Lexicon Valley

Society EN ↓ 326 episodes

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

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: booksmartstudios.com

Author

Lexicon Valley

Episodes

Tears of Joy, Identity and a Prism of Isms 28.12.2015 32:11

Editors at Merriam-Webster, Oxford University Press and Dictionary.com discuss the one word they believe best represents 2015. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XIX | 86'd 14.12.2015 29:51

On the early-20th-century origins of a bizarre food-industry code, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snoozefest 30.11.2015 30:23

The energetic history of the word sleep. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XVIII | Hootenanny 16.11.2015 27:18

On a word that was popularized during the 1940s folk movement, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Cat, a Coward and Female Genitalia 02.11.2015 33:43

The etymological quirkiness of the word pussy. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XVII | Humdinger 19.10.2015 28:04

On a real beauty of a word, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seven Centuries of F--ks 05.10.2015 33:24

On a recent revelation regarding the history of one our most enduring expletives. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XVI | Boondoggle 21.09.2015 32:58

On the origins of a very wasteful word, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How New York Became the Big Apple 08.09.2015 25:23

New York City is big, sure, but why an apple? X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XV | Gringo 24.08.2015 33:34

On the origin of a Spanish-language pejorative, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Do You Mean What Is It Like? 10.08.2015 30:24

On “a literary history of the strange expression ‘what is it like?’” — with lexicographer Anne Seaton. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XIV | Heebie Jeebies 27.07.2015 38:29

On the jittery history of a nervous term, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's the Deal with Translating Seinfeld? 13.07.2015 42:25

Seinfeld has been dubbed into other languages, but does it actually translate? X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XIII | Bozo 29.06.2015 27:29

On the etymology of a doofy and goofy word, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pollyanna Hypothesis 15.06.2015 48:50

Are we humans a mostly positive people? Our language says yes. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XII | Kibitz 01.06.2015 38:49

Adding our two cents' worth from the peanut gallery, with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

M'athchomaroon, Zhey Lajak Vezhven! 18.05.2015 41:14

Conlanger David J. Peterson on the art and craft of inventing languages for Game of Thrones. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile XI | Seersucker 04.05.2015 33:29

On a well-traveled fabric, featuring lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble 20.04.2015 38:36

You don't know nuthin' about the double negative. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile X | Pumpernickel 13.04.2015 36:39

On the flatulent history of a popular deli staple, featuring lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And Infinitum 23.03.2015 37:33

On a quirk of grammar that Henry Fowler felt “should not be discountenanced.” X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile IX | Carnival 09.03.2015 27:52

On the contested origin of a gluttonous word, featuring lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sex Workers 23.02.2015 36:05

The rise and fall of the feminine ending. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinguaFile VIII | Quiz 09.02.2015 27:19

On the etymology of a puzzling word, featuring lexicographer Ben Zimmer. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Many Lives of Anna Karenina 26.01.2015 40:10

Just how faithful should a translator be to the original? X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices