Podcast Episodes
Back to Search100 Word Facts... and Rob & Jess meet!
Episode 60
Internet word nerds RobWords and Jess Zafarris share 100 word facts. They met in person for the first time after Words Unravelled reached 100,000 sub…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Who was the first to 'spill the beans'? | IDIOM ORIGINS
Episode 59
In this episode, Jess and Rob 'spill the beans' about all manner of food-related idioms.
🍌 Why does 'going bananas' mean going mad?
☕️ Who is the Joe i…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
Why are we saying 'Caesar' wrong? | TITLES & POWER
Episode 58
In this episode, Rob and Jess take a right royal romp through the etymologies of eminent titles. They discuss the origins of words like "lord", "empe…
6 months, 3 weeks ago
What does 'stegosaurus' literally mean? | DINOSAUR NAMES
Episode 57
We’re digging into prehistoric word origins. In this episode, Jess and Rob unearth the literal meanings behind the names of the dinosaurs.
🦖 What do…
6 months, 4 weeks ago
Why is England called 'England'? | COUNTRY NAME ORIGINS
Episode 56
We're taking a world tour of word origins. In this episode, Jess and Rob discuss how a multitude of countries got their names.
🇺🇸 Where was the origin…
7 months ago
Why do news anchors talk like that? | JOURNALESE
Episode 55
BREAKING: Rob and Jess uncover news clichés and weird journalistic words.
📺 Why do TV news anchors talk in that strange way?
🗞️ Why do newspaper journ…
7 months, 1 week ago
How could one man write a dictionary? | SAMUEL JOHNSON
Episode 54
Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary was one heck of an achievement. But it is also far from perfect. In this episode, Jess and Rob discuss some of the m…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Why do pilots sit in a 'cockpit'? | AVIATION WORDS
Episode 53
Welcome aboard flight WU321 bound for Etymology Island. In this episode, Rob and Jess take to the skies and soar through the word origins of a multit…
7 months, 3 weeks ago
How did currencies get their names? | MONEY WORDS
Episode 52
In for a penny, in for a pound: Rob and Jess discuss money word origins in this episode of Words Unravelled.
💰 Where did the dollar sign come from?
💷 W…
8 months ago
Does English use the wrong word for clouds? | WEATHER WORDS
Episode 51
Jess and Rob have got their heads in the clouds, exploring the origins of our words for weather.
☄️ Why don't meteorologists deal with meteors?
☁️ How …
8 months, 1 week ago