Lexipoddery: the OED podcast

Are you acquainted with an energy vampire? Where might you see witches’ knickers? What type of mummy could cure your ills? In this episode editors Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland examine the spooks and monsters of the OED in preparation for the scariest night of the year. This is the last episode of Lexipoddery’s second season; we’re taking a break to do some dictionary writing and will return w...

When does a word from another language become English too? What would you call a fast clock in the Philippines? Is a single panini a problem? In this episode the resident Lexipoddery lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson talk to colleague Dr Danica Salazar about her work as head of the OED’s World English programme. Join us for another episode in two weeks (October 21st) as we look towa...

Why do we love the mountweazel (and what is it)? Who was the original twerp? How did timeline constitute a two-for-one bargain? Join editors Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland as they dive into some of the new additions to the OED this September, and hear from fellow editor Jonathan Dent about some of the newly revised entries. Join us for another episode in two weeks (October 7th) when we’ll be ta...

When was a toilet worn on the head? Is gong farming a valid career opportunity? Where might you pay a visit to the cludgie? In this episode lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson display the OED’s historical scope by getting to the bottom of the language of loos. Join us for another episode in two weeks (September 23rd) when we’ll be looking at new words in the OED’s September 2026 updat...

How would we describe Tolkien’s handwriting? What did Thomas Hardy want to tell us? Why did we get a Snoopy letter? Lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland are joined by the OED’s archivist Beverley McCulloch to discuss the preservation of our historical record, and some of the notable correspondence within it. Join us for another episode in two weeks (September 9th), when we’ll look at h...

Which film gave us the paparazzi? Why might we turn something up to eleven? Who first knew where the bodies are buried? Join lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to view the language of cinema through an Oxford English Dictionary lens. Come back for another episode in two weeks (August 26th), when we’ll be joined by the OED’s archivist Beverley McCulloch, to discuss her work preserving...

Why is a zoologist interested in banjos? When is a brag humble? And what are horse doovers anyway? Join lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland to learn about the June 2026 update of the OED, and hear from fellow editor Mike Timpany on life as part of the OED’s science group. (Apologies for the variable sound quality in this one; at least it's proof that this is made by dictionary writers...

Why do tense moments lead to squeaky bums? What wizardry lies in the magic sponge? Who would want to hit an onion bag? Join Oxford English Dictionary lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to celebrate the start of the football World Cup with a perusal of OED entries relating to the beautiful game. Come back for another episode in three weeks (July 1st), when we’ll be looking at some of...

Which word did we get from a hen in fine clothes? Who made a mullet into a red herring? What’s a rapper’s favourite dairy foodstuff? Join lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland to learn about the influence of song lyrics on the OED, and the importance of bibliography for a historical dictionary. Come back for another episode in two weeks (June 10th), when we’ll be getting ready for the W...

Should a Scot be worried if her jacket is on a shoogly peg? Why is a Yorkshireman still influenced by the Vikings? How do we figure out how to pronounce obscure words? Join lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to find out more about regional English in the Oxford English Dictionary, with specific reference to Scotland and Yorkshire, and hear Dr Catherine Sangster talk about her work as...

What happened in the Scriptorium? Where did radium go? What’s the unsolved mystery of editor Charles Onions? Join Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland for stories about the OED's history from Dr Peter Gilliver, fellow lexicographer and author of ‘The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary’. Come back for another episode in two weeks (May 13th), when we’ll be discussing regional English (with specifi...

What impact has Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had on the Oxford English Dictionary, and how did The Hound of the Baskervilles prompt us to update an entry? Why does tech terminology owe a lot to our fingers? What’s the longest word in the OED? (Depending on what you mean by longest.) Join lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to find out. Come back for another episode in two weeks (April 29th)...

For how long have we doomscrolled, and what’s the cure? Who popularized the glitch? Why is snobbery just a load of old cobblers? Join lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland to find out how the Oxford English Dictionary answers these questions and more in its March 2026 update. Come back for another episode on April 15th, when we’ll be talking about the history of the word digital; the im...