you came back, they wanted it to be on the left or the port side. So therein you have the acronym psh port side out starboard home, meaning the voyage there you'd sit on the port side.

On the voyage back, you'd sit on the starboard side. And supposedly, according to this tale, these tickets would be stamped with posh and it got so popular that people just started asking for the posh ticket.

Speaker 2

We want the posh ticket. Turns out this is garbage.

Speaker 3

This story is not true at all, and there's great reason there's it's so garbage and so questionable that Snopes has a fantastic article dissecting all of these these various versions of the story. And they have a couple of reasons that does not make sense. First of all, the way the sun would move in a journey like this would be different depending on the day. Right, This is a very long and arduous journey. And they you know, you couldn't really bank on where the sun would be exactly.

Speaker 2

It does make its own rules. And that's the thing. The winds.

Speaker 3

There were monsoon winds that would be in play, and they would change from season to season, so it would change seasonally, you know, like maybe not day to day, but certainly seasonally. And there's here's the other part. Here's the other rub as they say, which is another idiom we should explore.

Speaker 2

Yeah, there it is right there. They these trips were so long and difficult that they wouldn't book a round trip. They would be staying in India for a long time to make it worth their while they might stay months, some might even stay over like a year or so, they would not book that return trip until they knew, damn well they were ready to come home. It's it's so posh.

Speaker 3

And so the real origin of the word posh came around in eighteen thirty. And the thing about posh too is the reason stories like this can take hold is because it's its origins are a little bit murky. But there are some origins in the Romani language of the early seventeenth century, where it was a term that meant money. The term was posh huri, which was their version of a halfpence. So then the word posh kind of stuck around and started.

Speaker 2

To mean money. Money equals you are so money, you are so well to do, you are so posh. That makes a lot of sense to me. And now we use that term to mean anyone that is moneyed or looking fancy or looking like whatever their get up is is would have cost a good bit. You know.

Speaker 1

That's amazing. I have to admit I'm a little It was a little bit of an emotional roller coaster for me, Noel, because I got quite into the idea of posh. Spice's full name being port side out, starboard home spice.

Speaker 2

That would be good. That would be good.

Speaker 3

And a point that I love the Snop's article makes is that the Brits of this period, and honestly humans in general, big fans of scrap booking.

Speaker 2

Scrap booking is it was a super fashionable thing to do and not a single one of these posh stamped tickets exists in the world.

Speaker 1

Debunked.

Speaker 2

So yeah, totally debunked.

Speaker 6

But the Brits love to say posh. That's probably where I know the term from.

Speaker 3

Of course, you're a posh dandy, you know, like a posh dandy trip and the light fantastic there.

Speaker 4

We like that line from peep Showers, like he calls them a posh spaz. You probably iron your socks, yes, yes, exactly.

Speaker 1

Also also I propose that we take it upon ourselves to bring back posh as a slang term for money. There's always there's so many I think you can. I think you can pull it off and no one will bust you, you know what I mean. Like if you say how much Pasha is that, they'll just say it's four thirty five.

Speaker 3

I think that works totally. There's some like you ever heard of like scratch. You heard someone calling money scratch?

Speaker 1

Sure cheddar Posh.

Speaker 2

Is way cooler? Yeah, posh is way cool.

Speaker 5

You got the pasha more fashionable?

Speaker 2

Sounds like something Ali g would say that.

Speaker 1

You would say, yaksha exactly pasha. Oh boy?

Speaker 5

All right, well.

Speaker 1

Uh now we now we turn to let's see what what you got something? Frank, you got one for us?

Speaker 4

Sure? I was looking at, uh, what's cracking in? What's cracking in on tonight? Do y'all have what's cracking? Do y'all have any idea of what's going on?

Speaker 2

Like some some what's the HAPs?

Speaker 4

Yeah, what's the HAPs what's the buzz, what's the you know, what's the new gossip? Yeah? Yeah, yeah. And so I was looking into this and you know, it's not something that's native to America. It's but it's been around in England for a while and specifically it comes from the Ulster area and the Scots Irish area of the British Isles. And originally it was spelled you know like the way we spell it now, like c R A c K.

Speaker 2

That was American. Then it was an americanized version or no.

Speaker 4

Well no, no, no, it was originally started out in as Middle English, and it was just like it, you know, it was related to the sound but it but in this particular usage of it, it pertained to like a lot of chatter basically like people, you know, you go into a loud bar restaurant, you hear just you know.

