Appraise The Phrase

Underdog Podcasts
  • 4.9 (13)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

The show that puts your favorite (or not so favorite) everyday expressions under a microscope and into the hot seat. Tune in as Mario and his special guests dive into the meanings and origins of common sayings, expressions, and idioms. We may introduce you to a few too! Once it's all said and done, will these sayings live up to their common usage or will they crash and burn from some investigation? Join us as we take a moment to appraise the phrase! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3d ago

    Wet My Whistle

    Everybody thinks medieval pubs had cups with whistles baked into them. You blew the whistle, you got a refill. It's a great story and somebody made it up. On this episode, Mario and Twenty are joined by Myron to trace the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of "wet my whistle." The whistle was never an object. It was your throat; a usage running through Beaumont and Fletcher, where you could "cut your whistle," and all the way back to Chaucer in 1386. The cup came later, invented backwards to explain a phrase people no longer understood. Mario's term for it is retroactive prop invention. Then there's the H. "Whet your whistle" shows up in Thomas Flatman's Belly God in 1674 and never leaves, because whet sounds more literate than wet — a 350-year hypercorrection that people still defend today. Also: the requirements for a proper swig, why nobody can agree on what a thumbs-up means, the dietary guidelines dropping their actual numbers, medieval life as imprisonment by civilization, and a Dictionary of Misinformation entry that will change how you sit in meetings. 0:00 The Departed, Cranberry Juice, And A Phrase We Might Have To Retire0:44 The ATP Intro Theme1:33 Myron's In The Building1:58 Spoke Too Soon About The Sports Teams8:39 The Requirements For A Proper Swig9:24 Preferably Over 32 Ounces11:45 Ain't Nobody Going Out For Cranberry Juice14:03 Myron Has Been In The Store Too Long16:41 Unveil The Origin: Chaucer, 1386 (Content Warning)18:00 "So Was Her Jolly Whistle Well Wet"22:25 The Northern Clerks And Tolkien's Paper On The Reeve's Tale26:41 Rules We Enforce And Don't Follow27:57 Text Me, Don't Call Me29:00 Don't Read My Texts In A James Earl Jones Voice29:08 The Thumbs-Up Problem33:20 Emoji Etiquette In The Group Chat34:24 Confirm The Meaning: Beaumont And Fletcher, "Cut Your Whistle"36:39 Thomas Flatman's Belly God, 167437:19 Wet vs. Whet: 350 Years Of Trying To Sound Smarter39:25 The Dietary Guidelines Dropped The Actual Numbers43:39 Myron Amends His Take46:07 The Myth: Cups With Whistles Baked In47:05 Twenty: Medieval Life Was A Prison49:10 Retroactive Prop Invention50:56 "Am I Gonna Have To Stop Saying Wet My Whistle?"52:43 Myron's Hit List: It Is What It Is53:51 Why Won't You Explain Your Real Reasoning?56:16 Capacity, And Having Your Own Stuff Going On59:25 Using A Phrase To Avoid Confrontation59:52 Pop Culture Impact: The Top Four1:01:47 #1 Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade1:02:19 The Appraisal1:07:30 Dictionary Of Misinformation: Meeting Minutes1:09:50 Shop, Credits, And Where To Find Us REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODEGeoffrey Chaucer, The Reeve's Tale (c. 1386) · John Palsgrave, Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse (1530) · The Towneley Plays · Beaumont and Fletcher · Thomas Flatman, Belly God (1674) · Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews (1742) · J.R.R. Tolkien, "Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve's Tale," Transactions of the Philological Society · Michael Quinion, World Wide Words · The Departed (2006) · To Have and Have Not (1944) · Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) COMMENT: Wet or whet — which are you, and are you prepared to defend it? And settle this for us: what does a thumbs-up actually mean? ATP SHOP: every phrase gets a grade. Some of them get a mug.appraisethephrase.com/shopTHE BRACKET: the board is filling up. Tournament comes March 2027.Subscribe to Appraise The Phrase on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnderdogAppraise The Phrase official site: appraisethephrase.comCheck out our other ATP produced shows: appraisethephrase.com/communityFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theappraisethephraseshowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@appraisethephraseFollow us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/TheATPShow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Wet My Whistle

