Something Rhymes with Purple

This week it's about the birthday boy, as we celebrate all things Gyles Brandreth. Not only does Gyles spoil us with a plethora of his famous anecdotes, but he becomes the linguistics quizmaster and places Susie in the hot seat to answer questions from his book 'Have You Eaten Grandma'. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GYLES! You are truly one of a kind. We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms. Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Galere: A coterie of undesirable people. Chawbacon: One uninterested in culture. Boulevardier: A lover of boulevards. Gyles' poem this week was the incredibly emotive 'Counting Backwards' by Linda Pastan. How did I get so old, I wonder, contemplating my 67th birthday. Dyslexia smiles: I’m 76 in fact. There are places where at 60 they start counting backwards; in Japan they start again from one. But the numbers hardly matter. It’s the physics of acceleration I mind, the way time speeds up as if it hasn’t guessed the destination— where look! I see my mother and father bearing a cake, waiting for me at the starting line. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the latin word dicere meaning ‘to speak, to tell or to say’. This week Susie and Gyles are looking at the ultimate word bible, the dictionary! Gyles ponders the difference between a glossary and a dictionary. And Susie delves into prescriptivism vs descriptivism We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' And now for three bite sized words from Susie in her trio: Thruffable: Open and transparent (through). Wambliness: An upheaval of the stomach. Boodyankers: An exclamation of surprise or delight (Northumberland). Gyles’s poem comes from his friend and neighbour James K Harris and is called ‘I Don’t’  I don't, of course, mean everything I say. I mean, sometimes, I don't know what I mean. Sometimes I have a thought which goes astray. I start describing blue, it turns out green. The alphabet is very volatile. Its union is hard to bring to heel. It's easy to fall victim to its guile. You think you're describing what you feel, but then you find the words describing you. And so one sees oneself in their dark light. One thinks one is describing what is true, then suddenly one sees one isn't right. In which case, still, it's true that one was wrong. Well, truth, in some guys, always comes along. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 90s was a crazy decade, brimming with pop culture moments that defined Britain. Susie and Gyles discuss words that gained popularity in the post Cold War era, from Cool Britannia, to the Spice Girls, Dianamania to the World Wide Web... We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Solacious: Soothing or comforting. Soodle : To linger or dawdle. Splatherdab: A gossip. Gyles' poem this week was 'This Boy' by Leigh Lawson, who wrote it upon the birth of his first grandson, Solomon.  He gives me joy, this boy, Unspeakable, inexpressible. This boy gives me joy. Inexplicable, unexplainable. This boy brings me joy. Let bells ring, choirs sing, Chimes chime, poets rhyme, Trumpets trump, drums drum, Feet stamp, guitars strum. Higher than the moon, Oh, hotter than the sun, Deeper than the sea, Is the joy this boy brings to me. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

'A moo point is like a cows opinion, it doesn't matter, it's moo'. This week Gyles and Susie have fun looking at the influence that television has had on language. Gyles gets nostalgic with some of his and his children's favourite UK and American TV programmes. And Susie explores the words that were popularised by these household TV shows. We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Why not work one of Susie's trio's into a sentence this week? Crumpsy: Cranky and irritable from old dialect. Braggadocio: An idle or empty boaster, all mouth and no trousers. Apostasise: To abandon a once firmly held promise or principal. Gyles' poem comes from our listener Chris McAuley and is titled 'Father' If you find yourself forgetting the small things like keys, Moments which we spent together feeding the ducks or playing in the park, I shall remember them for you, And in those memories be still guided by your hand As we walk through the town on that cold rainy day. Someday, I will forget those times. They will be cast to the wind, Scattered like leaves caught in the maelstrom of time. But today, I sit with my cup of tea and think about the small moments Of those precious days, and how much they mean to me. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flow it, show it, grow it! This week Susie and Gyles look at the history and etymology of all things to do with hair. Gyles takes us down memory lane and tells us about when he used to rock a full facial set (head to our social media pages for pics!) And Susie does what she does best, by entertaining us with fascinating origin stories behind this luscious topic. We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Tabanca: The pain of unrequited love. Redamancy: The state of being loved in return. Gruglede (Norwegian): Happy dread. Gyles' poem this week was a excerpt from the song 'Hair' by the cast of 'Hair - The Musical' Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair Flow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hair Let it fly in the breeze And get caught in the trees Give a home to the fleas in my hair A home for fleas A hive for bees A nest for birds There ain't no words For the beauty, the splendor, the wonder Of my... Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair Flow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hair I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy Snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty Oily, greasy, fleecy Shining, gleaming, streaming Flaxen, waxen Knotted, polka-dotted Twisted, beaded, braided Powdered, flowered, and confettied Bangled, tangled, spangled, and spaghettied! Oh say can you see My eyes if you can Then my hair's too short Down to here Down to there I want hair Down to where It stops by itself They'll be ga ga at the go go When they see me in my toga My toga made of blond Brilliantined Biblical hair My hair like Jesus wore it Hallelujah I adore it Hallelujah Mary loved her son Why don't my mother love me? Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair Flow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair Flow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair Flow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hair A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dive into the groovy world of etymology as we journey back to the vibrant decades of the 70s and 80s in this week's episode. Join Susie and Gyles and get ready to disco through the evolution of language, exploring the funky slang, radical expressions, and iconic phrases that defined these iconic eras. We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our NEW email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Bagasse: A plant residue (as of sugarcane or grapes) left after a product (such as juice) has been extracted. Ale-conner: A beer tester. Misslieness: A feeling of solitude that comes from missing a beloved person or thing. Gyles' poem this week was 'On The Edge' by Jane McCulloch Staring down at the dark abyss, I am balanced on a ledge. Hovering above that thin line which runs between sanity and madness. And they call the edge. Some event, some news, some action has propelled me into missile like spin. While all around they have no idea of the torment, the terror, the struggle coming from within. A telephone rings. The doorbell goes. People are laughing. Now I sway. Should I let go? Give up and fall? So much easier to give in. No. Not this time. Not today. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Love makes the world go round, And so does etymology too! Happy Valentines Day! This week, Susie and Gyles explore the words of affection we used in our everyday vernacular... From darling, to cabbage(?!), to sweetie, to bae - we find out where these cutie-pie terms originate from. Also, Gyles tries to impress Susie this week with (what he thinks are) good chat up lines! We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our NEW email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Explaterate: to talk continuously; to bluster. Twirlblast: (19th-century southern US) whirlwind. Groaning cake: cake provided for those waiting on a woman to give birth. Gyles' poem this week was 'How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week at the Purple HQ, we explore words that come from the swinging 60s! Hear all about Gyles meeting The Beatles in an Apple shop back in the day, and Susie unpacking extraordinary etymologies... We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our NEW email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Batterfanged: Done in. Sammodithee: A way of replying to the toast. It means the same unto thee. Splute: Someone who exaggerates. Gyles' poem this week was 'Imagine' by John Lennon Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us, only sky Imagine all the people Living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Susie and Gyles this week as we unravel the captivating stories behind the letters 'E' to 'L,' in the second installment of our alphabet journey. We explore the rich history and surprising connections that have shaped our language, and of course indulge in Gyles' infamous anecdotes. We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our NEW email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Timdoodle (Cornwall): An insult for a stupid fellow. Lab-dab: A profuse perspiration. Nickerers: New shoes that make a creaking noise. Gyles' poem this week was 'Happinness' by Colin Hinton - whoGyles met who took part Gyle's poetry together chatiry Happiness for me is my aim, Happiness for all others is my aim. This is what I will endeavour to attain, With all the thoughts within my brain. To all my family, I wish happiness, To all my friends, I wish happiness, To others I meet today, I wish happiness, To the whol world, I wish happiness. For this, I endeavour to do my best, To spread happiness, From east, To west. I will always smile, laugh and jest So that all that meet me, Will feel at rest. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever spotted a beige flag in your situationship? Are you a die hard Swiftie? Do you think you've got plenty of Rizz? If you don't know what we're on about, Purple People, then you need to get with the times! This week, Susie & Gyles reveal the Oxford English Dictionary's 'Word of the Year 2023' and all the other words that didn't quite make the top spot. We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on our NEW email address here: [email protected] Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms' Don’t forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week: Pang Wangle: A cheeriness in spite of minor discomforts. Egrote: To pretend to be sick. Sonntagsleerung: A German medical term from the early 20th century for “the depression one feels on Sunday before the week begins”. Gyles' poem this week was 'Look in the Mirror' by Carol Mugano Look in the mirror, What do you see? A beautiful person, Or just me? Don't blame the mirror, It's all in your mind, Take control of your thinking, And this time Be kind. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices