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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 redux rerun: The Away Team

August 18, 2020 The Allusionist
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EMMA BRIANT: Recognizing someone's humanity is crucial. Calling someone a migrant, calling someone an asylum seeker, calling them a refugee. These are official categories; but in many ways, depending on how they use them, they can change and become more negative. And they also preference how officials are sorting them over their very basic humanity.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, history, immigration, migration, immigrants, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, media, propaganda, tabloids, Emma Briant, Nikesh Shukla, racism, bias, political correctness, politically correct, POC, BAME, political correctness gone mad

Allusionist 116: My Dad Excavated a Porno transcript

June 3, 2020 The Allusionist
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HZ: The Victorians really did a number on people. I feel like we're still unpicking Victorian attitudes.

KATE LISTER: Yes, we are. I mean, we're still very much the children of the Victorians, and they're a fascinating bunch, the Victorians. No generation, at no point in history, has sex been successfully repressed, ever. It just doesn't happen. But what you have is really strict social morality, conditioning and mores and constructs and power dynamics around sex that dictate what we are and what we're not supposed to be doing. And outward facing, they were so repressed and polite society and so offended by everything even remotely to do with sex, to the point of where they wouldn't say the word 'trousers' because they thought they were too rude. They were 'sit down upons'.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicography, erotica, pornography, porn, art, writing, novels, ancient, history, Victorians, 19th century, Greeks, Greek, Latin, French, Romans, Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans, titillation, titillating, law, legal, court, obscenity, Pompeii, obscene, repression, class, sex, sexuality, Kate Lister, Whores of Yore, Brian Watson, sex work, sex workers, John Cleland, Fanny Hill, literacy, publications, publishing, phallus, penis, winged penises, Fascinus, ichor, Sepoy Mutiny, India, stop and search, police, Hicklin Test, religion, Christianity, Catholic, Protestant, Retif de la Bretonne, comstockery, Comstock, control, Athenaeus, porneia, Deipnosophistae, satire, elitism, evil eye, power, morality, British Empire, Pope, lewd, blasphemy, Britain, England, UK, British empire, New Testament, Bible, Bible translation, translation, translators, archaeologists, archaelogy

Allusionist 115. Keep Calm and transcript

May 16, 2020 The Allusionist
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HZ: Does being told to keep calm work?
JANE GREGORY: I can think of so many ways why it doesn't work.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, Owen Hatherley, Jane Gregory, Stuart Manley, posters, slogans, Keep Calm and Carry On, World War Two, WW2, Second World War, trends, decor, psychology, positive thinking, Stoics, stoicism, stoic philosophy, emotions, feelings, suppression, government, history, Ministry of Information, products

Allusionist 111. Engraving part 2: Precious transcript

December 16, 2019 The Allusionist
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MAX ULLMANN: I like how this is typical of all antique jewellery, in a way, it's just completely symmetrical and totally imperfect. In a world of perceived perfection, this is far more interesting. You know, you can really see that somebody is done that by hand. You know, the A is lower than the Z and the E, the horizontal arms of the E, are too short by modern standards. It’s certainly not perfect. There's bits and pieces of the letters missing, but you can really put yourself in the position of the person doing it, who obviously was not able to achieve this kind of perceived perfection because they're human.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, jewellery, antiques, antique jewellery, jewelry, silver, metal, gold, rings, jewels, engraving, engraved, engravers, messages, precious, trans, family, heirlooms, wedding, wedding rings, monograms, lettering, traditions, handiwork, by hand, toot snoot, hallmarks, history, Victorian, maids, name badges, name tags, grandparents, engravings, Max Ullmann, A R Ullmann, Steven Yardley, Milne & Yardley, Lisa Hack, Freddy McConnell, Eeva Sarlin, Arlie Adlington, mementoes, sentimental, talisman, craft, nacelle

