Latest Derivation Podcast Episodes
Episode 9 (Part Two): “Luck of the Irish,” “86,” “Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire” and more!
Words Between Friends - December 15, 2023 22:22 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsGet full access to Culture Shlock at malcolmfleschner.substack.com/subscribe
Episode 9 (Part One): “At Sixes and Sevens,” “Skin of One’s Teeth,” “Baker’s Dozen” and more!
Words Between Friends - November 22, 2023 22:47 - 55 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsGet full access to Culture Shlock at malcolmfleschner.substack.com/subscribe
Episode 8: “Clean Your Clock,” “Jury-Rigged,” “To Whale On,” “Makeshift,” “Slapdash,” “Freebird!” and more!
Words Between Friends - March 27, 2023 01:00 - 57 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsMalcolm and Kurt demonstrate (mostly) mild annoyance with each other while puzzling over the provenance of common phrases suggested by fans of the podcast for beating on someone and doing slipshod work. All that and discussing whether there’s anything more annoying than yelling out “Play Freebir...
Episode 7: “Slush Fund,” “Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread,” “Flat Out Like a Lizard Drinking,” “Footloose,” “Molson Muscle” and more!
Words Between Friends - December 03, 2022 19:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsMalcolm and Kurt trade barbs and witticisms while puzzling out the derivations of common English phrases while also celebrating the 30-year anniversary of an amazing word-related hoax perpetrated by a member of Generation X against the mighty New York Times. Get full access to Culture Shlock at...
Episode 6: “Makin’ Whoopie,” “Copycat,” “Shag,” “Kit ’n’ Kaboodle,” “Pussyfoot” and the granddaddy of them all, “F*ck”
Words Between Friends - August 12, 2022 18:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsMalcolm and Kurt trade witticisms while making their best guesses about the derivations for three synonyms of “doing it,” as well as a trio of (vaguely) feline-themed expressions. Get full access to Culture Shlock at malcolmfleschner.substack.com/subscribe
Episode 5: Origins of football terms "touchdown," "sack" and "Super Bowl"; surprising original meanings of "nice," "broad" and "slut"
Words Between Friends - May 03, 2022 19:00 - 57 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsThis week Kurt asks Malcolm to tackle the origins of the American football terms “touchdown,” “sack” and “Super Bowl,” while Malcolm challenges Kurt to come up with the original definitions of the words "nice," "broad" (meaning woman) and the often considered shameful "slut." All this and our ...
Episode 4: Kick the Bucket, Fly Off the Handle, Dead as a Doornail, Shuffle off this Mortal Coil & Put Up Your Dukes
Words Between Friends - February 05, 2022 22:00 - 55 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsThis week Kurt goes thematic by asking Malcolm to identify the origins of “Kick the bucket,” “Dead as a doornail” and “Shuffle off this mortal coil,” while Malcolm introduces his co-host to Cockney rhyming slang in the form of “Put up your dukes” and reveals the derivation of “Fly off the handle...
Episode 3: Balls to the Wall, Mad as a Hatter, Bruce Springsteen’s “Speedball,” Bury the Hatchet, "I'm Your Huckleberry" and Butter You Up
Words Between Friends - January 01, 2022 21:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsMalcolm and Kurt try to stump one another about the origins of Balls to the Wall, Mad as a Hatter, Bury the Hatchet, and Butter You Up while exploring why the Bruce Springsteen lyric is "throw that old *speedball* by you" instead of *fastball* and reveal that Val Kilmer's Wyatt Earp character i...
Episode 2: Bite the Bullet, No Cap, Milquetoast and Steal Your Thunder
Words Between Friends - November 19, 2021 00:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsMalcolm and Kurt grill one another about the origins of “Under the Weather,” "Bite the Bullet,” “No Cap,” “Milquetoast” and “Steal Your Thunder“ while Kurt also tests Malcolm’s ability to guess the meaning of a foreign idiomatic expressions like “There’s no cow on the ice,” “Not my circus, not m...
Episode 1: Level Best, Piss-Poor, Tenterhooks and Much More!
Words Between Friends - November 11, 2021 00:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsMalcolm and Kurt examine and argue about the surprising provenance of a range of terms including "level best," "on tenterhooks," and "piss-poor" while also discussing pressing questions like: Why do we say "hundreds," "thousands" and "millions" but we don't say "tens?" If you know the correct ...
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