Something Rhymes with Purple

Latest Episodes:

Folklore May 30, 2023

Show notes

This week Susie and Gyles delve into the spellbinding world of folklore and unravel the intricate tapestry of its etymology.

Together, they cover mystical creatures, elements and charms of this fictional realm.

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Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week:

Bywhopen (now obsolete): Made senseless; stupefied.

Heartspoon: A part of the breastbone.

Coccyx: a triangular arrangement of bone that makes up the very bottom portion of the spine below the sacrum.

Gyles' poem this week was ‘The ‘Fairies by William Allingham

Up the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren’t go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl’s feather!

Down along the rocky shore

Some make their home,

They live on crispy pancakes

Of yellow tide-foam;

Some in the reeds

Of the black mountain-lake,

With frogs for their watchdogs,

All night awake.

High on the hill-top

The old King sits;

He is now so old and grey

He’s nigh lost his wits.

With a bridge of white mist

Columbkill he crosses,

On his stately journeys

From Slieveleague to Rosses;

Or going up with music

On cold starry nights,

To sup with the Queen

Of the gay Northern Lights.

They stole little Bridget

For seven years long;

When she came down again

Her friends were all gone.

They took her lightly back,

Between the night and morrow,

They thought that she was fast asleep,

But she was dead with sorrow.

They have kept her ever since

Deep within the lake,

On a bed of flag-leaves,

Watching till she wake.

By the craggy hillside,

Through the mosses bare,

They have planted thorn trees

For pleasure, here and there.

Is any man so daring

As dig them up in spite,

He shall find their sharpest thorns

In his bed at night.

Up the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren’t go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl’s feather!

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Juggins May 23, 2023

Show notes

In this week’s episode, Susie and Gyles dish out a generous serving of all things to do with crockery!

So gather round the table and feast upon a large helping of etymology, poems, obscure words and origins.

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: purplepeople@somethingrhymes.com

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Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week:

Gound: Mucus produced by the eyes during sleep

Vilipend: To hold or treat as of little worth or account

Shotclog: One who is tolerated only because he pays the shot, or reckoning, for the rest of the company, otherwise a mere clog on them

Gyles' poem this week was ‘An Argument’ by Thomas Moore

I've oft been told by learned friars,

That wishing and the crime are one,

And Heaven punishes desires

As much as if the deed were done.

If wishing damns us, you and I

Are damned to all our heart's content;

Come, then, at least we may enjoy

Some pleasure for our punishment!

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Panache May 16, 2023

Show notes

This week we are dipping our ink quills into the decadent world of calligraphy.

Gyles’ spills all on the Royal Coronation invitation he received from The Palace, and Susie shares her pen-sational etymological knowledge on all things handwriting.

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: purplepeople@somethingrhymes.com

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Enjoy Susie’s Trio for the week:

Ruffing: to applaude with your feet

Dulcarnon: To be at a loss, to be uncertain what course to take

Embrangled: To confuse or entangle

Gyles' poem this week was ‘If A Daughter You Have’ by Richard Brinsley-Sheridan

If a daughter you have, she's the plague of your life,

No peace shall you know, tho' you've buried your wife,

At twenty she mocks at the duty you taught her,

O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.

Sighing and whining,

Dying and pining,

O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.

When scarce in their teens, they have wit to perplex us,

With letters and lovers for ever they vex us,

While each still rejects the fair suitor you've brought her,

O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.

Wrangling and jangling,

Flouting and pouting,

O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Let There Be Light May 09, 2023

Show notes

In this week’s dazzling episode, Susie and Gyles illuminate the fascinating etymological roots of everything to do with natural light phenomena. So, join us as we shine the spotlight on rainbows to supernovas!

We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us on: purple@somethinelse.com 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:

Poindexter: A boringly studious and socially inept person.

Skeuomorph: Something designed to look as though it does the job it is supposed to do.

Paralipsis: The device of giving emphasis by professing to say little or nothing of a subject, as in not to mention their unpaid debts of several millions.

Gyles' poem this week:

Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen

When all the world is a hopeless jumble

And the raindrops tumble all around,

Heaven opens a magic lane.

When all the clouds darken up the skyway

There's a rainbow highway to be found,

Leading from your window pane

To a place behind the sun,

Just a step beyond the rain.

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high,

There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,

And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops away above the chimney tops,

That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly.

Birds fly over the rainbow; why, then, oh why can't I?

Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops away above the chimney tops,

That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly.

Birds fly over the rainbow; why, then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow,

Why, oh why can't I?

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Kummerspeck May 02, 2023

Show notes

This episode was recorded live at the Ambassadors Theatre in London.

Have you ever felt an emotion that you know is universal, but come to realise there’s no word for it?

Well Susie & Gyles have you covered in this week’s episode, as we dive into the world of untranslatable words and idioms.

You’re in for a treat Purple People! Where else would you find out what ‘grief bacon’ or ‘electric brain’ means and how these phenomenons are so relatable to our own lives.

We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us here: purple@somethinelse.com

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:

Fachidiot: A German term for a one-track specialist who is an expert in his field, but takes a blinkered approach to multi-faceted problems.

Akiihi: A Hawaiian word that describes the forgetfulness of someone who has just been given directions and immediately forgets.

Attaccabottoni: An Italian word to describe someone who button-holes you and proceeds to bore you with endless stories.

Gyles' poem this week was read out by the actor Neil Titley.

Poetry or Prose by Brandon Behan

There was a young man named Rollocks,

Who worked for Ferrier Pollocks.

As he walked on the Strand,

With his girl by the hand,

The tide came up to his knees

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Learning The Ropes Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

Strap into your hiking boots purple people! In this episode, we’re going to climb to new linguistic heights and explore the world of climbing.