  2. Sep 23

    In The Nick of Time

    On this episode of Appraise The Phrase, Mario and Twenty trace the origin of "in the nick of time" and explains how it started out as pudding time. It starts in 1546 with John Heywood's book of proverbs, where arriving "in pudding time" meant showing up right as dinner started — because in the 16th century, pudding was savory, closer to sausage than dessert, and it was served first. Then pudding drifted to the end of the meal, and the phrase stopped making sense. The phrase never changed. The world did. Enter the nick: a notch cut into a tally stick, the wooden receipts the English Exchequer kept for centuries. And in 1834, when officials finally burned the obsolete sticks in the furnaces beneath the House of Lords, they burned down Parliament with them. The thing that gave us the phrase went up in smoke. The phrase survived. Also: Merriam-Webster watching too much Indiana Jones, referential collapse, the leap second being abolished right now, what you still say about yourself that stopped being true, and why we all keep the bags under the sink. 0:00 Indiana Jones, Janice, Drake, And The Nick Of Time0:51 The ATP Intro Theme1:37 What's Good: Football Season Is Here2:34 The Dolphins, Malik Willis, And Quarterback Fit9:07 Yes, This Is Still A Word Show10:28 Today's Phrase: In The Nick Of Time13:14 Twenty: This Phrase Is Janice From Accounting15:03 Confirm The Meaning: Merriam-Webster vs. Cambridge16:01 Trim The Fat: What A Definition Should Actually Do16:53 Merriam-Webster Has Been Watching Too Much Indiana Jones19:03 Unveil The Origin: Before The Nick, There Was Pudding Time20:44 1546: John Heywood's Book Of Proverbs21:46 Pudding Was Sausage — And It Came First22:53 How Pudding Became Dessert And Broke The Phrase24:55 Referential Collapse: When The World Leaves A Phrase Behind26:00 What Do You Still Say About Yourself That Stopped Being True?30:37 Performative Caring In The Social Media Era31:37 Mario: I Still Tell People I'm An Athlete33:43 Twenty Has Been Avoiding Fences On Purpose36:29 The Tudors Want Something Sharper: Golding, Ovid, And "Nick"37:58 What Even Is A Notch? The Exchequer's Tally Sticks39:13 So The Teachers Were Wrong40:05 The Leap Second Is Being Abolished42:12 What Would You Let Drift, And What Would You Never Let Go?46:42 1834: The Nick Burns Down Parliament49:05 Turner Painted It From A Boat On The Thames49:24 Infrastructural Afterlife: A Fossil Metaphor49:54 What Have You Held Onto Past Its Usefulness?50:38 Keep The Bags Under The Sink, Throw Away The Boxes52:27 Pop Culture #4: Every Film Called In The Nick Of Time53:22 #3: The In The Nick Of Time Clock In Newport, Wales53:51 #2 Charles Dickens / #1 Turner's The Burning Of The Houses Of Lords And Commons54:59 The Appraisal: Impact56:04 Speed57:30 Preference59:58 Dictionary Of Misinformation: Typhoid Mary1:00:30 Closing REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODEJohn Heywood, A Dialogue Conteynyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue (1546) · Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia (1732) · Arthur Golding's translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses (1565–67) · Caroline Shenton, The Day Parliament Burned Down (2012) · J.M.W. Turner, The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons (1835) · Charles Dickens, speech to the Administrative Reform Association (1855) · IERS Bulletin C · Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) · Wanted (2008) COMMENT: What do you still say about yourself that stopped being true? And what are you holding onto long past its usefulness — bags under the sink count. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    In The Nick of Time

