Something Rhymes with Purple

Sadly we’re not in Rome… Gyles is in London and Susie is in Oxford but we're still going on an etymological journey through the origins and quirks of some of our best-known proverbs. Will an apple a day really keep the doctor away? How can it be possible to have your cake and eat it too? Why was Lord Nelson the first person to turn a blind eye? And, just to butter you up, all the regular features are there too: we’ll be responding to your emails, Susie’s got a trio for you, and Gyles has a poetic pearl of wisdom to provide a boost to morale. If you want to get in touch it’s purple@somethinelse.com. A Somethin’ Else production. Susie’s Trio: Waff - (multiple meanings) a slight blow; a tiny touch of illness; a glimpse; a waft of perfume; a regal wave Widdendream - a state of confusion or disturbance Twitterlight - an old word for twilight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Easter Weekend Purple People! Due to the UK Bank Holidays, this coming week's Something Rhymes With Purple will be released on Wednesday 15th April, and Susie & Gyles will be dissecting and discussing some very famous proverbs. To tide you over until then, here are a couple of rather timely word origins for you. We hope you are well and staying safe. Please do keep in touch with us via purple@somethinelse.com. A Somethin' Else production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello Purple People! We hope you’re not feeling too blue, or marooned right now, but fear not Gyles and Susie are here to take you down another etymological rabbit hole to get you back into the pink. This week it’s all about colours! Why are the blues blue, envious eyes green, and a coward’s belly yellow? We’ll be donning our rose-tinted spectacles, avoiding white elephants and searching for the silver linings in all of this. Also, we’ll find out why a black sheep is a good thing in Italy… As always, Gyles has a poem for us to wash our hands to as well as a quotation to take into the week, and Susie will be dropping three more interesting words into our day-to-day vocabulary. Keep your questions and comments coming in: purple@somethinelse.com A Somethin’ Else production. Susie’s Trio: Shoulder-clapper - someone who is unnecessarily friendly an overfamiliar Blunkerkin - a general incompetent Respair - a return to hope or a recovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hold the phone! Stop what you’re doing and dial in to a new Purple Podcast coming to you down the line. For obvious reasons Susie and Gyles can’t record together this week, but fear not, through the magic of technology they’re still able to chat and offer you their usual mix of interesting etymology and amusing anecdotes. As they’re on the blower, they’ll be delving into the world of the telephone and it’s successors/contenders. Why do we give someone a bell? How should you answer the phone? All will be revealed. Also, Gyles and Susie debate the origin of the phrase ‘cheerio’, they test their knowledge of the NATO alphabet and Susie reveals the connection between Morse code and ‘umpteen’. As well as his inspirational quotation, Gyles has another excellent 20s hand-washing poem for you to try, and Susie will be wowing us once again with her weekly trio. A Somethin’ Else production If you have a question for Susie and Gyles please email us purple@somethinelse.com. Susie’s Trio: Gowpen - two handfuls of something Pronk - a weak or slightly foolish person. (Also, a verb meaning ‘to leap in the air like a springbok) Tractatrix - someone who shampoos your hair. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join us this week as we look back over our first fifty episodes of Something Rhymes With Purple. This wouldn’t have been possible without you so thank you for listening and for keeping us on our toes with your questions and suggestions… please keep them coming! If you haven’t listened to all fifty episodes then now is the time to catch up and here are some clips to entice you and point you in the right direction. In this episode Susie and Gyles reveal which came first: orange the colour or orange the fruit; they uncover the initial trailblazers; they disclose the rather nasty origins of ‘hangdog expression’; and they raise a glass to the original tosspots… who weren’t as rude as you may think. Plus, Gyles has some handy 20-second poems for you to learn to aid hand washing and a quotation to inspire you throughout the week. If you have a question for Susie and Gyles then please get in touch: purple@somethinelse.com A Somethin’ Else production. Gyles' poems: Verse 1 of "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear: The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea   In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money,   Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above,   And sang to a small guitar, "O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,   What a beautiful Pussy you are,         You