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 betw

Gregarious

1 Dec 21st, 2021 38m 2s

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

Curglaff

Dec 7th, 2021 33m 19s

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 t

Smuggins

Feb 18th, 2020 33m 40s

This week we’re taking a little downtime and exploring the language behind some well-known hobbies and pastimes. Do you know your ‘aggie' from your ‘slag'? Your ‘taw' from your ‘duck'? Don’t worry, we haven’t lost our marbles but rather we’ll b

Titamatorta

Aug 16th, 2022 39m 30s

Susie and Gyles are going hammer and tongs at the English language today as they deconstruct the world of DIY… Come learn why the vice isn’t as vicious as it may seem, what the saxons and the saw have in common and why the “saw” also “see’

Tufty

Feb 22nd, 2022 39m 17s

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

Chatoyant

Feb 15th, 2022 33m 54s

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 mount

Feb 8th, 2022 40m 28s

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 so

Ataraxy

Feb 1st, 2022 47m 45s

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 won

Schuss

Jan 25th, 2022 40m 25s

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. Els

Foolhappy

Jan 18th, 2022 43m 8s

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 sh

Chum (Recorded live at Chichester Festival Theatre)

Jan 11th, 2022 33m 34s

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

Jan 4th, 2022 47m 35s

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

Hooch

Dec 14th, 2021 40m 38s

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 thr

Cybernetic

Nov 30th, 2021 35m 43s

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

Barmpot

Nov 23rd, 2021 37m 26s

*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 lang

Flenched

Nov 16th, 2021 34m 9s

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, pond

Jerkwater

Nov 9th, 2021 38m 14s

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

Firgun

Nov 2nd, 2021 32m 38s

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 u

Scoff

Oct 26th, 2021 37m 12s

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 impe

Glisters

Oct 19th, 2021 39m 55s

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

Just A Minute

Oct 12th, 2021 34m 59s

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 diff

Prepone

Oct 5th, 2021 38m 57s

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 w

Masheen

Sep 28th, 2021 41m 38s

It’s an honor to have you with us today Purple People as we plow through the colorful world of the lexicographer, author, language reformer and perhaps famously the dictionary creator, Noah Webster. Known as the father of American English,

Mausolos

Sep 21st, 2021 33m 53s

Pick up your finest trowel and join us as we dig around the etymology of archaeology. Find out the link between helmet and hell, why we have an ancient king to thank for grand mausoleums, and why a thesaurus is even more of a treasure trove tha