Allusionist 107. Apples - transcript

October 8, 2019 The Allusionist
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KATHRYN GRANDY: After the name was selected and initially growers and even some people from WSU didn't really like the name Cosmic Crisp.
HZ: Oh, why not?
KATHRYN GRANDY: They said it's like The Jetsons, too futuristic. 
HZ: Is that bad?
KATHRYN GRANDY: You know, I love the name; and being futuristic and like The Jetsons I think is pretty cool. But the one thing I've learned being in marketing is everybody is an art director. Somebody wanted to named Cosmic Crisp ‘Sparkle’. And to me, that makes me think of dish soap.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, Sporklusionist, Dan Pashman, apples, Cosmic Crisp, apple names, history, apple history, fruit, trees, fruit trees, cultivars, varietals, cultivation, Washington, WA, WSU, Washington State University, Kathryn Grandy, Kate Evans, Joanna Crosby, pomology, pomologists, Bloody Ploughman, pippin, Victorians, Britain, National Apple Congress, names, eponyms, applenyms, cappletalism, euphemisms, congress, swears, bloody, risque, Honeycrisp, Enterprise, The Jetsons, marketing, Jazz apple, jazz, trademarks, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Snapdragon, Strawberry apple, Jonathan apple, Granny Smith, food, Cats Head, Casthead, Court Pendu Plat, Medlar, Orleans Reinette, France, French, food history, Bramley, pome fruit, breeding, fruit breeding, plants, Victorian Britain, brands, branding, brand names, products, product names, focus groups, consumer testing, accessions, fruiterers, Scorpion apple, candy

Allusionist 104. Words Into Food - transcript

August 18, 2019 The Allusionist
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KATE YOUNG: I can travel through what these characters are eating and what they're doing, and travel to places, to countries I've never been, but also to fantastical worlds that I've never been to and versions of this world that feel very different to my own or are 200 years older than this or one hundred years in the future or any of those things

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, omnicompetent, food, cooking, cookery, eating, recipes, cookbooks, cookery books, novels, children’s books, books, reading, writing, fiction, fantasy, Kate Young, Little Library Cafe, Harry Potter, Poirot, Agatha Christie, Lord of the Rings, Pippi Longstocking, Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, Babette’s Feast, Bridget Jones, Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, fantasy worlds, fictional worlds, The Hobbit, Jane Eyre, seed cake, Sherlock Holmes, domesticity, A Christmas Carol, history, historical, Roald Dahl, CS Lewis, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, treacle, treacle tart, ortolans, feasts, meals

Allusionist 56+12. Joins & Pride - transcript

June 7, 2019 The Allusionist
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To celebrate Pride Month, I’m playing two of the Allusionist episodes that have stuck with me the most during the show’s existence.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicon, history, pride, Gay Pride, gay, homosexuality, LGBT, Stonewall, demonstrations, oppression, Aristotle, civil rights, Quakers, Christopher Street, Stonewall Riots, New York City, Mayor Lindsay, trans, gender, LBGTQI, bodies, body, body parts, sex, dysphoria, communication, queer, proem, genitalia, genitals

Allusionist 99. Polari - transcript

May 13, 2019 The Allusionist
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HZ: In 1982, Princess Anne, the second child of the Queen of England, Olympic Equestrian, is competing at the Badminton Horse Trials.

PAUL BAKER: She's jumping over all these obstacles and oops, she slips and falls in the water off an obstacle. And all of the photographers rush forward to take a photograph, and she tells them to "naff off". Or "naff orf".
HZ: She's not allowed to drop an F-bomb really, she's a royal.
PAUL BAKER: No, but 'naff' was a Polari word.

HZ: Polari. Just a couple of decades before, it would have been unthinkable that someone like Princess Anne would have used a Polari word, or that she would even have known one.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicography, Polari, slang, argot, lingua franca, secret, secrecy, code, Cant, camp, drag, criminals, decriminalisation, LGBTQ, history, gay, gay culture, homosexuality, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 20th century, BBC, Mary Whitehouse, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Julian and Sandy, Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, sex, Round the Horne, innuendo, Italian, Parlyaree, London, Britain, police, gender, dating, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, royals, West End, East End, clobber, zhoozh, cline, navy, merchant navy, Americanisms, queer, queer history

Allusionist 98. Alter Ego - transcript

April 27, 2019 The Allusionist
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Today: three pieces about alter egos, when your name - the words by which the world knows you - is replaced by another for particular purposes.