Speaker 5

White noise.

Speaker 2

Yeah yeah, I believe they call them pubs over there.

Speaker 4

Yeah yeah, so yes, exactly exactly. And so what I found really interesting about this was that it's an example of a reborrowing. So it was primarily used in you know, Scotland, Northern England and in Northern Ireland. It really wasn't used in Ireland, even though we associate you know, when people say where's the crack or what's the crack and not what I.

Speaker 3

Think of when people say where's the crack, I'm thinking of something completely different.

Speaker 4

Oh yeah, yeah totally. But yeah, but say if you were in Ireland and somebody asked you that, you know, they would just take you to a cool bar, you know, a restaurant or whatever, then sell you some crack, sell you some crack and then you'd continue about your night. So cracks use in mainland Ireland or the non northern Ireland part really is more of a recent thing and

kind of started in the late sixties. And what happened was they took crack and Gala sized it and started to spell it c r a Ic, you know, so they don't have a k in Gaelic, and I don't know why they chose to put an eye in front of them.

Speaker 2

That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 3

It looks like a more Middle English version, like I would think of it, like, you know, the craik was the whisky and then he deeves and all that kind of.

Speaker 1

Yeah, exactly, it's got a jabberwocky vibe to it as well.

Speaker 2

Really in the Sleepy Tutes.

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, the guy ron gimbal So I wonder if it's related to Archaic in any way just because of that Ai.

Speaker 4

It's just an example of the Irish taking this word and giving it a more Gaelic sort of rebranding. And that's really kind of like what it turns into, because it turns into this Gaelic spelling of it, and it becomes associated with Irish nightlife culture and just going out and having fun and raising hell and all that kind of stuff, and then it ends up coming back into English.

By way of Ireland, and it kind of now means like fun, nightlife, gossip and all this kind of stuff, but with the kind of Irish flavor to it.

Speaker 1

So are we are we having cracked? Now? Is this? Is this what we're doing?

Speaker 4

I'd like to hope. So okay, all right?

Speaker 1

Yeah?

Speaker 6

Is that how you would say it too? We're having crack?

Speaker 4

Yeah, yeah, we're having a crack.

Speaker 5

And I feel very strange, very.

Speaker 1

Fake, say like because I went to a good crack. Yeah, I went to Dublin last year. And what surprised me is I had heard people use this phrase, but I had no idea what it meant. And it was never in a situation where I wanted to stop someone and be like part of me, fellow Irish person, you know what I mean? What?

Speaker 2

What?

Speaker 1

What is this crack of what you speak?

Speaker 5

Take a crack?

Speaker 2

And where can I get some? Sorry?

Speaker 3

I keep leaning on that, but it's I can't, I can't hear that. So to me, what what what comes to mind is what's cracking?

Speaker 5

Yes?

Speaker 3

And I also another popular British expression is a cracking good time exactly, So you're saying that's cracking good you know?

Speaker 5

That is?

Speaker 2

I think it just means that it's super exciting and fun and upbeat, high energy.

Speaker 4

Yeah, totally. And one interesting thing I came across with this is that it's kind of now that it's become readopted by English speakers, it's now kind of like seen as kind of like emblematic of the disney Ification of Irish culture. You saw like the proliferation of like Irish pubs in the nineties, you know. And that gipsy mcs stumbles exactly.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I didn't make that up.

Speaker 3

And Frank and I's hometown of a US to Georgia, which she mentioned last episode, there is an Irish bar that's sort of like an Irish bar Hooters called Tipsy mc stumbles.

Speaker 4

Wow.

Speaker 3

If that's not the most offensive cultural appropriation that I can think off the top of my head, I don't know what it is.

Speaker 4

You know, there are a lot of really cool examples of reborrowing that I thought were really interesting, you know, like the you know how like animation in English and then jap in Japan there's anime and then now in English animation that has this from.

Speaker 2

Japan or japanimation.

Speaker 1

Nobody says.

Speaker 5

Nobody says, I'm not supposed to.

Speaker 2

Say that that will get you punched by fans of the medium.

Speaker 4

Yeah, so it's come full circle back to animes.

Speaker 1

So I have a question, can we as Americans use this phrase or we being jerks?