  3. Sep 16

    On The Back Burner

    Everybody knows what it means. Almost nobody can tell you where it came from...and that turns out to be the whole story. #OnTheBackBurner #Etymology #WordOrigins On this episode of Appraise The Phrase, Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of ""on the back burner,"" the youngest phrase this show has ever appraised. Before gas, American stoves didn't have burners at all. They had eyes — removable lids over a single firebox — so cooks were back-burning constantly, by physics, with no words to describe what they were doing. The concept sat around for a century waiting on the technology to name it. Then the gas range arrives in the 1920s and the phrase still doesn't show up until 1945, with Oxford holding out until 1963. Why the lag? Because a thing has to get boring before it can become a figure of speech. Also: the two twists that make this phrase strange — a name that may run backwards, and an American metaphor whose earliest written evidence sits in the Times of London. Plus gas stove bans in San Francisco, Colorado, New York and Virginia, what you were doing for years before you had a word for it, the gap-filling friend, and a Dictionary of Misinformation entry about what robins are actually doing on your lawn. Then we grade it. It does not go well. Value is in the eye of the appraiser. 0:00 If Billy Don't Say It, It Ain't No Phrase 0:57 The ATP Intro Theme 1:45 What's Good: The Holiday We Won't Timestamp 5:08 DC Heat vs. Southern Heat 7:08 When Great Directors Have To Explain Their Own Movies 8:10 Today's Phrase: On The Back Burner 9:26 Twenty's Take: Not My First Choice, But It Gets The Job Done 10:15 Mario's Take: Why It Feels Like Disrespect 12:17 A Question For The Chefs: Are The Burners Actually Weighted? 13:13 Confirm The Meaning: Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, Collins 14:25 Priority vs. Importance 18:00 The Youngest Phrase We've Ever Done 18:36 Unveil The Origin: When Stoves Didn't Have Burners 20:29 No Word For It Because There Was Nothing To Name 21:00 The Lexical Gap 21:47 What Were You Doing For Years Before You Had A Word For It? 22:04 Twenty: Humor As A Defense Mechanism 25:32 Older Generations Didn't Have ""Depression."" They Had Melancholy 26:25 The Happiest Beat About Fighting Off Depression 29:47 The 1920s: The Appliance Arrives, The Phrase Doesn't 30:53 Gas Companies Lose Lighting And Move Into The Kitchen 32:30 1945 To 1963: Why The Phrase Took 30 Years To Land 33:22 Metaphor Lag: A Thing Has To Get Boring First 34:20 Gas Stove Bans: San Francisco, Colorado, New York, Virginia 37:13 Should A Restaurant Kitchen Be Told To Go Electric? 39:53 Take Your Ass Outside And Grill 40:38 Twist One: The Name May Run Backwards 42:37 Twist Two: An American Phrase First Printed In London 44:01 Is This Phrase An Industry Plant? 45:19 Back-Formation And The Missing Paper Trail 46:45 The Plan-Making Friend And The Gap-Filling Friend 50:22 Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself 53:13 Pop Culture Impact: Only A Top Three This Time 54:49 #2 The Burner Branch: Burner Phone, Burner Account, Burner Email 55:40 #1 The Wire, Season 3, Episode 7: ""Back Burners"" 57:09 The Appraisal: Impact 58:58 Speed 1:00:50 Preference 1:01:26 This Phrase Is Boston Market 1:02:09 Dictionary Of Misinformation: Birds Do Not Listen For Worms 1:04:50 Closing Thoughts 1:05:08 Shop, Credits, And Where To Find Us REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE Merriam-Webster · Cambridge Dictionary · Collins Dictionary · Oxford English Dictionary · Cambridge English Corpus · The Times of London · The Wire, ""Back Burners,"" S3E7, aired November 7, 2004 — teleplay by Joy Lusco Kecken, story by David Simon & Joy Lusco Kecken, directed by Tim Van Patten COMMENT: Lefties — do you actually use the front left burner? And what's something Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Sep 9

