Something Rhymes with Purple

For those Purple People among us who refrain from walking under ladders, avoid social engagements on the 13th or live in fear of a broken mirror than this is the episode for you, as Susie and Gyles will be discussing superstitions.  From Saluting magpies to knocking on wood, Susie will take us on an exploration encompassing the biblical and mythical in an attempt to find the origins of these compu...

Recorded live in front of a sell-out crowd at Newcastle’s Northern Stage theatre we’re celebrating International Women’s Day and taking a close look at how the vocabulary we use changes when talking about women as opposed to men.  After delving into some canny Geordie phrases and highlighting the historic work of a local unsung linguistic hero, we discover why some words, such as bubbly and airhea...

Did you know that every time you galvanise yourself to pick up the saxophone, or pop on a cardigan before sipping a glass of pasteurised milk, or you enjoy a Caesar salad and a play on a Rubik’s Cube you have someone in particular to thank for the pleasure?  This week we’re returning to the ever-rich world of eponyms. Join us to find out how everything from the Cyrillic alphabet to chauvinism can...

Whether you’ve had a ruff day and need a Puple style re-leash, or you have dug out a paw-fect podcast listening moment, come hear about a man’s best friend on today’s episode of the podcast.  Today we will be laying low with the basset hound and paddling with the poodle as we hear the fascinating etymology of dog breeds. We will find out why Saint Bernards are so saintly and what we have to thank...

Put your seatbelt on and relax in the passenger seat as we chauffeur you through the highways and byways of the language of the road. After easing the car out of the garage, we’ll cruise over the tarmac and the cats eyes, and try to avoid mounting the pavement before a well-earned stop at a Service Station. To pass the time en route, Gyles and Susie will discuss highway robberies, swap chicken jok...

Good Afternoon, Purple People! This is the follow up to Episode 144, AM, where Susie took us from morning to just before lunch delivering some perfect words to get us through the day. Now it’s time for the afternoon so let’s sit down for some luncheon as Susie helps us to identify the parasites, groakers, pinglers and guttlers amongst us before Gyles leads us into a post-perennial snooze. After ou...

Recorded live at the first of our London shows at the Cadogan Hall, Susie and Gyles focus on the lost language of positivity. Susie is on a mission to bring back the orphaned partners of uncouth, unkempt, and ruthless, and she also has some wonderful words to keep you thinking positively throughout 2022. Elsewhere Gyles reveals his secrets to happiness, there are lots of questions and suggestions...

Pop your dirtiest salopettes on and join us as we race both on-piste and off-piste through the exciting language of winter sports. Separate your luge from your skeleton, your skates from your skis, and find out who put the bob in bobsleigh. Elsewhere Gyles interrogates Susie on the “ask gap” and they’re in danger of melting the ice with a long chat about psychometric tests and dating profiles.  A...

This week we’re having a much-needed sift through all your fabulous emails that came in over the Christmas period and dedicating the whole episode to your linguistic head-scratchers.  We find out why lumbago no longer has our backing, the sharper origins of the phrase ‘can’t hold a light to’, and what a fugitive has to do with an explosion between your legs. Plus we go hunting for Dudgeon and Low...

It’s the second instalment from our live show at the Chichester Festival Theatre and in this episode Susie and Gyles take us through the revolving doors of the language of hotels. Gyles re-visits his days as an MP as we uncover the origin of the word ‘lobby’ and Susie reveals the icy reason why at 15, she aspired to be a hotel manager! Fortunately for us, Susie instead decided to become a lexicogr...

Rise and shine Purple People. We’re kicking off the new year with a whole host of wonderful words to carry you through every moment of the day. From getting out of bed with an expurger or a jobblyjock we’ll help cure your dysania and clinomania and make the very best of the morning to come.  Plus Susie spins some poetry out of all the different words we’ve invented over the years for time-wasting....

Join us as we pop a few corks and drink deeply from various bottles of linguistic libation.  Feel free to plunge your nose into the glass and discover the link between claret and clear, blackbirds and merlot, and gen up on the difference between a Nebuchadnezzar and a Balthazar.  In vino veritas and please listen responsibly.  A Somethin’ Else production.  To buy SRWP mugs and more head to.... htt...