Speaker 4

I would if I was going over there, I would be like, listen, I don't want I don't want. I don't want this, Mickey Mickey Mouse, Donald duck crack. You know, I'm looking for the real thing, saying, you know, don't send me to where the tourists are.

Speaker 6

See, okay, I feel like I'm not into Donald duck crack either person of all.

Speaker 2

Oh my goodness, last thing, real quick. I keep seeing this on the internet when I'm looking at this. The crack was ninety. Why isn't it hundred?

Speaker 4

That is the highest gradation of crack.

Speaker 5

Breaking bad crack.

Speaker 4

If you go past crack ninety, then you've entered into minus crack, where you've had too good of a time and you know, you said some terrible things and gotten into a fight, and you know, the minus crack.

Speaker 2

I'll cancel you. You're canceled this season, right, you were so minus crack. That was fantastic.

Speaker 3

First of all, when you texted the group saying that I thought you were misspelling a word, and I was like, I do what this is?

Speaker 2

But I am. I am delighted this. I literally learned something new.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I didn't want to. I didn't want to mention it in our off air talk because I thought you would like have more fun.

Speaker 2

You knew what it was?

Speaker 1

Yeah, because you Yeah. I actually when we were there, we ended up entirely through accidents, staying next to the most notorious club in Dublin, which is a place called Copper Faced Jacks. I don't want to go too far into detail on it, but if you are by a computer that is not associated with your work, feel free to google it and check out what happens at Copper Face Jacks. I hear it's rage and crack. It's at ninety. Am I doing that right?

Speaker 2

Yeah?

Speaker 1

Oh crack ninety crack ninety. We should do, we should do. There's some T shirt ideas here, guys.

Speaker 4

These are T shirt I do right and let us know. Yeah, I'll wear any shirt with crack on it.

Speaker 1

That's what people say about you. I have one you, guys. It might it might surprise you. Have you ever felt that you were doing something or involved in some kind of project that felt too improvised, somewhat.

Speaker 2

Haphazard, like this podcast.

Speaker 1

No, we had a hey, we had a plan, we had a text, we had a text, a text threat.

Speaker 6

So more Lucy Goosey than this is what you're saying, and not lucy.

Speaker 1

But but that's a great one too, that's true. The phrase willy nilly, which is for older generations.

Speaker 2

I'm sorry, just willy nilly, Lucy goosey, the similar sing song.

Speaker 1

Yeah they've got some whimsy to them, right, they're a bit of June. But willy nilly, Now, it's something that you would associate with, let's be honest, maybe a child, a teacher, or an older person say in a way like if you've ever seen a very wholesome person get angry, they would use a phrase like willy nilly, you cannot be out all hours of the night driving willy nilly, hither and.

Speaker 5

Yon hither and thither.

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, pal mel So. Nowadays, in twenty nineteen, we associate this with the definition that I think we all recognized instantly doing something without a good set of directions, lackluster planning, somewhat haphazardly, which reminds us I feel terrible, super producer Casey Pegro. We went willy Nilly into the beginning of this podcast.

Speaker 3

We ran rough shot over our normal top of the show, shout out to.

Speaker 2

Casey, Yes, please do Yes, we are penitent. I blame you, Ron, what come on, we blame Rowin.

Speaker 5

Oh look, I'm sorry, Casey. Do you forgive me?

Speaker 1

I forgive you.

Speaker 5

Oh I'll listen to that. Huh Casey on the case.

Speaker 6

Yeah, and it sounded very sincere. So you guys need to take a deep breath.

Speaker 5

Right, We're good.

Speaker 1

So willy nilly is much older than might originally suspect the phrase that survives now w I l l y dash n I l l y is the winner of a long battle between various different spellings, and it's even become a great fake name if you guys are into those William nillium. Who's who's going to use that at the airport next every hotel? Every hotel. So the early meaning of the word nil is key to the understanding it used to. It used to mean originally with or

against your will. So come hell or high water is closer to the original version of willy nilly Because the early meaning of the word nil it was the opposite of will, a contraction of nay will so ash so so I nil do that, I will not do that.

Speaker 6

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Websters defines it as whether you like it or not. Yep, and so I've always wanted to say. Webster's defines it as sorry.

Speaker 1

Perfect.

Speaker 6

Shout out to Websters.

