The Allusionist

Helen Zaltzman•art19.com

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Adventures in language with Helen Zaltzman. TheAllusionist.org

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Episodes

11. Brunchtime

What does brunch have to do with Lewis Carroll? Fall down the rabbit hole of brunch semantics with Dan Pashman of the Sporkful podcast http://sporkful.com . There’s more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/brunch . Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pri...

May 20, 2015•13 min

10. Election Lexicon

On the eve of the 2015 General Election in the UK, take a jaunt through the etymology of election-related words. Find out why casting a vote should be more like basketball, and why polling is hairy. There’s more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/electionlexicon . Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...

May 05, 2015•9 min

9. The Space Between

I know this is a show about words, but forget the words for a moment; look at the spaces between the words. Without the spaces, the words would be nigh incomprehensible. Dr Kate Wiles explains the history of the space. Visit theallusionist.org/spaces to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/p...

Apr 22, 2015•11 min

8. Crosswords

Cryptic crosswords: delightful brain exercise, or the infernal taunting of the incomprehensible? Either way, crossword setter John Feetenby explains how they’re made and how to solve them. Visit theallusionist.org/crosswords to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priv...

Apr 08, 2015•17 min

7. Mountweazel

You’d think you could trust dictionaries, but it turns out, they are riddled with LIES. Visit theallusionist.org/mountweazel to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Mar 25, 2015•16 min

6. The Writing On The Wall

Those words on museum walls that you can’t be bothered to read? They’re more important than you think… Exhibition-maker Rachel Souhami explains why. Visit theallusionist.org/museums to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-...

Mar 11, 2015•15 min

5. Latin Lives!

Every week since September 1989, a radio station in Finland has broadcast a weekly news bulletin…in Latin. WHY? Let’s find out! Visit theallusionist.org/latin to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Feb 25, 2015•12 min

4. Detonating the C-Bomb

WARNING: this episode contains lots of swearing and words which some of you may find offensive. If, however, you love offensive words, you will enjoy this episode, which is all about how the C-word doesn’t deserve to be the pariah of cusses. Visit http://theallusionist.org/c-bomb to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Subscribe on iTunes http://tinyurl.com/iTunesAllusionist . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See o...

Feb 11, 2015•17 min

3. Going Viral

Remember when ‘viral’ used to only mean something bad, eg. something that would make you ill or destroy your computer? How things have changed. Tom Phillips from Buzzfeed UK explains the language they choose to make content go viral. Visit http://theallusionist.org/viral to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy a...

Jan 28, 2015•16 min

2. Bosom Holder

There are many synonyms for ‘underwear’. There are many synonyms for the body parts you keep in your underwear. But there’s only one word for ‘bra’. Visit http://theallusionist.org/bras to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at http://facebook.com/allusionistshow . Subscribe on iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/itunesAllusionist . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19....

Jan 15, 2015•14 min

1. Ban The Pun.

In late 2014, China announced it was to ban puns. Helen Zaltzman wishes she could ban puns in her own family. Warning: this episode features some hideous incidences of wordplay. Visit http://theallusionist.org/puns to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at http://facebook.com/allusionistshow . Subscribe on iTunes http://tinyurl.com/iTunesAllusionist . Subscribe on iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/itunesAllusionist . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist S...

Jan 14, 2015•16 min

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