  • How did John Doe come to be the name for a man, alive or dead, identity unknown or concealed in a legal matter? Strap in for a whirlwind ride into some frankly batshit centuries-old English law.

  • At their first bout of the 2019 season, the London Roller Girls talk about how they chose their roller derby names - or why they chose to get rid of one.

  • The 1930s and 40s were a golden age for detective fiction, which was also very popular and lucrative. Yet writing it was disreputable enough for authors to hide behind pseudonyms.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicography, alter egos, embouchure, John Doe, Jane Doe, Mary Major, Richard Roe, law, legal, history, legal history, anonymity, anonymous, pseudonyms, names, ejectment, property, tenants, land, placeholder names, court case, courtroom, British law, plaintiffs, defendants, Ancient Rome, Romans, Latin, NN, Numerius Negidius, Aulus Agerius, JK Rowling, dead bodies, corpses, unknown, unidentified, Roe v Wade, Doe v Bolton, skating, roller derby, puns, punning, jokes, wordplay, sports, sport, London Roller Girls, LRG, Beyonce, Sasha Fierce, athletes, fonts, Helvetica, novels, fiction, detective fiction, Caroline Crampton, mystery novels, swears, Cecil Day-Lewis, Agatha Christie, Nicholas Blake, pen names, Robert Galbraith, Shedunnit, Detection Club, snobbery, genres, Elena Ferrante, unmasking, Mary Westmacott, books, married names, Max Mallowan

Allusionist 97. The Future is Now? - transcript

April 11, 2019 The Allusionist
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ROSE EVELETH: I couldn't say this to most people, but you probably understand getting obsessed with a phrase, where you're like, "What is this thing that we say that is weird?" And the one that I've been obsessed with for a while is "The future is now".

HZ: This is Rose Eveleth. She makes the podcast Flash Forward, about how certain scenarios might play out in the future. Which may or may not be now.

ROSE EVELETH: I tend to use it most ironically, where like you see something dumb with technology and you're like "Oh, the future is now!" "Oh, an Internet-connected toaster - the future is now!"
HZ: “Social network for dogs!”
ROSE EVELETH: Exactly. Right. And other people I think use it much more straightforwardly, and much more non-ironically, which is like, "Oh, things are happening so quickly. The future is upon us. Things are changing really rapidly. The future is always happening right in front of us. Technology is amazing." There are two ways to say "the future is now": you can say it optimistically, you could be like, "the future is now! Isn't that cool?" Or you could be like, "the future is now, and we're totally screwed.”
I have a tweetdeck column that is just for that phrase "the future is now", just to watch what people are saying. "School buses with Wi-Fi. The future is now". The U.S. Forest Service,

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicography, Rose Eveleth, Flash Forward, technology, futurism, future, the future is now, phrases, sayings, adages, General Motors, 1960s, 1950s, flying cars, jetpack, futurists, jokes, innovation, invention, Christianity, internet, 20th century, history, end of the world, industry, Industrial Revolution, Victorians, industrialisation, future shock, progress, passage of time, almacantar, advances, tomorrow

Allusionist 94. Harsh Realm - transcript

February 21, 2019 The Allusionist
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MEGAN JASPER: I was the lucky recipient of a telephone call from the New York Times in the early 90s when they were writing a huge piece on Seattle, and they wanted to focus on the grunge lexicon. They wanted terms and phrases and words that we all used in the music scene; words and phrases that you would only know if you are part of the Seattle music scene.

HZ: On 15 November 1992, the New York Times printed an article entitled ‘Grunge - A Success Story’, about how grunge had become the latest big thing - ‘from subculture to mass culture’, as the article put it. In the preceding couple of years, the Seattle music scene had been co-opted by the mainstream, and by this point, record labels were putting stickers on album covers saying ‘Seattle’; just a couple of weeks before the NYT article, Marc Jacobs caused a stir in the fashion industry when he showed his grunge collection for Perry Ellis, after which he both won an award and was fired; Vogue printed a ‘Grunge & Glory’ fashion spread; and Kurt Cobain was photographed wearing a T-shirt printed with ‘grunge is dead’, in case you were wondering whether everyone was pleased with all these developments. And chasing the zeitgeist before it dipped below the horizon, there was the New York Times.