    Train Of Thought

    Everybody pictures a locomotive. Everybody is wrong.On this episode of Appraise The Phrase, Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of "train of thought" — a phrase that shows up in Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan in 1651 and John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1690, roughly 165 years before locomotives existed. The railroad imagery in your head? That's folk etymology doing what folk etymology always does: replacing the real reason with a better story.Along the way: why every major dictionary fumbles the definition, what "brain rot" and "train of thought" have in common as conceptual metaphors, how ideological sedimentation means you're often repeating arguments you weren't alive for, and why AI reasoning is the modern version of the same problem. Plus Twenty loses his actual train of thought live on the mic, which may be the most on-topic thing to ever happen on this show.Also discussed: Damon Darling getting banned from Walmart for buying strangers' groceries, the I, Robot Sonny conspiracy, the Mandela Effect hill we will die on, and why red Kool-Aid is not strawberry.Then we appraise it. Power grade, Speed grade, Preference. And we close with the Dictionary of Misinformation on the Thanksgiving turkey you think the pilgrims ate.Value is in the eye of the appraiser.0:00 Sherlock Holmes' Deductions, AI, And Someone Else's Train Of Thought1:08 The ATP Intro Theme1:52 What's Good: Back To School And Breaking The Monotony4:19 Today's Phrase: Train Of Thought4:41 Twenty's Take: You Only Say It When You've Lost It6:10 Mario's Take: The Phrase Paints A Picture7:25 Confirm The Meaning: Merriam-Webster vs. Cambridge vs. Dictionary.com10:15 Why "A Path Of Reasoning" Can't Be The Definition10:44 Unveil The Origin: "Train" In The 14th Century Meant To Drag Or Trail12:50 Conceptual Metaphors And Brain Rot (Oxford's 2024 Word Of The Year)13:50 Twenty Loses His Train Of Thought On An Episode About Train Of Thought14:59 Brain Rot Confessions: Instagram, Love Island, Love Is Blind20:11 Walmart Banned Damon Darling For Buying People Groceries22:36 1651: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, And The First Recorded Use23:57 Ideological Sedimentation: Inheriting Arguments You Never Had26:16 I, Robot: "Can A Robot Write A Symphony?" "Can You?"27:00 The Sonny Conspiracy: The Actor They Refused To Promote31:45 Why AI Gets Things Confidently Wrong32:14 Believed With Our Whole Chest: Y2K, The Mayans, And Flying Cars36:24 1690: John Locke, Association Of Ideas, And "Food For Thought"38:43 Train Of Thought Predates The Railroad By 165 Years40:11 "Sounds Like A Train To Me": How The Locomotive Got Its Name41:52 Edison Slander, Tesla, And The Prestige45:28 Institutional Formalization And Gen Z Slang Creep47:30 Folk Etymology: When The Better Lie Wins48:55 The Mandela Effect And The Shazam Hill We Will Die On50:55 Confidently Wrong: Red Kool-Aid Is Not Strawberry53:47 Pop Culture #1: Pixar's Inside Out54:44 #2: Sherlock Holmes And Guy Ritchie's Slow-Motion Deductions58:14 #3 The Greatest American Hero / #4 The Lost Train Of Thought59:28 The Appraisal: Power Grade And Impact Grade1:01:36 Final Grade1:02:37 Dictionary Of Misinformation: The Thanksgiving Turkey Myth1:04:41 The Watch List And Closing Thoughts1:05:48 Shop, Credits, And Where To Find Us REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651) · John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) · David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739) · Pixar's Inside Out (2015) · Sherlock Holmes (2009, dir. Guy Ritchie) · I, Robot (2004) · The Prestige (2006) · Slumdog Millionaire (2008) · The Greatest American Hero, "Train of Thought" (1982) · The Lost Train of Thought, The Seems series (2009) COMMENT: Which pop culture moment captures a train of thought best — Inside Out or Sherlock? And what's a folk etymology you defended with your whole chest before you found out it was wrong? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Sep 2

