Where did "bigger fish to fry" actually come from — and does it even hold up? We trace the idiom from Cervantes to a 1900s dime novel.
On this episode of Appraise The Phrase, Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of the idiom "bigger fish to fry." They start with Sancho Panza in Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605–1615), move through English diarist John Evelyn's 1660 journal entry ("I have other fish to fry" — not published until 1818, over a century after his death), and land on the early-20th-century American novel that's actually responsible for the "bigger" version we use today: Edward Stratemeyer's "True to Himself, or Roger Strong's Struggle for Place."
Along the way, they compare Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, and Collins definitions, debate whether the phrase is a personality trait or just a circumstance, and run through pop-culture parallels — the Andy Warhol diaries, Charles III's coronation echoing the English Restoration, Steve Jobs' return to Apple, and the Access Hollywood tape — before handing out a final Power Grade. Then it's on to the Dictionary of Misinformation, where they debunk the myth behind Cinderella's glass slipper (spoiler: it was never supposed to be glass).
If you're into word origins, etymology, idioms, and the stories behind the phrases we use without thinking, this one's for you.
0:00 – Independence Day (1996)
0;47 - Appraise The Phrase Theme
2:43 – Movie Talk: The Odyssey & The Return
6:32 – Introducing Today's Phrase: "Bigger Fish to Fry"
Confirm The Meaning
9:22 – Dictionary Showdown: Merriam-Webster vs. Cambridge vs. Collins
Unveil The Origin
17:41 – Origins in Cervantes' Don Quixote & Sancho Panza
26:53 – 1660: John Evelyn's Diary & the First "Fish" Version
30:23 – The English Restoration & the Royal Society
40:12 – How "Bigger" Entered the Phrase (Stratemeyer's Novel)
Story Time
19:30 – Personal Reflection: Our Own Verbal Tics
31:18 – Pop Culture Parallels: Warhol, Charles III, Steve Jobs, Access Hollywood
42:40 – Personal Reflection: Suspicion, Priorities & Growing Up
Assess The Value
46:39 – Phrase Grades: Rating "Bigger Fish to Fry"
Dictionary of Misinformation
51:32 – Cinderella's Glass Slipper
53:49 – Outro & Shop
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ABOUT APPRAISE THE PHRASE
Appraise The Phrase is a weekly podcast from the Underdog Podcast Network where the hosts unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of the everyday phrases and idioms we all use without ever asking where they came from. Each episode ends with a Power Grade and a round of the Dictionary of Misinformation, debunking a popular word-origin myth.
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