Sinopsis
A whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase. Each week, writers Shauna Harrison and Dan Pugh explore the origins and stories behind phrases found in the English language. Along the way, they laugh, geek out, and generally have a good time. Great for anyone likes to have fun with words. Remember, words belong to their users!
Episodios
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121 Plenty of Fish in the Sea
18/08/2021 Duración: 22minApparently, there has been plenty of fish in the sea since the late 1500s... which seems weird for everyone except maybe Aquaman and the Incredible Mr. Limpet. Which, coincidentally, are two references we don't even make in the episode. It's time to get back to the dating grind with #BunnyTrails! (Or don't. We love and support you either way.) Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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120 Young Blood
11/08/2021 Duración: 30minShauna and Dan dip into the world of invigorating energy as they explore the phrase Young Blood. Or is that the world of inexperience? Turns out, it's both! They explore this 500+-year-old phrase with the help of hopeful politicians, angry preachers, video games, movies, and songs on this week's #BunnyTrails! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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119 My Bad - A Mea Culpa
04/08/2021 Duración: 28minThis week Shauna and Dan offer no apologies as they explore the phrase "Mea Culpa" and the more recent version "My Bad". Along the way, they discuss loan words, Garfield and Friends, and Albert Einstein. It's classic #BunnyTrails! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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118 Bob's Your Uncle
28/07/2021 Duración: 31minThis week Shauna and Dan get near the bottom of this elusive phrase. Bob's Your Uncle has several origin stories, but there's always been a missing link between the most popular story and the first time it could be verified in print. Well, until now. Check out this breaking news in the world of 130-year-old phrases! #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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117 - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
21/07/2021 Duración: 30minFrom Aesop’s Fables to the Bible, Shauna and Dan look at how A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing made it into English and how we still use it today. Along the way, we learn Dan believes in aliens, mostly cause as Shauna says, "Space: There’s a lot of it." Bonus: Dan mixes up baby bears and baby wolves for no apparent reason. Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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116 Calling Dibs and Other Chicago Phrases
07/07/2021 Duración: 30minShauna and Dan return from Chicago armed with numerous parts of what newspaperman Mike Ryoko called "Chicagoese". We take a good look at the origins of Calling Dibs before doing snippets of other words and phrases like Ferris Wheel, Jinx, Pipe Dream, and more. Bonus: Dan wishes he knew I-290 was gonna be called the Eisenhower. It would have saved him so many headaches. More bonuses: Italian Beef, Hot Dogs, and Gluten Free Donuts. Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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115 Change Your Tune
30/06/2021 Duración: 22minShauna and Dan take a stand! Okay, not really. But they do explore the origins and history surrounding the phrase "Change Your Tune", which starts with CHANGE relating to behaviors since the 1300s! Bonus - An 1894 newspaper out of Arizona might have the coolest name ever. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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114 In the Same Boat
23/06/2021 Duración: 29minThis week Shauna and Dan ponder whether or not we are all in the same boat. We find a plethora of amazing resources to track this phrase from its entry to English in the early 1600s and its steadfast definitions through today. Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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113 Put Your Foot In Your Mouth
16/06/2021 Duración: 28minThis week Shauna and Dan learn the UK version "Put Your Foot in It" came before the US version "Put Your Foot in Your Mouth". Which calls in to question... if "it" wasn't mouth... what was it? We may never know. But we do have fun with the history of this phrase and the cool and sometimes gross ways it's been used over the years. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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112 One Trick Pony
09/06/2021 Duración: 31minShauna and Dan join the circus, become one-trick ponies, then move to a variety of song and dance numbers before settling on futuristic robots and Dungeons and Dragons characters. It'll all make sense if you listen to the show. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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111 Muddy the Waters
26/05/2021 Duración: 30minThis week Shauna and Dan see how confused they can make the other one with the phrase Muddy the Waters. From camels to Nietzsche, Fatboy to Mary Wollstonecraft, and Aesop to a Blues legend, this phrase can be found in many places. Bonus: Dan thinks about feudalism. Hoorah. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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110 - Pardon My French
19/05/2021 Duración: 28minDan gets an earworm and it turns into an entire episode on the phrase, "Pardon My French". Cause that's how it goes sometimes. This week our phrase moves from the early 1800s literal usage to a current way to excuse bad language, with plenty of high points along the way. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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RETRO 79 Why did we name it COVID-19?
12/05/2021 Duración: 31minOriginally aired March 12, 2020 If you are looking for a lighter take on the global pandemic, you've come to the right place. Have you ever wondered how they come up with the names of new diseases? This week on Bunny Trails we'll walk you through the Word History of "coronavirus", as well as the process for naming the viruses and the diseases. We'll talk about who names them, how they name them, and why they name them as they do. BONUS: The best COVID-19 memes! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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109 Dead of Night
05/05/2021 Duración: 30minShauna and Dan look at the origins of the phrase "Dead of Night". Along the way, we learn a little about the word 'dead' and a few complimentary phrases like "in the gloom of night" (US Postal Service, anyone?) Plus your hosts argue about whether or not Tolkien's work is old. What do YOU think? Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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108 Keep Your Eye on the Ball
21/04/2021 Duración: 29minIt's a sports spectacular as Shauna and Dan both sports really hard. Or at least talk about sportsing hard. So hard. They "Keep Their Eye on the Ball" as they talk baseball, cricket, golf, and even rugby to find the origins of this wonderful phrase. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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107 Bury Your Nose in a Book
14/04/2021 Duración: 28minShauna looks at the origins and history of putting one's nose in something as a way of being engrossed by it. Dan defines engrossed, then invites Angela Lansbury to come to live with him. Shauna reads Dickens. Dan predicts the future. So much fun to be had on this week's #BunnyTrails! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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RETRO 43 Preaching to the Choir
07/04/2021 Duración: 24minOriginally aired April 17, 2019 - We revisit the phrase "Preaching to the Choir" This week, Shauna and Dan discuss Preaching to the Converted as they say in the UK, or Preaching to the Choir as they say in the US. Dan gets 50% on pop quizzes, and Shauna teaches him this idiom has a much greater variety of meanings than he thought. Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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Endless Knot Meta-Etymology
01/04/2021 Duración: 01h22minWe talk about the etymology of “Etymology” itself, and then discuss the basics of historical linguistics, including Grimm’s Law, Verner’s Law, and more. We also talk about Isidore of Seville, the etymological puns of Latin poets, and the way Mark does his research for his videos. Original Episode on Alliterative.Net This episode on Youtube The Endless Knot Patreon This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
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106 Wet Behind the Ears
31/03/2021 Duración: 31minShauna and Dan try to figure out why someone who is "wet behind the ears" would be inexperienced. And is dry behind the ears a thing? Does the phrase really have something to do with newborn babies not getting the area behind their ears cleaned well enough? Find out answers to all of this, plus some amazing bonus facts, on this week's #BunnyTrails! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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105 Crossing the Rubicon
24/03/2021 Duración: 28minThis week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase Crossing the Rubicon. Dan takes a guess at the origin of this phrase, but can't even get the right "ancient crosser of things". It's a mix of Crash Course World History and etymological fun on this week's Bunny Trails! Don't forget to be awesome! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved