
Host Zach Selwyn hits the streets to ask everyday people what they know about the origins and meaning of American slang, and then he reveals the true etymology and hidden history of common phrases and words that are unique to the United States. In each 30-minute episode, Selwyn focuses on a specific period in American history, revealing words that originated during that era or had significance for the geographic region.
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Air Date: 2013-04-14
Politics is full of odd phrases like "pork barrel projects," "slush funds," and "lame ducks" -- all of which had prac...
Air Date: 2013-04-14
Have you ever wondered why someone who can't get it together is called a "basket case"? Or where the term "Yankee" ca...
Air Date: 2013-04-21
The American South has given us words like "y'all" and "rednecks" as well as dozens of colorful phrases like "fly off...
Air Date: 2013-04-28
Expressions from "riffraff" to "betting your bottom dollar", "passing the buck," "acid test" and even "heard it throu...
Air Date: 2013-05-05
Ever wonder why American cowboys say "'git along little doggies" when they're talking about herding cattle? Or why a ...
Air Date: 2013-05-12
Americans have always loved to eat and expressions relating to food--from New York's "big apple" to "wake up and smel...