Episode 80: Runes and Early Writing Systems

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The Christmas Cake cocktail

Episode 78: An Etymological Holiday Feast

Aven McMaster December 17, 2019

This year’s holiday episode is all about festivals and feasts — and in particular, midwinter celebrations, the solstice, and the seasons. And we read a couple of Latin poems about drinking — and explore the odd connection between them and a tire company!

Hesiod’s Works and Days in English

Horace’s Odes in Latin

Horace Odes 1.37 in English

Feast video

Transcript

This episode on YouTube

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Episode 76: Do You Believe in Magic?

Aven McMaster October 31, 2019

Happy Halloween! This year we’re talking about the etymology and origins of “Magic”, the differences between religion and magic, Greek and Roman spells and curses, and some rather bizarre tales about Virgil & Aristotle.

Our “Magic” video

Cocktail: Black Magic

Religion in the Roman Empire, James B Rives, 2007

Arcana Mundi,Georg Luck, 2006

Tomyris with the head of Cyrus the Great

This episode on YouTube

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Erasmus Darwin cocktail menu, based on The Loves of the Plants

Episode 71: Enlisting Imagination under the Banner of Science

Aven McMaster June 18, 2019

We discuss a person who had an important impact on both science and language: Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles. In particular, we talk about the use of poetry to explain science, from Hesiod to Lucretius to Darwin to Baba Brinkman, and the new wave of science communicators on and off line.

D.G. King-Hele. “Erasmus Darwin, Man of Ideas and Inventor of Words.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 42.2 (1988): 149–180 .

Baba Brinkman

Hesiod’s Theogony

Aratus’s Phaenomena

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Podcast episode on Cuckold

Episode 69: The Spirit of the Age

Aven McMaster April 1, 2019

Happy (?) April Fool’s Day! We talk about the origins of the holiday, its connections to the Tom Collins cocktail, and hoaxes throughout history, from Athenian tyrants to the ‘Scratching Fanny’ ghost to the Da Vinci Code.

Tom Collins recipe

Podcast episode 7, with discussion about urban legends

Podcast episode on Sublime

Bunny Trails episode on ‘wild goose chase’

Herodotus passage

Erasmus Darwin video

Podcast episode about the 12 Days of Christmas

Hogarth’s Cunicularii or The Wise Men of Godliman in Consultation — Hogarth’s *Cunicularii or The Wise Men of Godliman in Consultation*

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Schork, R. J. “Egyptian Etymology in Vergil.” Latomus, vol. 57, no. 4, 1998, pp. 828–831. JSTOR

Episode 68: Glossed in Translation

Aven McMaster March 15, 2019

We talk about names for countries — endonyms and exonyms — and the trade goods named after the places they come from, in a discussion that ranges from Japanese guns to the connection between Wales and roosters to the colour of the phoenix, and much more. If you can make it to the end of the podcast, you’ll never look at porcelain the same way again!

Red Dragon Cocktail

The Rising Sun Cocktail

Jabzy’s Japan videos: Europeans in Japan and Guns in Japan

Cynical Historian’s video on gun history

Eidolon article about cooking sows’ vulvae (I’m afraid I said “vagina” not “vulvae” in the podcast, mea maxima culpa!)

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Our video “Who are Santa’s reindeer?”

Episode 65: Reindeer Games

Mark Sundaram December 11, 2018

Time for a holiday episode! This time we’re talking about how Santa’s reindeer got their names, including some of their classical ties to Roman religion and Greek myth, the Reindeer Rule in US law, and NORAD’s Santa Tracker. And we have a quiz about the animals that bring the winter gift giver around the world!

Mark’s Lexitecture episode

Our Christmas videos playlist

Episode 8: Yule

Episode 25: The 12 Days of Christmas

Episode 49: Stocking Stuffers

The Rudolph Cocktail

Catullus 14

The two versions of Eros: Protogenos & Ouranios

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Pliny’s letter 7.27 in English

Episode 62: Etymological Ghosts

Mark Sundaram October 22, 2018

From modern words for ghost, to Latin and Greek terms for spirits, to ghost words that haunt dictionaries, we explore some spooky etymologies and tell some ancient ghost stories.

Sound Education

Green Ghost Cocktail

Liquified Ghost Cocktail

Ghost video

Eidolon online journal

VIdeo of a performance of the Latin version of Pliny’s ghost story

List of ancient ghost stories sourced from Twitter

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Episode 61: Classing up our Languages?

Mark Sundaram September 30, 2018

f2e8d71ad8f03c781121c4499e5e716a+education thumb.jpg

In this episode we talk about the history of education in Europe, from classical Greece to the 19th century, covering the origins of many education-related words. Then we turn to the history of second-language teaching of Latin, from Roman Egypt to today’s Living Latin movement.