Speaker 1

So will I nil I can be expanded into b I willing b I unwilling, combining the two sentiments with the implication that it doesn't matter how you feel about it, you are stuck doing this thing. I got a lot of this information from one of my favorite word websites, which is Worldwide Words. It is a treasure trove, the cavalcade, a very very strange phrases.

Speaker 3

And an interesting backstory. The guy that that maintained it right.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, he is no longer actively updating the site, But Michael Quinnion has spent his entire life studying this. He's a one man army and it's it's fascinating, just the sheer bulk of stuff he described. So shout out to you, Mike, and thanks for putting this together. So the phrase it still dates back at least a thousand years. The earliest known version was in an old English text called Lives of Saints. The line is saying satan food

and skilled and bone mode, will we nil? I don't know what he's talking about, but he got there.

Speaker 2

And something about skating and bone was it? Skanks and bones?

Speaker 1

Sin sinbul and stolen bone mode? Ed mode mood.

Speaker 2

I'm in ed mode, bro, You're so ed mode right now.

Speaker 3

That's like when you like actively are sort of like a d weeb, like I'm in full ed mode. And then it this is great, Great, he's gonna be t shirts.

Speaker 1

And then it occurs in the Tami in the Shrew in fifteen ninety six, with its original meaning. Petruccio, speaking to Catherina, says, thus, in plain terms, your father hath consented that you shall be my wife. Your dowry greed on and will you nill you? I will marry you? Super creepy dude.

Speaker 2

Wow, Yeah, that's that's not a good look for Patriuccio. What's his name?

Speaker 1

That's right?

Speaker 2

Oh, I got it.

Speaker 1

He nailed it, man. And this is just a I think a great example of how previously maybe not sinister, but previously more combative or less innocuous terms become these fun things that we throw around now, you know what I mean, You're not You're like the odds of you being in an altercation and someone saying will you or nil you in a threatening manner that's just safely not gonna happen.

Speaker 3

Yeah, no, I totally agree. I do have to say, Ben, I use this one quite a lot.

Speaker 1

Ah yeah, U.

Speaker 2

I use it Willy Nilly just every which way. Yeah, I really do. I really really like Willy Nilly.

Speaker 1

Oh come on, I keep thinking of what's that song wily Bully? Will? I keep thinking of this song Willy Bully, but just with the lyrics replaced Willy Nilly.

Speaker 2

I like it, which actually works.

Speaker 3

I do, But honestly that when I use it, though, I use it in kind of a Larry David kind of like grumpy old man way, where.

Speaker 2

I'm like, you can't just go doing this stuff Willy Nilly, you know, like you know, it's this idea of, uh, there's gotta be a little order involved. You can't just.

Speaker 6

Go you can't just be going out, you know, doing whatever it is you're doing, whatever the case might be, whose.

Speaker 4

Can be haphazard or pill mel pell mell.

Speaker 3

Which is so funny because there's cigarettes I was about to say our grandpa cigarettes. I would also say willy nilly probably, but Grandpa's pronounced pall Mel and if you look at the pack, it's clearly Paul Mal and they're still around, but apparently they're like that. That's one of these examples of willful disagreement of an obvious pronunciation.

Speaker 2

You know, like, yeah, I love that.

Speaker 4

Maybe we're just like I'm gonna smoke this as fast as toss the ball and.

Speaker 5

Time to the box.

Speaker 1

A person with things to do. So that's that's the story. So we have posh, we have crack. We took a crack at crack, yeah, and then we have willy Nilly. But we weren't quite willing n only with this episode because we did have a plan. We did promise everyone in the beginning that we would we would each present an idiom and Rowans since you are an alumni of the show, now alumnus.

Speaker 7

Alumna, alumn aluminium, since you are in fact built largely from aluminium, No, we would like to give the honor to you.

Speaker 1

You have the last idiom. Now this means that if the three of us have really dropped the ball here and don't know where that one comes from. Then it's no pressure on you to save the show.

Speaker 5

Yeah, I don't. I don't feel pressure by that statement at all.

Speaker 1

Good because Nolan Frank gave you some serious nods and once you know that we're not joking.

Speaker 6

Okay, they all just crack their knuckles and they're looking at me very sternly.

Speaker 5

I want to know, can you hear those knuckles?

Speaker 2

That is not fully that is that is in the room?

Speaker 5

Wow?

Speaker 6

Okay, Well, I'm triggered by the wedding bullets right now. Put that on your list, by the way there, because I'm tripping balls.