“When did grunge become grunge?’ the first paragraph went. “How did a five-letter word meaning dirt, filth, trash become synonymous with a musical genre, a fashion statement, a pop phenomenon?”

Immediately, you notice an error: ‘grunge’ is a six-letter word, not a five-letter word. But that’s just your warm-up error; don’t peak too early.

Read on, and there’s a sidebar entitled “Lexicon of Grunge: Breaking the Code”, “coming soon to a high school or mall near you”. And there followed a list of grunge slang terms.

bloated, big bag of bloatation – drunk
bound-and-hagged – staying home on Friday or Saturday night
harsh realm – bummer
plats – platform shoes
score – great

Not familiar with any of these terms? No. Nor was anybody.

MEGAN JASPER: What they didn't realize is that no such language really existed. And so I decided to have a little bit of fun with it.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicography, music, records, record labels, Seattle, Pacific Northwest, history, USA, America, music industry, rock music, rock, genres, music genres, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam, 1990s, nineties, Gen X, media, trends, grunge, grungy, Megan Jasper, Jonathan Poneman, Kurt Cobain, New York Times, NYT, hoaxes, jokes, pranks, grunge hoax, fake languages, invented languages, fake, Washington, Alice in Chains, Mark Lanegan, journalism, fact-checking, press, magazines, newspapers

Allusionist 92. To Err Is Human - transcript

January 23, 2019 The Allusionist
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SUSIE DENT: There never has been a golden age when everything was as it should be ever. Even though we tend to think that English is now at its most dumbed down, always; I think every generation has thought that.

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In transcript Tags umpire, bears, jerusalem artichoke, freelance, arse ropes, zounds, mistakes, English, sayings, language, swearing, eggcorns, profanity, lick into shape, debt, Countdown, Old English, plumber, linguistics, swears, comedy, Helen Zaltzman, lexicography, expressions, entertainment, anagrams, literature, shamefaced, Latin, cusses, education, hangnail, euphemisms, Jiminy Cricket, arts, curry favour, favor, errors, history, etymology, gadzooks, doubt, nickname, society & culture, Middle English, jeepers creepers, malaphors, jerusalem artichokes, buttonholing, dord, Susie Dent, words, cherries, lexicographers, secretary

2018 Extra Special QUIZ! - interactive transcript

December 18, 2018 The Allusionist
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For a bit of fun to celebrate Radiotopia’s 2018 fundraiser, this episode is a wordy quiz for you to play along with as you listen.

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In Radiotopia, call to action, episodes Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, Avery Trufelman, Articles of Interest, Roman Mars, 99% Invisible, 99PI, Nate DiMeo, The Memory Palace, Benjamen Walker, Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything, Hrishikesh Hirway, Song Exploder, The West Wing Weekly, Jen Poyant, Manoush Zomorodi, ZigZag, Jonathan Mitchell, The Truth, Radio Diaries, Joe Richman, podcast, podcasts, podcasters, quiz, questions, eponyms, history, etymology, phrases, idioms, animals, hedgehogs, turkey, urchins, botulism, sausage, Latin, i, tittle, diacritics, Bible, euphemisms, foot, aglet, clothing, shoes, shoelaces, fashion, garb, garments, apparel, clothing terminology, terminology, diseases, medieval, castles, toilets, WC, garderobe, wardrobe, clothes, bathroom, ammonia, hygiene, faeces, waste disposal, evacuations, bodily functions, mistranslation, Vulgate Bible, dogs, feist, feisty, fart, meat, cold shoulder, expressions, Pogs, juice, Hawaii, passion fruit orange and guava, POG, turkeys, Turkey, poultry, names, imports, Aztecs, India, trade, Peru, geography, New World, Christopher Columbus, horror, burpees, exercises, exercise, physical exertion, George Washington Gale Ferris Jr, Ferris wheels, pleasure wheels, inventions, strongmen, World’s Fair, zeppelins, Led Zeppelin, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, bands, music, name changes, lawsuits, fur, fabric, felt, cloth, Stetson, hats, John B. Stetson, genitalia, genitals, penis, Radiotopian guest appearance