    In A Nutshell

    "Help! I'm in a nutshell!" — Austin Powers already knew this phrase was funnier taken literally. We trace "in a nutshell" back almost 2,000 years to a claim that might just be one of history's oldest fake news stories.Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of "in a nutshell." The trail starts with a wild secondhand claim: Pliny the Elder wrote that Cicero once said the entire Iliad was copied onto parchment small enough to fit inside a nutshell...a claim scholars now treat as an ancient game of telephone more than a fact. From there it survives centuries of translation and rebranding: a 1387 English translation by John Trevisa, a 1579 pamphlet trashing the theater world by Stephen Golson, and finally Shakespeare himself, who dropped it into Hamlet in 1603 — "I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I had bad dreams"... cementing it forever.Along the way: three dictionary definitions (Cambridge, Dictionary.com, Vocabulary.com), a confession from both hosts about whether they actually live by the phrase they're covering, a deeply personal debate about where bias sneaks into things that are supposed to be neutral, and one host's non-negotiable stance on mayonnaise. Then it's Power Grade, Speed Grade, and a Preference Grade twist that neither host saw coming — plus a Dictionary of Misinformation segment busting the myth behind "no love lost."0:00 Austin Powers In A Nutshell Opener0:48 Intro Theme & Catching Up9:36 Introducing "In A Nutshell"10:43 Confession: Do We Even Live By This Phrase?14:41 Confirm The Meaning: Dictionary Definitions: Cambridge, Dictionary.com, Vocabulary.com19:44 Unveil The Origin: Cicero, Pliny the Elder & the Iliad-in-a-Nutshell Claim26:00 Story Time: Reflection - The Story That Can't Get Distorted28:19 The Mayonnaise Biopic Bit32:58 Unveil The Origin: Literary Lineage - John Trevisa's 1387 Translation37:24 Unveil The Origin: William Shakespeare Enters the Chat39:39 Story Time: Reflection - Where Bias Sneaks Into "Neutral" Things43:19 Story Time: Reflection - The Modest Thing That Does the Heavy Lifting50:07 Unveil The Origin: The Line That Made It Famous: Hamlet, 160352:29 Cultural Impact: A Novel, a German Brand & the Elevator Pitch54:34 Assess The Value: Power Grade56:31 Assess The Value: Speed Grade56:54 Assess The Value: Preference Grade - A Twist Ending58:33 Dictionary of Misinformation: "No Love Lost"1:01:02 Outro & ShopLINKSSubscribe to Appraise The Phrase on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnderdog Appraise The Phrase official site: appraisethephrase.com ATP Shop — mugs & merch: appraisethephrase.com/shop Check out our other ATP produced shows: appraisethephrase.com/community Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4jLFx2WLEslKF3BHWWvIlv?si=367e5762bdb9464a Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/appraise-the-phrase/id1570186367 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theappraisethephraseshow Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@appraisethephrase Follow us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/TheATPShow Previous Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmMMLmEcgaa3C1d_wZrZuWAJGB_mYQraB&si=Igvwjz9UT5dbnx7T Episode Clips: https://www.youtube.com/@AppraiseThePhraseClips ABOUT APPRAISE THE PHRASEAppraise The Phrase is a weekly podcast from the Underdog Podcast Network where the hosts unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of the everyday phrases and idioms we all use without ever asking where they came from. Each episode ends with a Power Grade and a round of the Dictionary of Misinformation, debunking a popular word-origin myth.New episodes every week. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Aug 26

    Wet My Beak

    Where does ""wet my beak"" actually come from? We trace it from a 19th-century Sicilian grain custom to The Godfather — and yes, we get into He Got Game too. #AppraiseThePhrase #Etymology #WordOrigins #WetMyBeak #TheGodfather Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of ""wet my beak."" The trail starts in 19th-century rural Sicily, where grain farmers were expected to give estate guards a little extra at harvest — ""fari vagnari lo pizzu,"" literally ""to wet the beak"" — the imagery being a bird dipping in to drink, not gorging itself. That custom got carried across the Atlantic and turned into something sharper: Mario Puzo used the exact Sicilian phrase in his 1969 novel The Godfather, putting it in the mouth of the extortionist Fanucci as he shakes down a young Vito Corleone. Coppola's Godfather Part II dramatized the same scene in 1974 — and the guys dig into whether the custom's original ""fairness"" survived the trip from grain tithe to mafia protection money. Along the way: three dictionary definitions (Free Dictionary, Wiktionary, Urban Dictionary), a debate about whether extortion can ever be ""earned,"" a Power Grade and a Speed Grade, and a Dictionary of Misinformation segment busting the myth of who actually ""invented"" the wheel. Stick around for the He Got Game breakdown — once you hear how the guys connect Uncle Bubba's ""let me wet my beak"" line to this phrase, you won't hear it the same way again. 0:00 – He Got Game Uncle Bubba Opener 1:20 – Intro & Catching Up Confirm The Meaning 10:34 – Introducing ""Wet My Beak"" + Dictionary Definitions Unveil The Origin 18:25 – Origin: 19th-Century Sicilian Grain Custom 30:31 – Literary Origin: Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1969) 34:19 – Is Extortion Ever Fair? A Real Debate 45:44 – Cinematic Origin: The Godfather Part II (1974) Storytime 29:16 – The ""I Can't Stress This Enough"" Delivery Bit 50:45 – Personal Reflection: The Pettiest Toll You've Ever Collected Assess The Value 55:55 – Power Grade 58:04 – Speed Grade 59:53 – He Got Game, Revisited 1:02:05 – Dictionary of Misinformation: Who Invented the Wheel? 1:04:11 – Outro & Shop LINKS Subscribe to Appraise The Phrase on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnderdog  Appraise The Phrase official site: appraisethephrase.com  ATP Shop — mugs & merch: appraisethephrase.com/shop  Check out our other ATP produced shows: appraisethephrase.com/community  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4jLFx2WLEslKF3BHWWvIlv?si=367e5762bdb9464a  Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/appraise-the-phrase/id1570186367  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theappraisethephraseshow  Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@appraisethephrase  Follow us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/TheATPShow  Previous Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmMMLmEcgaa3C1d_wZrZuWAJGB_mYQraB&si=Igvwjz9UT5dbnx7T  Episode Clips: https://www.youtube.com/@AppraiseThePhraseClips  ABOUT APPRAISE THE PHRASE Appraise The Phrase is a weekly podcast from the Underdog Podcast Network where the hosts unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of the everyday phrases and idioms we all use without ever asking where they came from. Each episode ends with a Power Grade and a round of the Dictionary of Misinformation, debunking a popular word-origin myth. New episodes every week. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Aug 20

    Talk Is Cheap

    "Talk is cheap" wasn't born as a comeback — it started as a 1692 sermon line from a Puritan preacher. We trace it from theology to P.T. Barnum's bankruptcy lecture tour to Linus Torvalds' Linux mailing list. On this episode of Appraise The Phrase, Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of "talk is cheap." They trace it back to John Bunyan's 1692 devotional "The Saints' Knowledge of Christ's Love" ("I know words are cheap, but a drum of grace is worth all the world"), through Thomas Chandler Haliburton's 1843 novel "The Attaché" and its blunt Yankee clock-peddler narrator Sam Slick, to P.T. Barnum's 1858 lawyer joke — delivered the same year he turned his own bankruptcy into a paid lecture tour that helped pay off nearly half a million dollars in debt. They compare Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, and Wiktionary definitions, debate how "talk is cheap" differs from "actions speak louder than words," and rank the phrase's pop-culture footprint — Keith Richards' "Talk Is Cheap" album (a jab at Mick Jagger), Bob Marley, Henry Rollins' spoken-word records, Miley Cyrus, Linus Torvalds' "talk is cheap, show me the code," Cesar Chavez's labor speeches, Marco Rubio's 2016 debates, and Mark Zuckerberg's build-first ethos — before handing out a final Power Grade. Then it's on to the Dictionary of Misinformation, busting the myth of the elephant graveyard. 0:00 DMX Ruff Ryder's Anthem, Wilt Chamberlain 100 Pt Game, Man On The Moon Opener 0:47 Appraise The Phrase Theme 1:14 Welcome to Appraise The Phrase  6:11 Today's Phrase: "Talk Is Cheap"  Confirm The Meaning 6:46 Breaking Down the Meaning  10:55 Dictionary Definitions (Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, Wiktionary)  Unveil The Origin 14:12 Origin: John Bunyan's 1692 Sermon  27:55 1843: Sam Slick & "The Attaché"  37:37 1858: P.T. Barnum's Bankruptcy Lecture Tour  41:32 The Folk Proverb Era (Whiskey & Farms)  Storytime 24:54 Reflection: Living Your Values  30:18 Ranking the Pop Culture Impact  32:40 Modern Uses: Torvalds, Chavez, Rubio, Zuckerberg  Assess The Value 44:04 The Phrase Grades: Rating Talk Is Cheap 48:11 Dictionary of Misinformation: Elephant Graveyards  49:45 Outro & Credits LINKS Subscribe to Appraise The Phrase on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnderdog  Appraise The Phrase official site: appraisethephrase.com  ATP Shop — mugs & merch: appraisethephrase.com/shop  Check out our other ATP produced shows: appraisethephrase.com/community  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4jLFx2WLEslKF3BHWWvIlv?si=367e5762bdb9464a  Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/appraise-the-phrase/id1570186367  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theappraisethephraseshow  Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@appraisethephrase  Follow us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/TheATPShow  Previous Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmMMLmEcgaa3C1d_wZrZuWAJGB_mYQraB&si=Igvwjz9UT5dbnx7T  Episode Clips: https://www.youtube.com/@AppraiseThePhraseClips  ABOUT APPRAISE THE PHRASE Appraise The Phrase is a weekly podcast from the Underdog Podcast Network where the hosts unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of the everyday phrases and idioms we all use without ever asking where they came from. Each episode ends with a Power Grade and a round of the Dictionary of Misinformation, debunking a popular word-origin myth. New episodes every week. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Aug 12

