Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

Welcome to our whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase. Each week, we delve into the origins of phrases to find out how they came into the English language. We tell the story of how the phrase got from its beginnings to where it is today. Shauna and Dan are two big nerds, so expect some geek culture references, random trivia facts, and loads of laughs!

261 Cut the Mustard 01/08/2025

261 Cut the Mustard This week Shauna and Dan look into the phrase "Cut the Mustard". Does this originate with the yellow mustard stuff, or perhaps from a mishearing of a military term? Bonus: Old political parties, bad internet habits, and a silly commercial from the 1980s Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/34745075

260 New Lease on Life 01/01/2025

260 New Lease on Life This week Shauna and Dan get a new lease on life. Well, they look into the phrase, anyway. Bonus: Rhyming poems, sad commercials, and a hoarders dream come true! Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/34664800

259 Words Christmas Gave Us with Grace Tierney 12/18/2024

259 Words Christmas Gave Us with Grace Tierney This week Shauna and Dan are joined by 'Words Christmas Gave Us' author Grace Tierney to talk about Christmas, Boxing Day (St. Stephens Day if you are in Ireland - Do NOT make that mistake), and fun holiday traditions. Happy holidays from all of us at Bunny Trails! Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/34202965

258 Christmas Spirit 12/11/2024

258 Christmas Spirit It's that time of year! Shauna and Dan deep dive into the holiday phrase, Christmas Spirit. The feeling, not the ghosts. Bonus: Curmudgeonly old men, spirits pitching the Christmas spirit, and the great bagel vs donut debate. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/34185655

257 Third Time's the Charm 12/04/2024

257 Third Time's the Charm This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Third Time's the Charm". Dan finally connects the dots on some similar phrases, too. Bonus: Existential dread, sandwich annihilation, and quilt-making in a weekend. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/34183540

256 Riding the Gravy Train 11/27/2024

256 Riding the Gravy Train This week Shauna and Dan call all aboard on the Gravy Train. Bonus: Dubious origins, bad maths, Pink Floyd, and poutine. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33906127

255 Light Years Ahead 11/20/2024

255 Light Years Ahead This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase Light Years Ahead. Bonus: Science terms, surprise parties, and how to live your best life - through organizational development. Probably. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33905312

254 Hindsight is 2020 11/13/2024

254 Hindsight is 2020 This week Shauna and Dan look back into the past to discover the origins of the phrase, Hindsight is 20/20. Bonus: Snellen Charts, Astronauts, and the Red Green Nation Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33756027

253 Clear the Air 11/06/2024

253 Clear the Air This week Shauna and Dan look into the phrase, 'Clear the Air' in both its literal and figurative forms. Bonus: Winds of truth, Dan's brilliance, and the little lies we tell Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33705807

252 Skeleton in the Closet 10/30/2024

252 Skeleton in the Closet This week Shauna and Dan explore the Skeleton in the Closet, sometimes known as the Skeleton in the Cupboard. Bonus: Gravestone battles, Jazz music, and literal skeletons in cupboards. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33539322

251 All Roads Lead to Rome 10/23/2024

251 All Roads Lead to Rome This week Shauna and Dan explore why all roads lead to Rome. Bonus: 80s music, abstract art, and miles to McDonalds. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33573182

Mini Ep On Thin Ice 10/16/2024

Mini Ep On Thin Ice In a mini episode this week, Shauna and Dan discuss the word "ice" and briefly look at two icy idioms; On Thin Ice and Break the Ice. Copyright 2024 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33457627

RETRO 146 Grandfather Clock 10/09/2024

RETRO 146 Grandfather Clock A lean, tall clock stops the moment its owner dies. Is it an episode of The Twilight Zone or the catalyst for the term "Grandfather Clock?" Bonus - The talent of Sam Lucas, plus Knickerbockers! Outro Song: My Grandfathers Clock by H.C. Work, Arranged and performed by Michael Pugh, Shauna Harrison, Dan Pugh. Originally Aired February 23, 2022 Copyright 2024 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33369487

250 Cut of His Jib 10/02/2024

250 Cut of His Jib This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Cut of His Jib". We also find out what in the heck a 'jib' is! Bonus: Jack Tar, Abstract Diptychs, and Singing in the Shower Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33263632

249 Gift of Gab 09/25/2024

249 Gift of Gab This week Shauna and Dan explore the gift of gab. Or sometimes, gob. Bonus: Fur babies, blarney stones, pet voices, and art appreciation Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33188757