Allusionist 91. Bonus 2018 - transcript

December 14, 2018 The Allusionist
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Today’s episode is the annual bonus Allusionist, featuring outtakes from some of this year’s guests saying things that were not necessarily related to the topic of the original episode, or even related to language at all, but I thought, “Hmm! Interesting!” and filed them away until THIS MOMENT.

This is not a typical episode of the Allusionist, so if this is your first time here, welcome! And do try a few different episodes of the show to get a picture. This year there have been episodes about your names, and superhero names; about how swearing can be good for your health, and so can novels; about tattoos, and typing champions; about how the drive to survive sent the Welsh language across an ocean, and the Scots language to hide at home; and many more. Thanks so much for spending time with me over 2018.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, Haggard Hawks, Paul Anthony Jones, Glen Weldon, PCHH, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Guy Cuthbertson, Jane Gregory, Nancy podcast, WNYC, Tobin Low, Kathy Tu, Hrishikesh Hirway, Song Exploder, TWWW, West Wing Weekly, cross stitch, Charlotte’s Web, WWI, World War One, First World War, nudism, naturism, trenches, class, war, warfare, comics, comic books, superheroes, capes, costumes, kennedy, burke, murder, London, history, historical, slang, spiders, spider phobia, arachnophobia, psychology, therapy, fiction, exposure therapy, fear, gigs, music, gig, jobs, work, transport, carriages, boats, whirligig, Tuesday, gods, musicians, bonus, convalescence, nudist camps, simple life, eponyms, gore, coventry, Britain, British, 19th century, crimes, parliament, Charles II, Duke of Monmouth, John Coventry, politics, politicians, felonies, felony, horses, bands, carts, 20th century, jazz, trapeze artists, trends, bonus episode

Allusionist 82 A Novel Remedy transcript

August 13, 2018 The Allusionist
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When you’re not feeling well, which books do you turn to to make yourself feel better?

I asked this question on the Allusionist Facebook and Twitter, and hundreds of you responded, but a few answers came up again and again:
Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, JRR Tolkien.
Makes sense. Science fiction, fantasy: what’s more escapist?
Jane Austen. PG Wodehouse.
Also escapist, thanks to period setting - and, rich people problems not health problems.
Things you read when you were a child: Moomins, What Katy Did, Anne of Green Gables…
Taking you back to a time in your life that perhaps felt safer, or simpler...
...Harry Potter.
Boarding school shenanigans! Wizard problems not real life problems!
And, Agatha Christie.
Poison! Gunshots! Stabbing! Hang on, why would stories about murder make us feel better?

Well, they’re kind of supposed to make you feel better.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, psychology, OCD, mental health, books, fiction, audiobooks, novels, reading, amusement, distraction, wellness, illness, health, psychological, history, writers, authors, detectives, PI, sleuths, WW1, WW2, World War One, First World War, Second World War, World War Two, PTSD, trauma, personal, sickness, hospital, cortisol, childhood, kids, children, escape, escapism, nostalgia, Agatha Christie, mysteries, murder mystery, Hercule Poirot, crime, Miss Marple, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, James Bond, Ian Fleming, Harry Potter, JK Rowling, science fiction, fantasy, Alison Light, literature of convalescence, convalescents, convalescence, jougs, Helen Zaltzman, Jane Gregory, Guy Cuthbertson
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Allusionist 208: Ffff
Allusionist 208: Ffff
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several bits of news! (nothing bad)
queer playlist
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
Allusionist 202: Singlish Singlish
Allusionist 202: Singlish Singlish
Allusionist 201: Singlish
Allusionist 201: Singlish
Tranquillusionist: Ex-Constellations
Tranquillusionist: Ex-Constellations
Allusionist 200: 200th episode celebratory quiz!
Allusionist 200: 200th episode celebratory quiz!
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