DSM (channel about language and etymology)

Sound Education

Classic Cocktail

Education video

Learning Latin and Greek from Antiquity to Present, chapters on teaching Latin to Greek speakers (Dickey) & Latin in Anglo-Saxon England (Fisher)

“Medieval and Modern Views of Universal Grammar and the Nature of Second Language Learning” by Margaret Thomas

“Inside the Anglo-Saxon Classroom“ by Kate Wiles

“Grasping Sentences by Wholes: Henry Sweet’s Idea of Language Study in the Early Middle Ages” by Mark Atherton

Learn Latin from the Romans: A Complete Introductory Course Using Textbooks from the Roman Empire by Eleanor Dickey

Learning Latin the Ancient Way by Eleanor Dickey

“The MovieTalk: A Practical Application of Comprehensible Input Theory” by Rachel Ash

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The Sublime Moment Cocktail

Episode 59: From the Sublime to the Romantic

Mark Sundaram June 7, 2018

The etymology of 'sublime' takes us through a discussion of the Gothic, Neo-Classical, and Romantic periods, the origins of the Romance languages, the roots of romantic love, and more.

Mats Malm “On the Technique of the Sublime”, Comparative Literature, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Winter, 2000), pp. 1-10.

Sarah Bond on Polychromy in Ancient Statues

Alex Potts, Flesh and the Ideal: Winckelmann and the Origins of Art History

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The Maritime History podcast

Episode 57: Freebooting, Piracy, & Copyright

Mark Sundaram April 26, 2018

We sail the high seas and surf the interwebs for this episode all about the etymology of pirate-related words and the coinage of a new term for stealing videos. We also cover the development of copyright law, the reasons pirates say "Arrrr!", and what Julius Caesar did to his kidnappers.

Show Notes

Bumbo cocktail recipe

"Freebooting" video

The Academic Podcast by Sam McLean

"CAESAR AND THE PIRATES: OR HOW TO MAKE (AND BREAK) AN ANCIENT LIFE", JOSIAH OSGOOD, Greece & Rome, Vol. 57, No. 2 (OCTOBER 2010), pp. 319-336

de Souza, Philip. "Rome's Contribution to the Development of Piracy". Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Vol. 6, The Maritime World of Ancient Rome (2008), pp. 71-96

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Polynesian Lexicon Project Online

Episode 53: Tiki or Not Tiki?

Mark Sundaram February 14, 2018

We head back to the Endless Knot Cocktail Bar to talk about the history of the Mai Tai, the Tiki craze, Polynesian mythology, cultural appropriation, and World's Fairs. And then we turn to Rome's relationship to Greece, and discuss whether Horace wrote the Exotica music of the ancient world!

Show Notes

Mai Tai Video

@AllEndlessKnot on Twitter

Mai Tai Recipe

Wallace-Hadrill, A. “To Be Roman, Go Greek Thoughts on Hellenization at Rome.” Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, no. 71, 1998, pp. 79–91.

Merchandise (CafePress Site)

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Episode 49: Stocking Stuffers & Christmas Treats

Aven McMaster December 20, 2017

This year's holiday podcast looks back at last year's Christmas video, Stocking, and we talk about the Christmas treats our families enjoy, their history, and their etymology. All you could ever want to know about plum pudding and tourtiere, along with the story of St Nick himself. (PS: since the recording, I've seen indications that the 'mincepie ban' by the Puritans may be a myth, but Christmas celebrations in general definitely were banned, and mincepies and plum puddings were strongly associated with observances of the holiday, so were presumably included.)

Show Notes

Reindeer video

Stocking video

Gerry Bowler, The World Encyclopedia of Christmas

Bruce David Forbes, Christmas: A Candid History

Desmond Morris, Christmas Watching

Andrea Broomfield, Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History

Kaufman, Cathy. “The Ideal Christmas Dinner.” Gastronomica, vol. 4, no. 4, 2004, pp. 17–24.

Leach, Helen. “Translating the 18th Century Pudding.” Islands of Inquiry: Colonisation, Seafaring and the Archaeology of Maritime Landscapes, edited by Geoffrey Clark et al., vol. 29, ANU Press, 2008, pp. 381–396.

History of shortbread.

Canadian Encyclopedia "Tourtière"

Lemasson, Jean-Pierre. "The Long History of the Tourtière of Quebec's Lac-St-Jean", in What's to Eat? Entrees in Canadian Food History, edited by Nathalie Cooke, McGill-Queens UP, 2009.

The "gens togata": Changing Styles and Changing Identities

Episode 45: Costumes & the Language of Fashion

Aven McMaster October 27, 2017

Our Hallowe'en themed episode this year is about costumes -- and etymologies and origin stories of a whole bunch of iconic items of clothing. We talk about the semiotics of fashion, the many varieties of the toga, and hats that caused fainting fits, and finish off with a couple of spooky Roman stories! Also, check out this year's Hallowe'en video, on words for Ghost.

