Get the Word! with Mike Butler

Get the Word!

Become a Paid Subscriber: https://anchor.fm/get-the-word/subscribe From the creator of The English Sessions comes Get the Word! An etymology podcast for word nerds. Join Mike as he picks apart words and phrases in English and lets you peek into his Fact Cabinet. More information and audio transcripts are available at https://www.englishsessionswithmike.com/ If you are interested in ad-free episodes as well as occasional bonus content, you can show your love by subscribing to the podcast here: https://anchor.fm/get-the-word/subscribe (only $0.99 per month!)

  1. SNEAK PEEK: This Day's Trivia: September 13th

    09/12/2024

    SNEAK PEEK: This Day's Trivia: September 13th

    Here's an exclusive sneak peek of the latest episode of This Day's Trivia, before it's officially released. This Day's Trivia is the latest podcast from Bison Podcast Studios. Search for "This Day's Trivia" on your podcast player of choice, today! About This Day's Trivia: From geography to history, plants and animals, science, and so much more... Welcome to This Day’s Trivia from Bison Podcast Studios. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we choose five unique trivia topics, all tied to the day’s date, and our trusty randomizer wheel will pick one of those topics for the episode. Looking for archived material from The English Sessions? Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/BisonPodcastStudios for The English Sessionshttps://www.patreon.com/BisonPodcastStudios for The English Sessions, as well as Get the Word! with Mike Butler episodes. Want more from This Day’s Trivia? Our Patreon page will also include ad-free episodes of TDT, as well as audio transcripts and links to sources for deeper dives into the topics. Are you an English learner used to Mike’s clear, friendly voice in your ear? Use this trivia podcast, along with the transcript of the audio on the Patreon page, to help with your English... and to test your trivia skills! Write in to the podcast with questions, comments, concerns, tips, your birthday, or anything else you want to talk about. Send a voice recording and I’ll play it on the podcast. Give a topic suggestion and I’ll use it on the show. For my English learners, write in to get clarification about something I said.

    10 min
  2. Nostalgia Is the Most Morrissey Impulse

    11/25/2021 · BONUS

    Nostalgia Is the Most Morrissey Impulse

    This is a special episode. The word we'll be picking apart today is 'nostalgia'. But this isn't your typical Get the Word! episode. It's an interview with the great Naomi Carmack of the Dope Nostalgia podcast. We discuss the origin and history of the word 'nostalgia', as well as what it means to us, and how it has shaped us and culture in general. We also discuss the music artist Morrissey quite a bit, as that is the tie-in to her podcast, Dope Nostalgia, about 90's music and culture. Find links below to Naomi's podcast, as well as the version of the interview on her end, which includes some Morrissey tunes. Sorry, there is no audio transcript for this episode. Links: Dope Nostalgia Interview Show Notes

    1h 19m
  3. Come Eat the Rich with Get the Word!

    09/18/2021

    Come Eat the Rich with Get the Word!

    Hey everyone! Mike here about to tell everyone to go eat the rich. Now before you go on assuming that this podcast has totally just gone off the rails and has turned into my soapbox for spewing my views on oligarchy within an ever growing destructive, unjust and immoral global system of capitalism, well… BEFORE you assume that, consider this:  There is an interesting history to this phrase that dates all the way back to the French Revolution. It’s still an etymology episode. But yes, I will admit, I’ve been thinking a lot about this phrase and inequality in recent weeks, after seeing headlines about billionaires launching their rockets in space for what amounts to little more than cosmic joyrides... The full audio transcript is now available exclusively to Patreon supporters of The English Sessions: www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    17 min
  4. Bon Voyage Mon Amour

    09/11/2021

    Bon Voyage Mon Amour

    Bonjour fellow word nerds. It’s Mike. I apologize already to any of my French listeners. Bonjour and Bon Voyage will be pretty much the only French words I speak today. I also apologize for starting right off the bat with the most stereotypical French music I could find. In all reality, I love French culture, French films and I love the influence that French has had on the English language.  In English we see many words that have derived from French throughout the centuries, of course, but we also sometimes use words and expressions when speaking English that are taken directly from French. Déjà vu comes to my mind right away. This term appears in English dictionaries, and is taken directly from French meaning ‘already seen’. Déjà vu comes to my mind right away. This term appears in English dictionaries, and is taken directly from French meaning ‘already seen’.  The full audio transcript is now available exclusively to Patreon supporters of The English Sessions: www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    17 min
  5. Fate or Destiny?