248 When in Rome 09/18/2024

248 When in Rome This week Shauna and Dan delve into the phrase "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Bonus: Dan pines for a Sister Act 3, Shauna steals coins from fountains, and Catholic Saints talk about when they should fast Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/33081932

247 John Doe 09/11/2024

247 John Doe This week Shauna and Dan explore why we call an unknown person John Doe or Jane Doe. This has MUCH older history than we expected. Bonus: We yeet the Court Leet and Dan shows off his math skills Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32974347

246 Bees Knees 09/04/2024

246 Bees Knees This week Shauna and Dan discover that Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast is the bee's knees! Or at least we think so. It turns out, these two words together have had many meanings over the years before turning into something great. Bonus: Babe Ruth, Alanis Morissette, and the answer to everyone's question: Do bee's even have knees? Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32865522

245 Fish Out of Water 08/28/2024

245 Fish Out of Water This week Shauna and Dan dive into the phrase, Fish Out of Water. Dan questions if Chaucer ever played Dungeons and Dragons, while Shauna geeks out over fish who can walk on land. Bonus: Picket Lines and the Joys of Retirement Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32752262

244 Talk is Cheap 08/21/2024

244 Talk is Cheap This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, Talk is Cheap. Spoiler: This phrase was not coined by P.T. Barnum, despite the Internet's insistence to the contrary. Bonus: Vulgar Tongues, Singers & their bands, and Bacon desserts Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32640402

243 Save My Bacon 08/07/2024

243 Save My Bacon This week Shauna and Dan do their diligence to find out how to "Save My Bacon". Bonus: Bugbears, Budget Strategies, and controversial takes on what Country has the best bacon Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32433012

242 Keeping Up With the Joneses 07/31/2024

242 Keeping Up With the Joneses This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase "Keeping Up With the Joneses". Along the way your hosts ponder what massive changes must happen in a 100 year life span and who would play Dan in a movie about his life. Bonus: An anthropologist talks sociology /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32337332

241 Black Sheep 07/24/2024

241 Black Sheep This week Shauna and Dan discover why someone would be the black sheep of a family. Warning: Dan knows absolutely nothing about sheep. And it shows. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32227657

RETRO 78 Heads Will Roll 07/10/2024

RETRO 78 Heads Will Roll This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase "Heads Will Roll" featuring blood-lusting kings, murderous queens, and tyrannical dictators. Bonus: William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and Beetlejuice. Copyright 2024 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/32031522

RETRO 57 Acknowledge the Corn and other American Civil War Slang 07/03/2024

RETRO 57 Acknowledge the Corn and other American Civil War Slang RETRO This week Shauna and Dan travel to Gettysburg to explore Civil War slang. They Acknowledge the Corn after they try to come the gum game, all while staying fit as a fiddle so they can see the elephant. BONUS: Learn how hardtack was like twinkies! #BunnyTrails Originally Aired August 7, 2019 Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/31962392

240 Reach Across the Aisle 06/26/2024

240 Reach Across the Aisle This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, Reach Across the Aisle. Dan says it might be the most boring origin story they've ever done - seating charts. There's also a similar phrase in the United Kingdom. Bonus: Taylor Swift, Rock Churches, and one guy who watched 1,413 hours of the US House of Representatives meetings. Oof. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/31874902

RETRO 135 Cool as a Cucumber 06/19/2024

RETRO 135 Cool as a Cucumber RETRO: Shauna and Dan take a cool drink of gourd water this week as they explore the phrase Cool as a Cucumber. We learn Dan abhors cucumbers unless they've been drowned in vinegar and he dislikes some of the previous words for cucumbers. It seems some old-timey folks disliked them, too. Bonus discussion: is cereal a soup? Copyright 2024 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/31772122

239 Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 06/12/2024

239 Horseshoes and Hand Grenades This week Shauna and Dan look at the phrase, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades", which is way more modern than Dan thought. Also, Shauna points out Clydesdale horses bring their own Ugg boots to the party, while Dan notes that trebuchets are the superior siege engines. Bonus: Shippy Shippers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the color vision deficient crowd (mostly Dan). And did you know the United Kingdom once listed horseshoes as an "uncivilized game"? Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/31691097

238 Soup to Nuts 06/05/2024

238 Soup to Nuts This week Shauna and Dan dive into the phrase "Soup to Nuts". Bonus: The Irish phrase "To take the soup", the Three Stooges, and gloves versus mittens. Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/31522667

237 Tickled Pink 05/29/2024

237 Tickled Pink This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase "Tickled Pink". Bonus: Tickled to Death, Pinkalicious, and Secretly loving hated books Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved /episode/index/show/bunnytrailspod/id/31486237

Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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