Main content

Haggard Hawks

Why do we 'sleep tight' or 'keep mum'? Who or what is a quaaltagh, or a dorbellist? Michael Rosen is joined by writer Paul Anthony Jones, creator of etymology blog Haggard Hawks.

Why do we 'let the cat out of the bag' or 'go the whole nine yards'? What is a hackle and why might it be raised? What does it mean to 'fribble'? Or to have a 'schnapsidee'? And what are 'cupid's kettle drums'?

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright are joined by Paul Anthony Jones, the writer behind the popular etymology blog Haggard Hawks to talk about the origins of common idioms, the stories behind words we use every day, and the forgotten words Paul would like to see brought back into use.

Paul is the author of six books of word lore and linguistic trivia, including Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words, The Accidental Dictionary: The Remarkable Twists and Turns of English Words and - most recently - The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities: A Yearbook of Forgotten Words.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 26 Feb 2018 23:00
成人快手 Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

Language and Gender Identity

Next

Words Apart

See all episodes from Word of Mouth

Broadcasts

  • Tue 20 Feb 2018 16:00
    成人快手 Radio 4
  • Mon 26 Feb 2018 23:00
    成人快手 Radio 4

From blunk to brickfielder: our wonderful words for weather

From blunk to brickfielder: our wonderful words for weather

Exploring creative descriptions for wind, rainfall and sunny spells from around the world

Digital body language 鈥� how to communicate better online

Digital body language 鈥� how to communicate better online

We need to find new ways of talking to each other 鈥渧irtually鈥�.

Coinages that changed the world 鈥� and some that tried to...

Coinages that changed the world 鈥� and some that tried to...

Exploring the hidden histories of obscure words, and common buzz phrases.

Ittibitium, borborygmus, and Ba humbugi 鈥� 14 wonderful science words you鈥檝e never heard of

Ittibitium, borborygmus, and Ba humbugi 鈥� 14 wonderful science words you鈥檝e never heard of

Michael Rosen puts the language of science under the microscope.

Download this programme

Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.

Keywords for Our Time

Series of programmes examining key phrases in public debate.

Smiley face: Seven things you didn't know about emoji

Some facts about emoji - possibly the world's first truly global form of communication.

The funny words that kids invent

Have a look at some of the fantastic words that children invent and reimagine.

Podcast

  • Word of Mouth

    Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them