Sinopsis
A whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase. Each week, writers Shauna Harrison and Dan Pugh explore the origins and stories behind phrases found in the English language. Along the way, they laugh, geek out, and generally have a good time. Great for anyone likes to have fun with words. Remember, words belong to their users!
Episodios
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RETRO 65 Thick As Thieves
20/04/2022 Duración: 34minShauna and Dan spent the past few days helping refugees find safe housing, so it's time for a RETRO episode. They share their likes... and dislikes... about this old episode before re-learning about inkle-weaving and the closeness that comes with being "thick as thieves". #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved Team Rubicon International Rescue Committee Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
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153 In Vino Veritas
13/04/2022 Duración: 31minShauna and Dan dive into the ancient Greek mythos to start exploring the Latin phrase In Vino Veritas. It's philosophers and chianti, Doc Holliday and Malbec, plus 22 year old Song of the Year contenders on this week's #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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152 Break the Ice
06/04/2022 Duración: 32minHave you ever been in a meeting, or at a conference, or maybe in class, and someone gives the group something to do to help everyone get more comfortable? We call those ice-breakers. And breaking the ice is our subject this week. Bonus: Small talk like the weather, divorces that create religions, and the biggest contradictions in society. Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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151 Blood on Your Hands
30/03/2022 Duración: 30minImagine you are reading a suspense novel and you can’t quite tell who the bad guy is. Is the person holding the weapon always the one responsible for a person’s death? Who really has... blood on their hands? It's Shakespeare, early 1900s minimal wage issues, and animated/live action hybrids on this heavy-themed #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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150 Avoid It Like The Plague and Other Evolving Phrases
23/03/2022 Duración: 31minHave you heard someone use the phrase “avoid it like the plague” and then immediately wonder if that phrase even has the same meaning anymore, given the western response to COVID? This week we explore several phrases that may be evolving over the next few generations. Bonus: Quakers, Black Holes, and Peanut Butter Jelly Time! Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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149 Play the Devil
16/03/2022 Duración: 29minHave you ever felt like the weather was trying to ruin your day? Or how some people seem to get involved in something - a certain type of business or perhaps politics - and their entire purpose seems to be making things worse for others? We might just say they are "playing the devil". Bonus: Dan's worst suburban dad nightmare. Also, Asmodeus makes an appearance. Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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148 Elbow Grease
09/03/2022 Duración: 31minIs there such a thing as elbow grease for a human body? (Yes, actually.) Does the phrase mean rubbing something vigorously, or just hard work in general? Or perhaps does it have to do with the stink of sweat. As a bonus, find out what word Dan misspelled so bad that even Google couldn't figure out what he meant! All on this week's #BunnyTrails. Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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147 Butterflies in My Stomach
02/03/2022 Duración: 27minRemember how it felt the first time your crush looked at you? Or the first time you were about to perform on stage? Or the night before your first day at a new job? This week Shauna and Dan explore Butterflies in My Stomach. Shauna dispels some personal myths about our phrase while Dan learns about BTS, one of the most popular bands in the world. Forgive him K-Pop stans... he is old. Plus Lord of the Rings versus Chronicles of Narnia. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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146 Grandfather Clock
23/02/2022 Duración: 31minA 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. Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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145 Kill Two Birds With One Stone
16/02/2022 Duración: 29minCould you get enough feathers from the dead birds in a clock tower to pull an Icarus? Was Daedalus able to do it with just the two birds he killed with one stone? Wait... was this where the phrase comes from?! No. No it wasn't. Shauna talks French. Dan talks mullets. Everyone stans a good murder mystery. All on this week's #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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144 Elevator Pitch
09/02/2022 Duración: 34minElevators have been around since the 3rd century, though we didn't call them "elevators" at the time. But how did we go from lifting grain to selling something to an unsuspecting fellow passenger? That story involves total quality management and statistics. We swear, it's more fun than it sounds. Bonus: Riding epic steads into battle for the sake of human kind. #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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143 Happy as a Clam
02/02/2022 Duración: 31minThis week Shauna continues to buck the trends as she tackles another happy phrase in Happy as a Clam. Dan makes deep cuts about late 90s music while Shauna tells really bad jokes from the 1800s. Bonus: An entire conversation about board games, booklet games, computer games, and more on this week's #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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142 Jump the Shark
26/01/2022 Duración: 33minShauna and Dan dig into the origins of Jump the Shark while documenting the phrases shift from TV failures to a plethora of topics. As a bonus, there are shows that ran for years after supposedly jumping the shark and other shows that jumped the shark twice! Despite the negative phrase it's all Happy Days on this week's #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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141 Heart of Gold
19/01/2022 Duración: 30minJoin Shauna the Wise and Dan the Humble as they talk about the Olympics, Science Fiction, and... Doctor Doofenshmirtz? It's all about the phrase "Heart of Gold" on this week's #BunnyTrails. Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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140 Butterfly Kisses
12/01/2022 Duración: 28minWhat is a butterfly kiss? Is it a light kiss with the lips? A soft brush from the eyelashes? A teasing kiss meant to drive you to lustful purchases? At some point in time, it was all of those at once. But which came first? And from where? Plus, hear bonus conversations about women's clothing sizes, the prolific author who was also the Queen of Romania, and two songs Dan never wants to hear again all on this week's #BunnyTrails Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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139 Scarred For Life
05/01/2022 Duración: 31minThis episode is inspired by the raw emotions of a teenager as we explore the word scar and the phrase "Scarred for Life". Dan quotes many animated 90s movies. Shauna waxes poetic. Dan creates new baseball team mascots. #BunnyTrails Note: Dan's mic is a little wonky on this one. But fortunately Shauna does most of the talking. We'll get that fixed. Copyright 2022 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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138 Gild the Lily
29/12/2021 Duración: 29minWhat happens when we, as speakers of a language, just decide to misquote a phrase until it takes on a life of its own? You get something like "Gild the Lily". Hear Shauna swoon over Heath Ledger in a Knight's Tale while Dan treks through Oscar Wilde shade, bad technicolor movies, and puppy-sized elephants to tell this week's story on #BunnyTrails. Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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137 Running Around Like a Headless Chicken
22/12/2021 Duración: 27minHow long can a chicken live without its head? Despite internet stories to the contrary, running around like a headless chicken doesn't come from chickens, nor does it come from a literal removal of the head. You can get the real story on this week's #BunnyTrails. Bonus: Procrastination tips and time travel. Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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136 Never Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
15/12/2021 Duración: 33minShauna and Dan talk about the ancient phrase, never look a gift horse in the mouth. What would $200,000 in 1912 be worth today? Is it true you can tell the age of a horse by looking at its teeth? What is the best ice cream flavor? Listen now, because we have answers to one of those questions on this week's #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved Get all the cool features! Find the show notes at our forever home!
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135 Cool as a Cucumber
08/12/2021 Duración: 29minShauna 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? #BunnyTrails Copyright 2021 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved Get exclusive content for as little as $3 a month! Shownotes, Bios, and links to everything we do!