Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

This week Shauna and Dan look at all the things that could have gone wrong, and how they actually did. Well... sort of. We look at the phrase Murphy's Law. We step into the bitter feud that seems to exist here and look at how this phrase from the 1800s got named, maybe, in the 1940s. We just present the facts as we know them. Don't at us. Or do. #BunnyTrails Check out the show notes, or links to e...

This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase Every Rose Has Its Thorn. We learn the Hawthorne rose can cause loss of vision if the torn scratches the cornea of your eye. How is this helpful? Shauna knows. It's medical journals, farthings, calf-boots, and classic rock on this week's #BunnyTrails Join the Community! Get the show notes for free! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights...

Shauna and Dan explore the phrase 'bull in a china shop'. They start with silly songs before imagining Cary Grant and the Golden Girls in an old-timey murder mystery. Then it's dance battles between high school principals before settling down with a refined bovine enjoying a spot of tea. Plus a new segment to end the show! #BunnyTrails See the show notes! Join the Community! Copyright 2021 by The...

WERE-PANTHERS?!   Dan introduces you to this retro episode on dead as a doornail where he and Shauna discuss the origins of door-nails and alternate phrases like dour as a doornail and dead as a herring. A HERRING!!! Plus, sage building advice from the writings of Bob Villa.   Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved

This week Shauna and Dan look at the history of "Silent as...", such as silent as the night and silent as the grave. Dan shares a creepy story, then messes up the outro. Shauna talks XXX, which is either pornography or roman numerals. #BunnyTrails #AfterDark Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved

Shauna and Dan explore why the lion is called the King of the Jungle when they don't live in jungles. Turns out, our view of what "jungle" means today may be heavily skewed by the pop culture of the late-1800s and mid-1960s. Looking at you, Rudyard Kipling. Bonus conversations about mockbusters, animated 90s movies, and the great con artist PT Barnum. #BunnyTrails Join the Community! See the show...

Dan is an uncultured swine and did not know what a Penny Dreadful was. Shauna educates him and explores the origins and alternative names to this popular literary phenomenon from the 1800s. Special thanks to Victorian Britain for making this episode possible. #BunnyTrails Join the community and support this educational artform! Find links to everything we do! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner...

This week Shauna and Dan discuss the concepts of "Keeping Score". From its Old Norse roots to the sports and marriages of today. With appearances by pretentious kitchen appliances, Durant/Durant, and bartenders with a word about P's & Q's. Catch it all on this week's #BunnyTrails! Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved

This week Shauna and Dan explore the numerous origin stories of the phrase get down to brass tacks. Does it come to use from rhyming slang or coffin nails? Or perhaps furniture making or clothing materials. Or does it come to us from an older phrase not having anything to do with brass tacks? Find out on this week's #BunnyTrails   Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved

This week Shauna and Dan talk with author Grace Tierney about her new book, Words the Vikings Gave Us. From Bluetooth to Narwhal, the Old Norse language gave or influenced some of English's most well-known words. Plus there's talk of Vikings the TV show, the Viking role in the unicorn mythos, and Norse inspirations in video games.  #BunnyTrails Check out Grace: wordfoolery.wordpress.com   Words th...

This week Shauna and Dan talk about how the pupil is a hole in your eye, but is also sorta shaped like an apple. Kinda? Anyway, you can be the apple of our eyes by listening to the show and sharing it with others!  Also, if you are financially able, join our kick-butt club at www.patreon.com/bunnytrailspod Also, check out The Endless Knot, https://www.alliterative.net/podcast Seriously... Aven and...

From bartenders to school children, clothing to dancing, typesetting to top quality, everyone and their dog has an idea about where this phrase comes from. Shauna and Dan explore the likely origin stories to help debunk the myths and narrow down the options on this week's #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved

Dan is sick, so Shauna revisits an episode that originally aired in November 2018!  Ever wonder who would anyone want to beat, or flog, a dead horse? Well, wonder no more, as Shauna and Dan explore the progression from a pointless act to money owed, and eventually back to pointless act. Hint... the popularity of the phrase as we use it today has close ties to politics. Who'd have thunk it?!?  Copy...

Apparently, 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 Righ...

Shauna 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

This 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

This 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

From 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

Shauna 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,...

Shauna 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

This 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

This 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 Right...

Shauna 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

Shauna 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

This 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