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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 138. Mind My Mind

June 27, 2021 The Allusionist
A138 Mind My Mind logo.jpg

Crazy, insane, nuts, mad, bonkers, psycho, schizo, OCD - casual vocabulary is strewn with mental health terms, but perhaps shouldn't be? Psychotherapist and podcaster Lily Sloane talks about what we're really saying when we use such words.

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In episodes Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, Helen Zaltzman, history, Lily Sloane, therapy, psychotherapy, mental health, ableism, psychopathy, Psycho, OCD, ambivalence, antisocial, egosyntonic, egodystonic, disorders, schizophrenia, schizoid, sociopath, Carl Jung, Psyche, Eros, Cupid, Aphrodite, myths, Greek myths, Greek gods, Hedone, hedonism, the shadow, fartlek

Allusionist 81. Shark Week

July 27, 2018 The Allusionist
A81 Shark Week logo.jpg

What is the expression 'beyond the pale' on about? How do you express the absence of feeling? Does 'testify' have anything to do with testicles? Do avocados have anything to do with testicles? How does the phrase "It's all Greek to me" relate to food styling? Can you have a caper with capers? Are sharks misunderstood, etymologically and morally? And finally: where do allusions come from?

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In episodes Tags Radiotopian guest appearance, The Beatles, indifference, emotions, nouns, verbs, adjectives, beyond the pale, phrases, sayings, ghetto, pale, impale, fences, Irish Pale, Russian Pale, Calais Pale, oppression, Jews, mood, ambivalence, testicles, balls, crotch, genitals, law, swearing, witness, testify, testis, ovaries, legal system, etymology, anatomy, Latin, Greek, ancient languages, Bible, supplication, stones, nuts, eggs, slang, avocados, Spanish, onomatopoeia, cinnamon, food, food styling, food stylists, brands, Chinese, it’s all Greek to me, typography, scribes, writing, placeholder, goats, capers, capering, foodstuffs, caprice, caprine, G.O.A.T., sharks, sea creatures, fish, Jaws, Mayan, xoc, German, sea-dog, dogs, loan shark, allusion, allude, Hrishikesh Hirway, Song Exploder, The West Wing Weekly, words, history, language, linguistics, expressions, Italian, Serena Williams, goatmilker
Allusionist Patreon
Featured
Allusionist 212. Four Letter Words: Park
Allusionist 212. Four Letter Words: Park
Allusionist 211. Four Letter Words: -gate
Allusionist 211. Four Letter Words: -gate
Allusionist 210. Four Letter Words: 4x4x4 Quiz
Allusionist 210. Four Letter Words: 4x4x4 Quiz
queer playlist
Allusionist 209. Four Letter Words: Serving C-Bomb
Allusionist 209. Four Letter Words: Serving C-Bomb
feed bullshit
Allusionist 208. Four Letter Words: Ffff
Allusionist 208. Four Letter Words: Ffff
WhatsApp Image 2025-04-27 at 23.06.37.jpeg
several bits of news! (nothing bad)
Allusionist 207: Randomly Selected Words from the Dictionary
Allusionist 207: Randomly Selected Words from the Dictionary
Allusionist 206. Bonus 2024
Allusionist 206. Bonus 2024
A Christmas Carollusionist
A Christmas Carollusionist
Allusionist 205. Lexicat, part 2: now with added Dog
Allusionist 205. Lexicat, part 2: now with added Dog
Festivelusionists
Allusionist 204. Lexicat, part 1
Allusionist 204. Lexicat, part 1
Allusionist 203. Flyting
Allusionist 203. Flyting
Creative Commons Licence
The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.