    09/05/2021

    Fate or Destiny?

    Greetings nerds. It’s Mike, host of Get the Word! Don’t worry, I’m a nerd too so… I mean it as a term of endearment. I’ve always been a nerd. I guess it was just my fate. Or was it my destiny? Hmmm. In this episode we’ll dive into both words to figure out the best word to choose.  In a recent session with a student of mine, I was asked the question: “What is the difference between fate and destiny?”. I didn’t have a good answer! I felt as dumb as a computer terminal with no independent processing capability.  I felt as dumb as the contestants on the great trivia podcast Go Fact Yourself during their What’s the Difference round. Big thanks to Helen Hong and J. Keith van Straaten over at Go Fact Yourself for plugging Get the Word! in a recent episode. I paid them to, but either way much appreciated. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT: https://www.englishsessionswithmike.com/2021/09/get-word-podcast-episode-fate-or-destiny.html

    18 min
  6. Homeopathic Not Home Remedy

    08/28/2021

    Homeopathic Not Home Remedy

    Greetings friends. This is Get the Word! with Mike Butler. An etymology podcast for word nerds. I am your host, Mike Butler. Today we’re talking about a word that’s often misused, and misunderstood. Homeopathy. I want to start off by saying that this term ‘homeopathy’ or ‘homeopathic’, which is its related adjective, is not just another way to say ’natural’ or ‘alternative’ medicine. It’s something very specific. Yes, it is a form of alternative medicine, but it is not itself a synonym for alternative medicine.  Today we’ll get into the history of how this term came to be, and of course we’ll pick apart the word syllable by syllable. We’ll also discuss homeopathy a bit to try to clear up any confusion around it.

    17 min
  7. Gaslighting

    08/22/2021

    Gaslighting

    Hi, everyone. It’s Mike. I’m going to talk today about the word gaslight. The term, as a verb, as an action, is no laughing matter, so I’m not going to joke around much in today’s episode. Gaslighting is very real and many have gone through it. Unfortunately, it’s often hard to know that it is happening to you. It is a form of manipulation through psychological means whereby the abuser convinces the victim into questioning their own sanity. Its motivation often centers around harmful and unethical power dynamics and is a means of controlling another human being.  Many have heard this term before, but did you know that the term comes from a popular work of fiction from not that long ago in the grand scheme of things? An audio transcript of today's episode can be found on the website, at www.englishsessionswithmike.com

    20 min
  8. Good Podcast, Gumshoe

    08/15/2021

    Good Podcast, Gumshoe

    It’s Mike. I was just gabbing recently about how I should probably start covering words and phrases that are trending right now in popular media. “What a great way to get the word out about Get the Word!”, I thought to myself. People are already hearing a word or phrase being used all the time right now, so they will be more interested in learning about the origin and history of that word or phrase specifically. A great idea indeed. It would be a great thing to do, sure... Instead, I’m going to talk about a word that I never really hear anybody say anymore. Gumshoe. Just as popular today as saying moving picture for ‘movie’ or putting a hyphen between the words ‘to’ and ‘morrow’. Audio transcript on the website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com

    20 min
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Become a Paid Subscriber: https://anchor.fm/get-the-word/subscribe From the creator of The English Sessions comes Get the Word! An etymology podcast for word nerds. Join Mike as he picks apart words and phrases in English and lets you peek into his Fact Cabinet. More information and audio transcripts are available at https://www.englishsessionswithmike.com/ If you are interested in ad-free episodes as well as occasional bonus content, you can show your love by subscribing to the podcast here: https://anchor.fm/get-the-word/subscribe (only $0.99 per month!)

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