are,         You are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!" "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley: Out of the night that covers me,      Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be      For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance      I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance      My head is bloody, but unbowed. I am the master of my fate,      I am the captain of my soul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Top o’ the morning to you and happy St Patrick’s Day! This week we’re filling up our whiskey glasses and surrounding ourselves with words of Irish origin. Donning our finest trousers and brogues they’ll be Irish phrases galore as we boycott the banshees and really dig the vocabulary of the Emerald Isle. As always, Susie will furnish us with her fantastic trio of interesting or underused words and Gyles offers advice on how to stay young… A Somethin’ Else production. If you have a question for Gyles and Susie then please email us on purple@somethinelse.com. Susie’s Trio: Half-pace - a small landing between two half flights in a staircase Riparian - relating to or situated on the banks of a river Imbroglio - a confused or complicated situation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever given a second thought to where the brands we use every day got their names from? Well we have! And we’re here to share our findings with you. Staying very much ‘on brand’ we’ll be revealing the history behind PG Tips, the fantasy of Fanta, and how a sibling rivalry in Germany spawned two of the globe’s biggest sports brands. We’ll ‘play well’ with our Lego, unpack our IKEA, and find out how a Welsh harpist (may have) had a hand in one of our most recognisable breakfast brands. As always, Susie will be arming us with a trio of words to pepper into conversation this week and Gyles will be inspiring us all with how to avoid being miserable. A Somethin’ Else production. If you want to get in touch with Brand Purple please do: purple@somethinelse.com Susie’s Trio: Nikehedonia - the pleasure of the anticipation of success Xertz - the act of gulping something down quickly Jentacular - relating to breakfast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s time to delve into the inbox once again and dedicate a whole episode to answering your queries that come in each week. A massive thank you to all you Purple People for keeping us on our toes… if there’s something word-related that has been puzzling you then please do the same as Sammy, Dave, Cat, Rebecca and many more by emailing us at purple@somethinelse.com. They asked: where does the term ‘grockle’ come from? Why would someone be the ‘spitting image’ of another? All will be revealed as we hole up in ‘a/an hotel’ whilst telling ‘Jack Robinson’ to ‘sling his hook’… A Somethin’ Else Production. Susie’s Trio: Shackbaggerly - slovenly Causey-webs - a person who neglects his/her work to hang out on the street Whindling - putting on a voice to convince your boss you are ill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What-ho Purple People! This week we’re ‘up to the eyebrows’ and having a good old ‘chortle’ at some of the words introduced to the English language by authors. Prepare to be ‘bedazzled’ by this ‘unputdownable’ episode where we’ll be looking into the inventions of PG Wodehouse, Lewis Carroll, Joseph Heller and many more, as well as hopefully avoiding falling into a ‘honeytrap’ or getting stuck in a ‘Catch-22’. Oh and we’ll reveal the origin of the word ‘podcast’ too. As always we’ll be answering the always fantastic emails you’ve been sending into us, Susie will expand our vocabulary with her weekly trio of words, and Gyles will leave us feeling inspired with his quotation of the week. Pip Pip! Susie’s trio: Shoulder-clapper: someone who is unnecessarily friendly and overfamiliar Ratiocinator: someone who reasons logically Dutch Feast: a party at which the host gets drunk before the guests A Somethin’ Else production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 be playing with them. Plus we’ll be getting our binoculars out, having a little twitch, and attempting to finally 'grill' that ‘blocker'. And, if that wasn’t exhausting enough, we’re hitting the green to find out the meanings of ‘flub', ‘whiff', and ‘shank' on the golf course, hopefully avoiding an 'Arthur Scargill' and a 'fried egg' along the way… It’s tiring work taking it easy! As always Susie will be wowing us with her useful trio of words for the week, and we discover Gyles’ impressive history in the world of board games… and why his family might be responsible for the wild parakeets in West London… Susie’s trio: Shivviness - the feeling of discomfort when wearing new underwear Scuddling - to run with affected haste Razzle - to cook something until the outside of it burns, while the inside remains raw A Somethin’ Else production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices