Rise and shine, Purple People! This week we're getting rather spiritual and delving into the majesty of the King James Bible, a book which, despite being written over 400-years ago still runs deep through our modern-day language and phraseology. So, at the risk of the "blind leading the blind", “rise and shine” and join us as we “go the extra mile”, hopefully arriving in the “land of nod” before we’re all “at our wit’s end”. We also go through some of your fantastic emails, Susie provides us wit...
Feb 11, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 45
You’re nicked! This week we’re playing Cops and Robbers and chasing down the origins of words and phrases on both sides of the law. Find out who gave us the terms Bobbies and Peelers, why you should respect an Onion, and what to do if you come across a Black Rat. On the other side of the cell door, on account of our kirtling, we’ll be rolling up the Veras, pouring ourselves a weak diesel and watching the custard, away from the watchful eye of the kangas… As always Susie will be giving us her han...
Feb 04, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Wotcha! Hi! Hello! How are you? Good to meet you! And how do you do my lovely bag puddings and flittermice? Welcome to this weeks' purple podcast... For the second of our live shows in front of a wonderful audience of Purple People we're talking about greetings, terms of endearment and, in the second half, affectionate terms for your meat-and-two-veg or your cupid's warehouse... (warning: explicit content!). Plus we take lots of questions from the lovely listeners in the room. A Somethin' Else p...
Jan 28, 2020•38 min•Season 1Ep. 43
This week is our first ever show recorded in front of a LIVE audience. In front of a packed room of Purple People at the Islington Assembly Hall in London, Gyles and Susie discuss their love of words and their individual “word journeys”. Susie runs through some of her favourite etymologies like Buxom, Scurryfunge and Halcyon. Gyles reveals his New Year Resolutions and gives us a run down of the longest, shortest, most common and most liked words in the English language. As a real treat we get to...
Jan 21, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Here at Something Rhymes With Purple we now have our very own mugs! Susie and Gyles are big fans, and you will be too! Pick up your very own Something Rhymes With Purple mug here: https://purple.backstreetmerch.com/ Happy drinking! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 20, 2020•1 min
This week we’re playing the name game! Following on from our recent episode on surnames and nominative determinism, we’re now casting our eye over first names. What do they mean? What are their origins? Do they reflect your personality or does your personality change to suit your name? So whether you’re a Gyles, Dexter, George, Charity, Faith, or a Harper, join us in finding out what’s in a name… As usual we’ll be answering questions you’ve sent in via Twitter and email and Susie will be serving...
Jan 14, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Taxi!! This week we’re giving you a ride through the world of cabbie vernacular. We’re testing our Knowledge, taking you through the Oranges & Lemons right up to the Gasworks. But you better not be a Butter Boy taking advantage of this leather-arse who’s on a Churchill… A Somethin’ Else production Susie’s Trio: Beeking - to bask in the sun or the warmth of the fire Nurdle - the perfect swoosh of toothpaste on a toothpaste advert Dasypygal - having hairy buttocks If you’d like to get in touch...
Jan 07, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 40
It’s Christmaaaaaaaas! This week we’re vamping it up and delving into festive language, discovering the origins of Boxing Day, why a punch packs a punch, and why a partridge in a pear tree might not be the blessing it first seems. And to get you through the Christmas break Gyles has a few games up his sleeve… Happy Christmas one and all. A Somethin’ Else production. Susie’s trio: Gymnologise - to have an argument in the nude Eye-servant - someone who only works when the boss is looking Phrontist...
Dec 24, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 39
This week we’re doing some last-minute shopping and trying not to act like a couple of bulls in a china shop. We’ll be discussing the various theories behind the origin of Black Friday, why a shop is called a shop, why a high street is high, and differentiating between haggling and bartering. We also be learning about the connection between counters and computers and the difference between a BOGOF and a BOBFOC. As always we’ll be answering some of your excellent emails and having some fun with p...
Dec 17, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 38
This week Gyles and Susie go tit for tat, giving as good as they get in hurling some creative insults at each other. From the Shakespearean to the sublime they relish in finding out the origins behind calling someone a ‘fopdoodle’, a ‘dandyprat’, and a ‘mugwump’. And, ahead of this week’s General Election, Susie revisits a couple of choice political insults for you to slip into any debates that might arise. A Somethin’ Else production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/a...