This week we’re separating the wheat from the chaff and paying tribute to those hard-working folk who will be working the land over the Christmas season.  So roll up your sleeves and dig in with us as we uncover the origins of a ploughman’s lunch, learn of the debt that the financial world owes the lexicon of agriculture, and we get under the linguistic bonnet of the combine harvester.  A Somethin...

Recorded live in front of 1000 Purple People at the Chichester Festival Theatre, in this episode we get our claws into the rich language of the 1920s. From sipping gimlets in speakeasys to getting a shingle to go with our plus fours we skip through a decade that gave so many unique phrases to the English language. No hokum, it really is the bees-knees.  There are lots of theatrical anecdotes from...

A very special episode of the show this week as we bring you highlights of the first live show of our 2021/2022 tour.  We’re in Bath where, appropriately, we were discussing the language of baths and bathing.  Discover the equestrian links to a bidet and the unpleasant origin of ‘bumf’ in a show full of Eureka moments… just make sure you get out before you become quibbled.  A Somethin' Else produc...

It's time to reboot your systems as we surf the web and probe around the intricate world of computers.  Join us as we discover the origins of Google (and what the founders nearly called themselves instead), what digital mediums have to do with our fingers, and why you might not want to be invited to a computer 'picnic'.  We also answer a brilliant email about the origins and uses of monitors, plus...

*This episode contains language that some listeners might find offensive*  Today we are looking inwards and taking a linguistic journey through the world of mental health; how our attitudes towards it have changed over the years and how language has adapted to reflect this.  Discover the connection between barmy and beer, the effect of the moon on our wellbeing, and why being bananas or nuts has n...

This week we’re having a rummage through the postbag and dedicating the whole episode to questions that you, the marvellous Purple People, send in each out.  We help people find out where all the different meanings of ‘mandarin’ came from, ponder whether there’s a word for the twilight of the morning, and we get to the bottom of a rather tricksy wordy riddle.   Also up for discussion are cauliflow...

Purple People! We're so excited to be kicking off our live tour on Saturday 20th November at 3pm in BATH. We'll have all the podcast favourites as we record an extra special live episode of the show, they'll be lots of interactive wordy elements AND a live Q&A. Tickets are available from tiltedco.com/somethingrhymeswithpurple We can't wait to see you there! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

All aboard Purple People because today, Susie and Gyles will be taking you on a trip on the railways!  As our locomotive pulls the carriages along, we’ll see how freight trains are fraught, why university book sellers were also at the station and how a stop-off at a small town became insulting.  The Purple People will of course be receiving the red carpet treatment from Susie and Gyles will be mak...

This week we’re full of chutzpah as we schmooze our way through the fabulous words that Yiddish has given to the English language. While our resident mensches don’t pretend to be mavens, they swell with kvelling as they revel in this rich and unique vocabulary covering everything from they smutty schmucks to the new Purple favourite ‘firgun’. Elsewhere Susie explains what ‘relexicalisation’ is, th...

Happy 175th birthday to Auguste Escoffier! In honour of the founding father of the modern restaurant we invite you Purple People, to join us in some fine dining today.  Please let maitre d’hotel Brandreth sit you at your table (with its impeccably white table cloth) and waitron Dent will soon be here to serve you today’s finest offering of delectable culinary language. Soup is definitely off the m...

It’s time for fake tan, sequins and your dancing shoes today, Purple People because Susie and Gyles are waltzing into the world of Ballroom Dancing…. One, two, three, One, two, three… We’ll be tripping the light fantastic as we explore the Waltz’s scandalous origin, cha-cha-cha-ing into the latin dances where Susie and Gyles prove it takes two to tango as we explore the Paso Doble and Charleston....

Testing, testing… one-two, one-two. Turn your wireless to the correct frequency and then turn it up as this week we bring you the terminology behind the world of radio.  Discover the agricultural origins of the word ‘broadcast’, learn the difference between wet and dry audio, and find out why a bed is not for sleeping in and a disco isn’t an opportunity to dance.  Elsewhere Susie’s got a fantastic...

This week we abandon our mufty and don our finest khaki dungarees to set off from Blighty in search of the rich influence of Indian on the English language. We go doolally for juggernauts, repeat some mantras to reach nirvana, and we discover why ‘stadium’ might be your new favourite insult. And there was so much to cover that there is an extended version of this episode with an extra ten minutes...