Speaker 5

Tripping the balls. Fantastic? Got it?

Speaker 6

Uh? Yeah, there's actually a dry race board behind Ben or he puts a tally of every accidental idiom we utter.

Speaker 2

Ben literally keeps score in all things, in all things podcast related.

Speaker 1

I'm super petty, get it?

Speaker 5

But sure, Yeah, here we go, let's jump in. Uh.

Speaker 6

This is a lesser known idiom for the people out there.

Speaker 5

Hard boxing the runway.

Speaker 6

If you're not familiar with this, it refers to someone who's maybe showboating or peacocking a bit, you know, maybe accidentally alienating a crowd as opposed to enlightening with their flair and mild superiority, but like big personality.

Speaker 1

I've heard this, but I have no idea where it comes from. Is it like a is like a European thing or is it.

Speaker 6

You know, I think it's origins or English? But uh but I think English, So yeah, European?

Speaker 5

Okay, English? Did you do the home?

Speaker 1

Come on, we're really picking well it is one of.

Speaker 5

Those expressions that feels fake, but I promise it's.

Speaker 1

Not so okay, so so lay it honest man. What's what's the etymology? Is there a story behind this?

Speaker 6

Well, there's a man by the name of Alexander Benson okay, who was the great grandfather somebody who I know, and Admiral Nicholas van Benson who has shared this wisdom with me. Evently stems from old bricotine ships, and there was something called a like you know with at the front of the ship is the bow, in the back is the is the port? Correct start, thank you? And so in the back of the ships where you steer the ship. And if somebody was steering the ship, they they would

have this semblance of you know, kind of arrogance. They'd be taking up a lot of you know, they oh, I'm in control of this ship. So they were often known as the Harbucks. They were Harbucks sing the runway, being like there the passageway from the port or the starboard. Oh okay, all right, the stern is in the backup saying but when you look forward, ah, yes, because they get this whole like vista of the entire ship and the sea because they're steering the ship.

Speaker 2

So they're sort of like hogging the spotlight.

Speaker 6

Exactly, and they can be a little braggadocious, but they're doing the job. You know. I think it's kind of an unintentional.

Speaker 4

Type of har like flexing on the gram or something.

Speaker 6

Sure, yeah, more archaic version. Yeah this, why not very because I haven't.

Speaker 1

I gotta be honest, like, I haven't. I'm familiar with it. I'm sure a lot of us listening you are, but I haven't heard it in the modern day, you know what I mean?

Speaker 6

Yeah, Well, you know, much like willy nilly, people aren't or will to the nil or whatever it was, Folks aren't using this as as often as they should.

Speaker 1

You.

Speaker 6

Frankly, I'm a little upset that people are often try to call me on this, but it is real, as the table we're in front of.

Speaker 1

Right, we are not sitting down, We're standing.

Speaker 6

Real as the table in front of us. So you can put that on the tally board. All right, So do you think people should bring this back? I strongly suggest it would be for the benefit of all if we because because you got to call people on their on their bs often.

Speaker 5

You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2

I'm saying, okay, so I'm in it.

Speaker 3

Okay, yeah, all right, what I don't know, man.

Speaker 5

I wrote a bunch of other fake things. Do you want me to read?

Speaker 6

Yes?

Speaker 5

Yes, I mean real things.

Speaker 1

Oh okay, yeah.

Speaker 6

Because I did actually google the word harbuck, because you know that's what the internet's for, right, sure, okay. Harbuck could have ties to a Gaelic expression Harbuck, which was a surname or habitational name taken from our Buckle, a parish of air Dry, Lancashire. I think I'm pronouncing I think correctly.

Speaker 5

But it's late Galic.

Speaker 1

Yes, fine, well really so Gelic.

Speaker 5

It's as Gaelic.

Speaker 1

So we we've got crack and we came back around exactly.

Speaker 6

We're back And he was talking about ships at the beginning of the show. Wow, yeah, think about that.

Speaker 2

It's almost as though.

Speaker 5

I'm definitely usual suspects, Almost.

Speaker 2

As though you invented or I'm sorry, discovered the perfect crystallization of everything that we did in this episode, summed up in a completely believable and meticulously researched idiom.

Speaker 6

I you know, I couldn't have said a better myself by I'm patting myself on the back. However, Nicholas von Benson, Admiral, deserves a large amount of the credit as well.

