All Episodes

Spanish words hiding in English

The origins of the alphabet

Who should you hit with a 'slapstick'? | COMEDY WORDS

The Arabic words hiding in English

What was so "complex" about Oedipus? | PSYCHOLOGY TERMS

The literal meaning of 'tiramisu' | WORLD FOODS

Why is a false clue a "red herring"? | IDIOM ORIGINS

Why does Berlin mean 'swamp'? | CITY NAME ORIGINS

Why do Brits eat their entrees first? ? UK v US ENGLISH

Slurs and taboos with Professor John McWhorter

What was Pepsi originally called? | BRAND NAME ORIGINS

What does 'philosophy' even mean? | PHILOSOPHICAL WORDS

Why so many terms for 'doing it'? | SEX & LOVE

The words English forgot to invent | LEXICAL GAPS

Could something 'escalate' before the escalator? INVENTIONS

Does anyone know what 'London' means? | CITY NAME ORIGINS

What does 'espionage' actually mean? | SECRETS & SPIES

What did the first internet troll write? | TECH WORDS

What is the 'Nocebo Effect'? | MEDICAL TERMS EXPLAINED

What does 'chupacabra' literally mean? | CRYPTIDS & MYTHICAL BEASTS

Why do we say 'bury the hatchet'? | SAYINGS EXPLAINED

Vulgar language and criminal slang

Is English a Germanic language?

Getting quizzed on the quirks of English (with Joshua Blackburn)

Which was the original 'football'? | SPORTS WORDS

What does your name mean? | FIRST NAMES EXPLAINED

Are pets called 'pets' because we pet them? | PET WORDS

Can a hill be taller than a mountain? | GEOGRAPHY WORDS

100 Word Facts... and Rob & Jess meet!

Who was the first to 'spill the beans'? | IDIOM ORIGINS

Why are we saying 'Caesar' wrong? | TITLES & POWER

What does 'stegosaurus' literally mean? | DINOSAUR NAMES

Why is England called 'England'? | COUNTRY NAME ORIGINS

Why do news anchors talk like that? | JOURNALESE

How could one man write a dictionary? | SAMUEL JOHNSON

Why do pilots sit in a 'cockpit'? | AVIATION WORDS

How did currencies get their names? | MONEY WORDS

Does English use the wrong word for clouds? | WEATHER WORDS

Exposing grammar myths and mistakes with Grammar Girl

Why is English full of French words?

Precisely how long is a 'moment'? | TIME WORDS

What was the original "blockbuster"? | MOVIE WORDS

How can you tell a bug from a beetle? | ENTOMOLOGY ETYMOLOGY

Why is the Pope "the daddy"? | HOLY WORDS

Why do Brits think 'pants' are underwear? | CLOTHING WORDS

Why is there an N in "passenger"? | TRANSPORTATION

Why were hatters mad? | IDIOM ORIGINS

Is it a restroom or a loo? | UK v. US English

Did Shakespeare write all his plays? | THE BARD

How do you pronounce lieutenant? | MILITARY WORDS

Why do we mind our Ps and Qs? | PRINTING TERMS

Where the f*** do swear words come from?

Which flower makes you wet the bed? | FLOWER NAME ORIGINS

Is this a rhetorical question? | RHETORIC & LITERARY DEVICES

How did our naughty bits get their names? | BODY ETYMOLOGY

What's the difference between a violin and a fiddle? | MUSIC WORDS

Who invented zero? | MATH & NUMBERS

Who was the original "goodfella"? | CRIME WORDS

Who was the first to "paint the town red"? | IDIOM ORIGINS

Is he Santa Claus or Father Christmas? | FESTIVE ETYMOLOGY

What did a "sin-eater" do? | JOB ETYMOLOGY

Is it a 'full stop' or a 'period'? | PUNCTUATION

Is corporate jargon a synergistic value-add? | JARGON

Who is the Jack in a deck of cards? | GAME WORDS

Which cocktail's name means "moist little thing"? | BOOZY WORDS

How can "tree" and "truth" be related? | WOODLAND WORDS

What's the true meaning of 'happiness'? | EMOTION ETYMOLOGY

What's the 'were' in werewolf? | SPOOKY ETYMOLOGY

Why does oxygen have the wrong name? | ELEMENTS

What does antidisestablishmentarianism mean? | LONG WORDS

Why are you such a nincompoop? | INSULTS

Do geese see god? | PALINDROMES

Why is the word "dog" such a mystery? | ANIMAL WORDS

What mystery did the original "clue" solve? | MYTHOLOGY WORDS

Can a word be its own opposite? | CONTRONYMS

Do "vegetables" technically exist? | FOOD WORDS

What exactly is a "petard" anyway? | FOSSIL WORDS

Have you ever had the mulligrubs? | LOST WORDS

How did the planets get their names? | SPACE WORDS

Did the Greeks have a word for blue? COLOR WORDS

American vs. British English: A transatlantic war of words

Was an orange ever a "norange"? | WORD MASH-UPS

What's poopy about a poop deck? | NAUTICAL ETYMOLOGY

Can you be gormful, wistless or ert? | UNPAIRED WORDS

Why is it a "murder" of crows? | COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Is "posh" really an acronym? | WORD MYTHS

Are you getting these wrong too? | EGGCORNS

Why do we say "hello"? | GREETINGS

Introducing Words Unravelled with RobWords and Jess Zafarris