Show Notes

#2PodsADay

Werewolf Cocktail recipe

"Costume" video

"Jack o'Lantern" video

Ep 22: Jack o'Lantern podcast

Justin Trudeau in Canadian Tuxedo (Source)

Article about Trudeau

Portrait of Lady Hamilton as Bacchante, by Romney

Petronius Satyricon vol 2 chpt 62 werewolf story

Pliny the Elder werewolf passage

History of English Podcast

Episode 42: Bugging Out!

Aven McMaster September 13, 2017

We discuss the murky origins of the word 'Bug', some Latin & Greek words for insects, ancient notions of authorship, medieval guild secrets, and the history of patents. Also, sacred geese, burglar alarms, and a Latin mock-epic about a heroic gnat!

Show Notes

Song Exploder podcast Jóhann Jóhannsson

Grose’s slang dictionary

The Gnat and other Minor Poems of Virgil translated by David R. Slavitt

Episode 39: From Fossil Hunters to Mammoth Cheese

Aven McMaster July 19, 2017

We talk about the early history of paleontology and geology, the first fossil hunters, the Bone Wars, and the possible ties between fossils and Greek myth. Also, a bonus poem about a mammoth cheese!

Show Notes

"Fossil" video

"Canuck" video

The Recipes Project

“Ancient Fossil Discoveries and Interpretations”, Adrienne Mayor, The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life, Edited by Gordon Lindsay Campbell

Mayor, A. (2011), The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2nd revised edition of The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times (2000)), Princeton, Princeton University Press.

The Feast Podcast: A Victorian Dinosaur Dinner & Thomas Jefferson & the Mammoth Cheese of Cheshire

See the end of this blog post for the "Ode to a Mammoth Cheese" poem.

Episode 34: The Gimlet & the Diseases of Colonialism

Aven McMaster May 10, 2017

We discuss the origins of the Gimlet cocktail, the stories about its name, and its connection to the treatment of scurvy; then we talk about some of the other diseases tied to the early era of European expansion and colonialism, including the classical history of malaria in Greece and Rome. Also featuring conversation about gin, the pronunciation of quinine, and a cameo appearance by Alexander the Great!

Show Notes

"Gimlet" video

"Gimlet" blog post

Gin, Glorious Gin: How Mother's Ruin Became the Spirit of London by Olivia Williams

"The Dead Do Tell Tales", Ethan Barnes, Corinth, Vol. 20, Corinth, The Centenary: 1896-1996 (2003), pp. 435-443. JSTOR

Malaria and Rome: A History of Malaria in Ancient Italy, Robert Sallares, OUP 2002.

"A Note on Alexander's Death", Donald Engels, Classical Philology, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Jul., 1978), pp. 224-228. JSTOR

"The Rhodes Colossus" – cartoon by Edward Linley Sambourne, published in Punch after Rhodes announced plans for a telegraph line from Cape Town to Cairo in 1892.

St. George Terroir Gin (from California)

MythTake episode 21: Theseus

Episode 32: Ariadne's Clue

Aven McMaster April 13, 2017

We've joined forces with the MythTake podcast for a pair of episodes about the myth of Theseus, the Minotaur, and Ariadne. In our episode we talk about the story of Theseus & Ariadne, and the development of the word 'Clue' from Chaucer's version of the tale, as well as Catullus and Ovid's depictions of Ariadne's abandonment, and the connections to fingerprints, detective fiction, and Agatha Christie's life. Meanwhile, Alison & Darrin in their episode talk about two poems by Bacchylides, and the Greek sources for the life of Theseus and his heroic exploits, as well as a few more English words derived from his adventures.

Show Notes

"Clue" video

Catullus 64

Amalia Carosella's books about Helen

"Paddle Your Own Canoe" video

"Create: Myth, Mealtimes, & Matinées" video

Episode 31: #CreateICG

Aven McMaster March 22, 2017

It's #CreateICG Week! A bunch of internet creators are putting out videos, podcasts, blogs, & more, all on the theme of CREATE – with all sorts of different approaches and interpretations. The event is centred around the Internet Creators Guild, a non-profit organization with a mission to support, represent, and connect creators whose primary platform is online. If you’d like to find out more about them, you can go to internetcreatorsguild.com – and to find more amazing creations by ICG members, search #CreateICG on your social media of choice, check our show notes for links, or go to createicg.wordpress.com for lists of creators and their works.

In this episode we talk about the etymology of CREATE, the origin of breakfast, how mealtimes moved around the day, the history of theatrical and artificial lighting, and Greek and Norse creation myths -- including the story of the body-fluid-filled mead of inspiration!

Show Notes

#CreateICG

#CreateICG YouTube Playlist

Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology

Words for Granted Podcast

Episode 29: Evolution, with Ray Belli

Aven McMaster February 27, 2017

How do words change their meanings? What are the mechanisms behind semantic change? And how do technological advances -- like the development of e-books -- affect language? We discuss these topics and more with Ray Belli, host of the Words for Granted podcast.

Show Notes

Evolution video

Evolution playlist