Dec 10, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 37
This week is all about YOU the listener. We go through loads of your (much appreciated) emails to debate the origins of phrases like By Hook or By Crook, discuss the myriad alternative definitions of the word ‘growler’, and unveil the bizarre connection between lions’ teeth and wetting the bed… We also reveal the origins of the words ‘correspond’ and ‘letter’, explain what CC on an email means and highlight the importance of little snails and monkeys’ tails in online correspondence. A Somethin’ ...
Dec 03, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 36
This week we’re going hysterical for medical terms. We’ll be turning our lexicographical X-Ray machine on and diagnosing the etymology of everything from asphyxia to syringe. Join us to discover Descartes' link to the X-Ray, what a Hippocratic face looks like, and exactly where an obstetrician should stand. We also ‘toady-up’ to the quack and sing the praises of the sturdy thrush. A Somethin’ Else production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Nov 26, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Today we’re practicing the toilet arts and taking a trip through the language of beauty. We cover up our mouse-marks and grog-blossoms with lashings of ham-fat, bicker over our bikinis, and debate whether being buxom is an upstairs or a downstairs issue. Gyles also reveals his 'Tommy Two-ways side' and Susie wraps everything up in a nutshell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 19, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 34
This week we’re going al fresco and kicking the leaves on an autumnal walk through the woods. We discuss the difference between woods and forests and the connection between forests and foreigners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 12, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Today we’re shaking a leg. We’ve already talked about the language of the body from the head to the chest. Now we’re going down below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 05, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Wooooooo, it’s our Halloween Special! Susie and Gyles go on the hunt for the spooky meanings lurking beneath our language. Featuring fairies, oafs, seeing gremlins, the origin of wicked, evil spirits eating the flesh of corpses, grave robbers, the origin of abracadabra, phalluses diverting the attention of the evil eye and haunted lemurs. A Somethin’ Else production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Oct 29, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 31
We’re talking sports this week. What have boxing, horse racing and dart throwing done for the English language? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 22, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 30
The words introduced to our language by poets. Featuring nerds, meeting T.S. Eliot, measuring your life in coffee spoons, runcible spoons, the bobowler, Chaucer on Twitter, pandemonium, tripping the light fantastic, limericks, fools rushing in, feeling like a gooseberry and some poetry from our listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 15, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 29
The hidden vocabulary of the body (part 1: from the head to the chest). Featuring dishevelled hair, raised eyebrows, gorgeous thoats, men in bras, Frans Titslinger, hedgehog hair, the origin of the apple of your eye, the skin of your teeth, nosy park keepers, chips on your shoulder, the cold shoulder and the albatross around your neck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 08, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 28
We’re talking about the weather today. Not because we have nothing to say. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 01, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 27
There’s no synonym for love. Today we’re talking about the surprisingly limited language for love. Featuring aubergine emojis, 16th Century hot cockles, enjoying some more fandango de pokum, the meaning of limerence, eloping like a thief, Gyles’s secret wedding, flirtatious talk that leads to nowhere, the ick factor, Aussie kisses, and Fanny Cradock’s contraceptive tips. A Somethin’ Else Production. Susie’s Trio of Words: Philodox: a person in love with their own opinion. Idiorepulsive: self-rep...
Sep 24, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 26
The words of the world of work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 17, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The hidden meanings concealed beneath our clothes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 10, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Surnames: where do they come from and what do they mean? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 03, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Don't pass on, this week we’re facing up to the grim vocabulary of death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 27, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Mouse and Muscle. Négligé and Negligent. Rectum and Rectitude. This week we’re talking about words of a feather: unlikely linguistic double acts or siblings. A Somethin’ Else Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 20, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 21
We’re nodding off talking about the language of sleep. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 13, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 20
All the world’s a stage but how much of our language originates from the theatre? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 06, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 19
It’s breakfast time! The linguistic adventures of some of our favourite foods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 30, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Catty. Batty. Dog tired. Sick as a pig. Why are the animals we use in our language often negative? Should we be reporting the English language to the RSPCA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 23, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 17