Speaker 2

I must say, was he the hard Was he the original Harbucks?

Speaker 4

Here?

Speaker 5

Was the original person to Hardbucks the runway?

Speaker 2

I actually say this wouldn't an admiral. He would just be commanding. He wouldn't be steering.

Speaker 5

He was kind of a dick about it.

Speaker 1

Okay, some people are really hands on, you know people, Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 5

Because you know it's you know, there are shifts. It's also a power move, exactly.

Speaker 1

Like you would admirally want people to know you still got it.

Speaker 6

He would often just like shout hey, guys, look at me, Hey, check out the the steering on this guy.

Speaker 5

Huh handling?

Speaker 6

Yeah, And then people would be swabbing the poop deck like that's nice, sir, that's great.

Speaker 1

Well, you know what I say, we take this to our favorite court because if anyone can get to the bottom of the veracity of this figure speech, it will be our super producer, Casey Pegram Casey, question for you, when was the last time you heard hard boxing the runway?

Speaker 8

I would estimate about an hour ago. Well, we're talking about it outside before recording. This is new to you, it's a new one to me. But you know, it feels like it should be real, So it has that going for it.

Speaker 5

Should be real.

Speaker 6

Casey, I thought we were.

Speaker 8

I mean, you know, all languages constructed, so I mean, really, what is real? Yeah versus fake?

Speaker 1

Yeah?

Speaker 5

Thank you.

Speaker 6

And that's actually something I texted nol Earler.

Speaker 2

That's very true. You did, so be it true? Will he? Nill he? You know, I think it demonstrates the malleability of language and the power of belief, because what we're all about here on.

Speaker 1

Ridiculous system and it's like our main thing.

Speaker 5

It's it's one.

Speaker 1

Of our main things. So guys, again, thank you so much for dropping by and helping ship some light on the mysteries of etymology for those of us listening, And we want to thank you for all the responses we receive to our previous idiomatic for the people. Right in, let us know some of your favorite figures of speech, terms of phrase, idioms. Also, if you speak languages other than English, what's something that you think sounds really strange in English but is very common in some other language.

That's an episode. All it's over.

Speaker 4

There are some great Lindas.

Speaker 3

Thanks to you, my dear friend, my dear old friend, Frank Malhair and coiner of the idiomatic for the people, ephemeral friend of the show, and now what's the what's the opposite of ephemeral?

Speaker 2

Concrete, flat lasting, corporeal friend of the show, part of the show. It's been a long time comment.

Speaker 3

Thanks for being here, man, thanks for having I know you had to rush over here from work and it means the world.

Speaker 2

Rowan Nuby, Yeah, thanks so much.

Speaker 1

Rowan. You can find you can find mister Nuby on his own show Pitches, which is a comedy podcast about the evaluation of ideas. Correct a monopoly of ideas, right, that is correct?

Speaker 6

Very good word. Yeah, you know it's like Shark Tank mindus all the stress and money and plus all the chatter and fun and irreverence and.

Speaker 5

So yeah, it's pretty off the cuff.

Speaker 6

I got Ben Bowlin here actually coming up on an episode, and I got Noel Brown here on one that's airing today.

Speaker 2

How do you like them?

Speaker 5

Apples?

Speaker 1

So you can check it out now wherever you find your favorite podcast.

Speaker 6

That's correct, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the things to get on their baby at Pitches Podcasts Get it.

Speaker 1

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Meet one of our favorite parts of the show, your fellow listeners on our Facebook page Ridiculous Historians.

Speaker 3

Big thanks to super producer Casey Pegram, Big thanks to our research associate Gabe luz Here, and thanks to Alex Williams.

Speaker 2

Who composed are ever so earwormy theme.

Speaker 1

And as you said in previous pisode, write it and let us know if there were any figures of speech or terms of phrase that we used unconsciously. I'm sure they were in there. You can find my personal Instagram at ben Bolin and hey, Nola, you're on the internet too.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm on the insternet at Embryonic Insider double ats. That's the only way you can find it. I'm kidding. Just a single app.

Speaker 1

Willy nilly, great crack, folks, stay tuned for our next episode when we do something that we guarantee will be ridiculous.

Speaker 2

Yeah, that's the least we can guarantee. We'll see you next time.

Speaker 3

For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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