Gyles walks us through his Mount Snowdon expedition and Susie rocks our etymological world as usual, giving us a peak into the wonderful ways of word evolutions.

We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us here: purple@somethinelse.com

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:

Helluo Liborium: An obsessive and insatiable bookworm

Lectory: A reading place

Tsundoku: Refers to the phenomenon of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them.

Gyles' poem this week was ‘The Mountain’ by Emily Dickinson:

The mountain sat upon the plain

In his eternal chair,

His observation omnifold,

His inquest everywhere.

The seasons prayed around his knees,

Like children round a sire:

Grandfather of the days is he,

Of dawn the ancestor.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Al-jabr Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

In this weeks’ episode, we zero in on the exponential world of mathematics.

Come and join us as Susie discusses the solitary life of odd numbers and whether or not there’s an official order to words of magnitude, plus Gyles tells us about Lewis Carroll’s surprising connection to maths and logics.

We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us here: purple@somethinelse.com

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:

Lagniappe: A free gift with another purchase

Syngenesophobia: A dislike of one’s relatives

Peen: The end of a hammer head (opposite the striking piece)

Gyles' poem this week was When I Have Fears’ by Noel Coward

When I have fears, as Keats had fears,

Of the moment I’ll cease to be

I console myself with vanished years

Remembered laughter, remembered tears,

And the peace of the changing sea.

When I feel sad, as Keats felt sad,

That my life is so nearly done

It gives me comfort to dwell upon

Remembered friends who are dead and gone

And the jokes we had and the fun.

How happy they are I cannot know

But happy am I who loved them so.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Trumps Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

Gyles is fresh back from Jamaica and after visiting the spiritual home of James Bond, he’s channeling his 007 spirit and taking Susie to the casino for a touch of Gambling.

In our trip to 'the little casa', we will find out why trumps are so triumphant, why a gimmick at the gaming table might be magic and how your poker face is connected to your bragging rights and - as so often happens in English - we encounter ‘Jack’ in the form of the 'Jackpot' and 'Blackjack'.

We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us here: purple@somethinelse.com

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:

Ignotism: A mistake due to ignorance

Grampus: One who breathes heavily/noisily

Efflagitate: To demand eagerly

Gyles' poem this week was 'Any Part of Piggy' by 'Noel Coward'

Any part of the piggy

Is quite alright with me.

Ham from Westphalia, ham from Parma

Ham as lean as the Dalai Lama

Ham from Virginia, ham from York,

Trotters, sausages, hot roast pork.

Crackling crisp for my teeth to grind on

Bacon with or without the rind on

Though humanitarian

I’m not a vegetarian.

I’m neither a crank nor prude nor prig

And though it may sound infra dig

Any part of the darling pig

Is perfectly fine by me.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Shoeburyness Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

Come join Susie and Gyles for Part 2 of ‘The Purple People’s Linguistic Gaps’. To celebrate our 200th episode, we asked the Purple People for moments or experiences when they wished there was a specific word to describe it. Go listen back to our first instalment, ‘200 Today!’, and enjoy today’s follow up episode which is packed full of even more brilliant suggestions…
We’ll explore that sensation of believing there’s an extra step at the top of the stairs only to have your foot slam down onto thin air, if there’s a name for the first produce you receive from your garden, and if we can find an English equivalent for ‘dépayser’ (the feeling of being somewhere different, somewhere other than what you are used to).
We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us here: purple@somethinelse.com
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:

Fulminous: Resembling thunder and lightning

Bandersnatch: An uncouth individual

Dontopedology - The art of putting one's foot in one's mouth.
Gyles' poem this week was 'Life' by 'Charlotte Brontë'
Life, believe, is not a dream

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day.

Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,

But these are transient all;

If the shower will make the roses bloom,

O why lament its fall?

Rapidly, merrily,

Life's sunny hours flit by,

Gratefully, cheerily

Enjoy them as they fly!

What though Death at times steps in,

And calls our Best away?

What though sorrow seems to win,

O'er hope, a heavy sway?

Yet Hope again elastic springs,

Unconquered, though she fell;

Still buoyant are her golden wings,

Still strong to bear us well.

Manfully, fearlessly,

The day of trial bear,

For gloriously, victoriously,

Can courage quell despair!
A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.
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Clatterfart Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

It’s going to be an episode full of tittle-tattle today as Gyles and Susie sit down for a good gossip as we excavate the words and idioms associated with this favourite hobby.
We’ll have a good blather but stopping short of becoming a ‘blatherskite’ due to its distasteful meaning, we’ll bloviate at length with a certain ex-PM in mind as we uncover the links between this type of gossip and the stuffing in your clothes, before we discover that there are many origin stories for the phrase ‘Cock and Bull story’ that are unsurprisingly, cock-and-bull.
Recorded live at The Fortune Theatre, London on Sunday 19th February.
Susie’s Trio
Colporteur: A person who sells books and newspapers.
Potvaliance: The courage that only comes from alcohol
Cryptomnesia: When you forget something and then ‘discover’ it as a new and original thought.
GYLES POEM
ANON - Life Spans
The horse and mule live 30 years
And know nothing of wines and beers.
The goat and sheep at 20 die
And never taste of Scotch and Rye.
A cow drinks water by the ton,
And at 18 is mostly done.
The dog at 15 cashes in
Without the aid of rum and gin.
The cat in milk and water soaks
And then in 12 short years it croaks.
The modest, sober, bone-dry hen
Lays eggs for nogs, then dies at 10.
All animals are strictly dry
They sinless live and swiftly die.
But sinful, ginful, rum-soaked men
Survive for three score years and ten.
And some of them, a very few,
Stay pickled till they’re 92.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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