Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

This week we talk with about the evolution of language with Daniel Klien, author of the soon-to-be-released book, Schmegoogle: Yiddish Words for the Modern Times.  We cover Yiddish roots, the comedic styles of different languages, parallels between Yiddish and the Black community, and the importance of being able to make fun of yourself. 

This week Shauna and Dan discuss the muddied origins of the phrase, "If The Shoe Fits". Shauna stans Hamilton while Dan talks about his first pseudonym - his gamer tag. #BunnyTrails   Readiness Corner, LLC All Rights Reserved 2020

This week we talk with Grace Tierney, the author of the new book "Words The Sea Gave Us". We talk about nautical words, the book writing process, bringing back some interesting words, NaNoWriMo, and Moby Dick's contribution to our knowledge of sailor-speak. Grace is bringing back Ahoy! as the way we answer the phone instead of Hello. We're totally in for this. Join us for our first "Conversations"...

This week Shauna and Dan are swamped with a special project. So you get to revisit the awesome phrase Bury the Hatchet, which originally aired on October 3, 2018. It doesn't seem like almost 2 years ago... it seems like a decade ago. March seems like two years ago.   Readiness Corner, LLC All Rights Reserved 2020

Shauna and Dan argue over the pronunciation of Oliver Wendell Holmes' name. Shauna discusses Death Warmed Over while Dan talks about his favorite funeral food. It's macabre on this week's Bunny Trails!     Readiness Corner, LLC All Rights Reserved 2020

This week Shauna and Dan stay completely sober as they talk about a number of sheets in the wind. This nautical term refers to one of the ropes holding onto the sail... not the sail itself. Which is among the many not-obvious facts you'll learn on this week's Bunny Trails!

This week we explore "Wave a Magic Wand". Shauna teaches Dan that humans can create works that are far better than their creators, while Dan spends most of his time making Dungeons & Dragons jokes and mis-quoting mythical stories. Shout outs in this one to the Lexitecture Podcast as well as Susie Dent and Sir Patrick Stewart.     Readiness Corner, LLC All Rights Reserved 2020

In this solo work, Dan spends almost 20 minutes talking about mixed metaphors. It's no use crying over spilled beans, cause you can count your bridges before you've crossed them. Check it out! Join the Community!

This week mixes entomology with etymology as Dan explores the phrase Queen Bee. For thousands of years we called them King Bees, despite knowing for a good portion of that time the leader of the honey bee colony was female. Spoiler alert: It's Aristotle's fault. We'll, his and everyone else who contributed (and still contributes) to systemic discrimination in nearly all our institutions. We have e...

This week's episode was inspired by the new book, "You Are An Artist" by Sarah Urist Green - available at your local bookseller now! Shauna looks at the phrase "Work of Art". We search from the Oxford English Dictionary to Urban Dictionary, and loads of places in between, to learn the word "art" used to have a much broader meaning than we see today.   Join the Community Find us at our website

This week we take a break from talking to listen. #BlackLivesMatter  

Looking for a lighter take on the global pandemic? 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 who names them, how they name them, and why they name them as they do. Plus, we'll talk about the best COVID-19 memes!...

Shauna and Dan debate whether seeing the world through rose-colored glasses is a good thing or a bad thing. History sure has an answer, but it's an interesting journey on this week's Bunny Trails! Originally aired June 19, 2018.   Join the Community Visit our website   Copyright 2020 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved

Heads will roll is often used to declare someone will be punished, but not with a literal decapitation. But it's predecessors origins - and our phrases re-popularization - are rooted in far more literal realms. This week's show features blood-lusting Kings, murderous Queens, tyrannical dictators, with surprise appearances by William Shakespear, Lewis Carroll, and Beetlejuice. #BunnyTrails Check ou...

Shauna and Dan break down "Ugly" and "Duckling" to find the source of this fairy tale phrase. Shauna struggles with a word but finds she can sing it just fine. Dan makes bad jokes. Despite the mean sounding phrase, it's a heartwarming coming of age tale on this week's #BunnyTrails! Check us out at home!   Copyright 2020 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved

This week is a look back to February 2019 where Shauna and Dan explore a brief history of Valentine's Day and the phrases Match Made in Heaven, Love Is Blind, All's Fair in Love and War, and Love at First Sight. #BunnyTrails    

A Little Birdie told us this phrase originated with the King James Bible. A quick search shows us the King James version of the Bible isn't even the first version to use the concepts, though none of them use the exact phrase. So join us to see just how this phrase did get its start, and what we were saying before that Little Birdie brought us the news. #BunnyTrails Support Educational Podcasts Che...

Another one gone and another one gone and another one bites the dust... From Queen (the band) to Homer (the Illiad), Bite the Dust has a long and storied history. Listen now to hear how this phrase from the ancient Greek made its way into the English lexicon to mean dying, falling down, and being mortally wounded! #BunnyTrails Join the Community Check out the show Find us on Twitter

Are you a morning person or a night owl? This week, Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, Crack of Dawn... as in I'm getting up at the crack of dawn. Or maybe going to bed at the crack of dawn. We won't judge. Along the way, we'll talk Cracking Up, Cracking Jokes, Breaking ones Fast, and Break of Dawn. So much fun in store for you this week on #BunnyTrails!   Visit us online.   Want to help support t...

Welcome to Season 3!!! We've got new audio equipment and Dan is still fighting a cold, so between those two things the audio is a bit wonky. But don't lose the thread here, we'll fix it before next week! This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, Lost the Thread, which is way older than Dan thought - but Shauna pretty much nailed it.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained. Despite its mysterious French roots, this phrase enjoyed some fun variants while making its way to the phrase we use today. So check out the season 2 finale of #BunnyTrails cause as they used to say, nothing ventured, nothing have. Join the Community Links to everything we do! Follow us on Twitter

Did Davy Crockett coin the term "Head Over Heels in Love"? No. Does the phrase, "Head Over Heels" have something to do with our head being slightly forward of our heels, despite it being higher? Most likely not. So where does this phrase come from? Well.. buckle up for a fun journey through a variety of ways this idiom was used before we landed on the way we use it today.  Episode Artwork by Rosie...

This week, Shauna presents some theories and asks you to take them with a grain of salt. Dan knows too much about Pliny the Elder, but not enough about almost anyone else of the time frame. Along the way we talk cooking strategies, American arrogance, and Latin.  #BunnyTrails Join the Community at www.patreon.com/bunnytrailspod Jibber jabber with us at www.twitter.com/bunnytrailspod Catch us at ou...

Minds out of the gutter people. This completely safe for work episode talks about six of our favorite phrases with the word "nine" in them. Did "Dressed to the Nines" really start with a military unit? Is "Nine Days Wonder" the predecessor to 15 minutes of fame? Do cats and wives both have "Nine Lives"? Find out on this week's #BunnyTrails! Join the Community! www.patreon.com/bunnytrailspod Follow...

Is the phrase "Loss for words" or "Lost for words"? Turns out it's not that simple. We put the more popular of the two in the title, but that doesn't necessarily give it the edge. Plus, Shauna again shares her love of the Urban Dictionary while Dan explains why he prefers a certain pronunciation of 'pendantic'. Join us for another fun week of #BunnyTrails! Join the Community! www.patreon.com/bunny...