    Bigger Fish to Fry

    Where did "bigger fish to fry" actually come from — and does it even hold up? We trace the idiom from Cervantes to a 1900s dime novel. On this episode of Appraise The Phrase, Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of the idiom "bigger fish to fry." They start with Sancho Panza in Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605–1615), move through English diarist John Evelyn's 1660 journal entry ("I have other fish to fry" — not published until 1818, over a century after his death), and land on the early-20th-century American novel that's actually responsible for the "bigger" version we use today: Edward Stratemeyer's "True to Himself, or Roger Strong's Struggle for Place." Along the way, they compare Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, and Collins definitions, debate whether the phrase is a personality trait or just a circumstance, and run through pop-culture parallels — the Andy Warhol diaries, Charles III's coronation echoing the English Restoration, Steve Jobs' return to Apple, and the Access Hollywood tape — before handing out a final Power Grade. Then it's on to the Dictionary of Misinformation, where they debunk the myth behind Cinderella's glass slipper (spoiler: it was never supposed to be glass). If you're into word origins, etymology, idioms, and the stories behind the phrases we use without thinking, this one's for you. 0:00 – Independence Day (1996) 0;47 - Appraise The Phrase Theme 2:43 – Movie Talk: The Odyssey & The Return 6:32 – Introducing Today's Phrase: "Bigger Fish to Fry" Confirm The Meaning  9:22 – Dictionary Showdown: Merriam-Webster vs. Cambridge vs. Collins Unveil The Origin 17:41 – Origins in Cervantes' Don Quixote & Sancho Panza 26:53 – 1660: John Evelyn's Diary & the First "Fish" Version 30:23 – The English Restoration & the Royal Society 40:12 – How "Bigger" Entered the Phrase (Stratemeyer's Novel) Story Time 19:30 – Personal Reflection: Our Own Verbal Tics 31:18 – Pop Culture Parallels: Warhol, Charles III, Steve Jobs, Access Hollywood 42:40 – Personal Reflection: Suspicion, Priorities & Growing Up  Assess The Value 46:39 – Phrase Grades: Rating "Bigger Fish to Fry" Dictionary of Misinformation 51:32 – Cinderella's Glass Slipper 53:49 – Outro & Shop LINKS Subscribe to Appraise The Phrase on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnderdog Appraise The Phrase official site: appraisethephrase.com ATP Shop — mugs & merch: appraisethephrase.com/shop Check out our other ATP produced shows: appraisethephrase.com/community Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4jLFx2WLEslKF3BHWWvIlv?si=367e5762bdb9464a Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/appraise-the-phrase/id1570186367 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theappraisethephraseshow Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@appraisethephrase Follow us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/TheATPShow Previous Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmMMLmEcgaa3C1d_wZrZuWAJGB_mYQraB&si=Igvwjz9UT5dbnx7T Episode Clips: https://www.youtube.com/@AppraiseThePhraseClips ABOUT APPRAISE THE PHRASE Appraise The Phrase is a weekly podcast from the Underdog Podcast Network where the hosts unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of the everyday phrases and idioms we all use without ever asking where they came from. Each episode ends with a Power Grade and a round of the Dictionary of Misinformation, debunking a popular word-origin myth. New episodes every week. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

The show that puts your favorite (or not so favorite) everyday expressions under a microscope and into the hot seat. Tune in as Mario and his special guests dive into the meanings and origins of common sayings, expressions, and idioms. We may introduce you to a few too! Once it's all said and done, will these sayings live up to their common usage or will they crash and burn from some investigation? Join us as we take a moment to appraise the phrase! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Underdog Podcasts
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    128
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Appraise The Phrase