Episode
Interesting Origins of Everyday Phrases
58:12
Published: Thu Dec 15 2022
Description
We don’t think about the words and phrases we use all the time - until Josh and Chuck look into them and tell everyone what they found. That’s the gist of this episode! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapters
The hosts of the Stuff You Should Know podcast make a plea for listeners to donate to Cooperative for Education, an organization that fights poverty in Guatemala through education.
00:00 - 03:17 (03:17)
Summary
The hosts of the Stuff You Should Know podcast make a plea for listeners to donate to Cooperative for Education, an organization that fights poverty in Guatemala through education. They aim to reach a goal of $1 million in donations from the podcast's listeners.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the temperance movement led a parade through towns preaching abstinence from "devil's juice."
03:17 - 09:56 (06:38)
Summary
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the temperance movement led a parade through towns preaching abstinence from "devil's juice." They would invite people to take a pledge against alcohol and those who signed were said to be on the wagon. This led to the phrase "I'm on the wagon," meaning someone is abstaining from drinking.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The phrase "exception proves the rule" has been commonly misunderstood, but its original meaning is elegant.
09:56 - 14:58 (05:02)
Summary
The phrase "exception proves the rule" has been commonly misunderstood, but its original meaning is elegant. The horse breaking its leg when wearing pants proves the validity of the rule against it, rather than proving that a rule exists.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
Follow an internationally beloved comedy superstar as they discover a secret city filled with unforgettable characters who live off the grid and on the edge.
14:58 - 18:19 (03:20)
Summary
Follow an internationally beloved comedy superstar as they discover a secret city filled with unforgettable characters who live off the grid and on the edge. The city is filled with KGB agents, mystics, and a Frank Lloyd Wright commune, among other peculiarities.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The sound "PU" is known to be associated with disgust and disgust-related contexts.
18:19 - 21:37 (03:18)
Summary
The sound "PU" is known to be associated with disgust and disgust-related contexts. The podcast explores the coincidence between the sound and the Latin/Proto-Indo-European language and how it has become a universal term.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The practice of burying the hatchet originates from a treaty meeting between five nations in 1142 where two leaders suggested burying their weapons under a white pine tree.
21:37 - 28:27 (06:50)
Summary
The practice of burying the hatchet originates from a treaty meeting between five nations in 1142 where two leaders suggested burying their weapons under a white pine tree. The practice then spread among the Iroquois tribes and eventually became a common phrase in North America among English speakers by the 1790s.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The phrase "in a pickle" has its origins in a 1660 diary entry by John Evelyn, and was borrowed by Shakespeare from the Dutch phrase "in the peckles zitten."
28:27 - 31:50 (03:22)
Summary
The phrase "in a pickle" has its origins in a 1660 diary entry by John Evelyn, and was borrowed by Shakespeare from the Dutch phrase "in the peckles zitten." Its preservation is similar to how pickling preserves food.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
A podcast hosted by a comedy superstar and television icon explores a secret city of unforgettable characters, including KGB agents, mystics, and a Frank Lloyd Wright commune, with themes of destiny, immortality, and unbreakable cycles, as well as weird sex and money stuff, dances, and several named Olga and Svetlana, and a neurotic gay playwright.
31:50 - 35:38 (03:48)
Summary
A podcast hosted by a comedy superstar and television icon explores a secret city of unforgettable characters, including KGB agents, mystics, and a Frank Lloyd Wright commune, with themes of destiny, immortality, and unbreakable cycles, as well as weird sex and money stuff, dances, and several named Olga and Svetlana, and a neurotic gay playwright.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The Slippery Slope Fallacy is a logical fallacy that involves assuming that a particular action will inevitably lead to a series of inevitable and undesirable consequences, without providing any evidence to support that assumption.
35:38 - 40:44 (05:06)
Summary
The Slippery Slope Fallacy is a logical fallacy that involves assuming that a particular action will inevitably lead to a series of inevitable and undesirable consequences, without providing any evidence to support that assumption.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote the iconic theme song for Alfred Hitchcock Presents after being inspired by a phrase in the movie The Barefoot Contessa.
40:44 - 43:33 (02:48)
Summary
Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote the iconic theme song for Alfred Hitchcock Presents after being inspired by a phrase in the movie The Barefoot Contessa. They waited for Hitchcock to approach them, and the rest is history.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The phrases "raises the question" and "begs the question" are often used interchangeably, but they actually have distinct meanings.
43:33 - 48:02 (04:29)
Summary
The phrases "raises the question" and "begs the question" are often used interchangeably, but they actually have distinct meanings. "Begs the question" refers to a logical fallacy where the conclusion of an argument is assumed within the premise, while "raises the question" simply means that something prompts consideration or discussion.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
Learn how to make flavorful stock by reducing it to half the amount after it has been frozen, as recommended by a chef listener.
48:02 - 50:28 (02:25)
Summary
Learn how to make flavorful stock by reducing it to half the amount after it has been frozen, as recommended by a chef listener.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The phrase "begging the question" is often misused to mean something that raises a question, instead of its original meaning of assuming the initial point in a logical argument.
50:28 - 54:33 (04:05)
Summary
The phrase "begging the question" is often misused to mean something that raises a question, instead of its original meaning of assuming the initial point in a logical argument. The origins of the phrase come from the Latin phrase Petitio Principii meaning request the principle.
EpisodeInteresting Origins of Everyday Phrases
PodcastStuff You Should Know
In this brief excerpt from a podcast episode, the host explains the original meaning of the phrase "balls out" in reference to a machine running at high speed, and the potential misconception behind Chuck's suggestion for a license plate.
54:33 - 58:39 (04:05)
Summary
In this brief excerpt from a podcast episode, the host explains the original meaning of the phrase "balls out" in reference to a machine running at high speed, and the potential misconception behind Chuck's suggestion for a license plate.