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The Allusionist

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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 27: Bonus 2015

December 23, 2015 The Allusionist

Throughout the year, I've been stockpiling your requests for etymologies, and for the last episode of 2015, here are some answers! Ever wondered about the correct plural of 'octopus', who was the original nemesis, or whether 'picnic' is racist?

There's also a sprinkling of anecdotes there wasn't room for in the show earlier this year. Prepare for Klingon, acid trips, Cliff Richard, and Michael Palin's cock.

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In episodes Tags words, language, phrases, etymology, bullshit, history, songs, songwriting, drugs, sex, cocks, genitals, audio description, Michael Palin, Bridesmaids, Klingon, Star Trek, Elvish, Dothraki, invented languages, Nate DiMeo, The Memory Palace, racist terms, racist, marriage, portmanteaux, portmanteau terms, Ancient Greek, ancient languages, Greece, Greek gods, Greek, Latin, nemesis, nimrod, bible, Noah, Cliff Richard, Eurovision Song Contest, picnic, fired, bucolic, pith, pithy, dictionaries, Bugs Bunny, Greek goddesses, acid, illywhacker, bonus episode, bonus
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The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.