The Etymology of Errors and Erroneous, and the Oktoberfest Experience

Send us Fan Mail In episode 92 of I Hate Talking, the hosts lean into a real‑life continuity error: the original recording for this episode was corrupted, so they had to re‑record it after already releasing episodes 93 and 94. They use that mishap to introduce the word “erroneous,” exploring its meaning as “wrong” or “incorrect,” and tracing its roots back to Latin ideas of “straying” and even “vagabond,” which gives the term a sense of wandering off the right path. They contrast “erroneous” with the more generic “wrong,” noting that it’s often used for factual or data‑driven mistakes rather than moral ones, and joke about how trust, AI, and even photos have become more “erroneous” in a world of deepfakes and heavy editing.The rest of the episode continues their travel‑review mini‑series with a warm, rainy‑day recap of a family trip to a U.S. Oktoberfest celebration. They describe German food that won the kids over—pretzels, bratwurst, schnitzel, real sauerkraut, and mustard—alongside live music, dancing in the rain, and yard games under tents. A shared mini‑keg of imported German beer sparks conversations with other festival‑goers, and the hosts reflect on parenting stages when they see another couple juggling a crying baby and later meet empty‑nesters who remind them how quickly kids grow up. They close by agreeing they’d gladly do Oktoberfest again—and that it made them even more eager to someday experience Germany itself as a family.Keywords: erroneous meaning, word origin, continuity error, trust and media, Oktoberfest review, German food, family travel, parenting seasons, I Hate Talking podcast. Support the show---Any views expressed on this podcast are those solely of the hosts and is for entertainment purposes only. None of the content is medical advice or financial advice. Special thanks to Tim Wright aka CoLD SToRAGE for his permission to use the song Operatique.