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Lexicon Valley

A podcast about language, with hosts Mike Vuolo, Bob Garfield and John McWhorter.

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21 episodes
weekly
Avg 24 min
English

Episodes 21

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#308
Tuesday · 16 min
A Quick Buck
No, President Truman did not coin the phrase 'The Buck Stops Here.'
#307
August 11 · 20 min
Nice of You to Join Us
What did nice originally mean? It wasn't so nice.
#306
August 4 · 27 min
The Dating Game, Great White Edition
Which came first, the Great White Hope or the Great White Way?
#305
July 28 · 23 min
The Original Maverick
The story of the word maverick has many versions. This one is true.
#47
July 21 · 29 min
Get One's Goat
When did we start getting each other's goats?
#304
July 14 · 26 min
The G.O.A.T.
Kids these days are goated. How did that happen?
#280
July 7 · 18 min
The Amazing Great
The soaring hyperbole of self-evaluation.
#303
June 30 · 19 min
The Ethereal Omelet
On the elusive meaning of ethereal.
#302
June 23 · 24 min
The Most Beautiful Word
What makes a word beautiful? It might have as much to do with its meaning as its sound.
#301
June 9 · 24 min
The Dating Game, Paranormal Edition
Which came first, "paramilitary" or "paranormal"?
#300
June 2 · 26 min
Parasocial Climbing
Are you in a parasocial relationship? Perhaps we all are.
#299
May 19 · 27 min
The Lowdown on Lowkey
Plus, a murder of crows and a parliament of owls? Where did those terms come from?
#298
May 12 · 26 min
The Dating Game, Perfect Edition
Which came first, the "perfect crime" or the "perfect storm"?
#297
May 6 · 25 min
A Perfect Episode
Why is everybody saying "Perfect!" these days?
#296
April 21 · 20 min
I've Been Hornswoggled!
It's our first mailbag segment — from listener Steven in Australia.
#295
April 7 · 27 min
Loose as a Goose
On the mysterious origins of an anserine expression.
#294
March 24 · 31 min
The Sound of a Car Backshifting
Listen to the way people in old radio and film pronounced "automobile."
#293
March 10 · 25 min
How Do Words Get into the Dictionary?
Humans are still doing the difficult work of defining words, for now.
#292
March 3 · 30 min
Look It Up! The Story of the Dictionary.
The greatest book ever written is a work in progress.
#291
February 24 · 23 min
Open Season for Racists
John McWhorter and Mike Vuolo on the subtleties of "openly racist."

Showing 1–20 of 21 episodes