Yesterday we talked about what was happening in the UK that led up to Guy Fawkes and his gang's 'Gunpowder, Treason and Plot'. Today I'll finish explaining what Guy Fawkes did and what happened to him.

In addition, in today's episode we will look at the ongoing impact of Guy Fawkes on modern society, mostly in the UK, but in the wider world too. 

This Saturday is Bonfire Night, so we will have lots of fireworks and bonfires around the country to remember these events.

See you next week!

Movies Mentioned

Braveheart - 2006 Mel Gibson. This movie tells the dramatised story of William Wallace, a Scottish man, who brought Scotland together to fight against the English King Edward the First in the late 1200s/early 1300s. It seems to be available on Amazon and Disney+

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/

V for Vendetta - 2005 Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving - based on the earlier comic. This movie tells the story of a fantasy future UK where a totalitarian government has taken control. The main character, V, a survivor of the regime, inspires the people of the country to unite and fight the regime. The story steals some elements from the traditional Guy Fawkes story with the mask and blowing up the Houses of Parliament. It seems to be available on Netflix and Amazon.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/

Matrix - 1999 Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving - written by the same screenwriters as V for Vendetta. This movie tells the story of a fantasy future world where robots have taken over. They are using humans as batteries and have created a fake world that humans are plugged into. Neo, the hero, wakes up and works to save humanity. It seems to be available on Netflix and Amazon
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/

Today's Vocabulary

Converted to Catholicism - when someone changes their religion we say they have 'converted'.

He was so put out - idiom - he was annoyed and frustrated

Enlisted - this is the term we use to describe someone who chooses to join a military force

Rose through the ranks - idiom - to rise up through an organisation or institution, usually through hard work or achievements

Hung Drawn and Quartered - this is a term used to describe a form of torture used in the UK over many hundreds of years, it was usually kept for the worst criminals (treason is considered one of the worst crimes). First you would be hanged with a noose, and then (before you died) you would be cut across the middle and your intestines pulled out (drawn), and finally your body would be cut into four pieces. The purpose of this was usually to display the body parts around the country as a deterrent to others who might consider a similar crime. It was very common for the head to be stood on a pike on the Tower of London for all to see.

Noose - the rope used to hang a person.

Guy/Effigy - a sort of scarecrow or model of a person. In this case it is placed on top of the bonfire to be burned.

Candy floss/Cotton Candy - spun sugar treat popular at carnivals and fairs

Totalitarian - A form of government that doesn't allow any form of opposition

Fascism - A form of authoritarian government or political ideology often with a dictatorial leader and following a nationalist ideology

Additional Information

Guy Fawkes Islands - As I mentioned in the podcast there are some islands in the Galapagos named after Guy Fawkes, this website goes into some of the mysteries surrounding them. https://www.lapintagalapagoscruise.com/blog/guy-fawkes-in-galapagos/

The island is pretty remote: https://www.touristlink.com/ecuador/isla-guy-fawkes/overview.html

This website has some interesting facts about Guy Fawkes: https://www.historyhit.com/thrilling-facts-about-guy-fawkes/

Anonymous Quote - This is the website of Anonymous where you can read their quote about the Guy Fawkes mask. https://www.anonymousforthevoiceless.org/why-the-mask

Quotes from V for Vendetta

https://www.readthistwice.com/quotes/book/v-for-vendetta

In today's episode we'll look at the British history that led Guy Fawkes and his gang to plot to try to blow up the King, his family and Parliament all those years ago.

This week, on Saturday (5th Nov) it's Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night in the UK. While this isn't a public holiday, other than Christmas and Halloween, it's probably one of the days kids look forward to the most.

Guy Fawkes Night comes from something that happened all the way back in 1605, and yet even now, most people in the UK can remember the story and at least the beginning of the nursery rhyme about it.

Today's Idioms

To see eye to eye - to agree with each other

Fly in the ointment - something that is in the way or is going to spoil or damage the outcome

Blind leading the blind - when people who don't know what they're doing are in charge or leading more people who also don't know what they're doing

To give up the ghost - to give up or stop trying on something that is not going to be successful or is not going to work.

Additional Vocabulary

3 Score - Score is an old word for 10, so 3 score is 30.

Infamous - Someone who is famous because of something bad

Legacy - the thing you leave behind when you die often seen as your impact or influence on the world

Fervent - someone who is very passionate, sometimes too passionate

To pot with that - idiom - similar to 'to heck with that' means I can't be bothered with that, or I'm going to ignore that

It did the job - idiom - It was successful, it did what we needed it to do

Thus (and thus made the Pope no longer important) - This is an old fashioned English word that is not used very often in modern English, it means 'therefore' or 'consequently' in this context, but it can mean 'and so' in other contexts.

The Reformation - This is the moment in British history where the UK split from the Catholic church and made it's own church (Church of England or Anglican Church). It caused a lot of chaos in the country and had lasting influences and change that we don't cover in the podcast today.
https://www.history.com/topics/reformation/reformation

She has a foot in each camp. - idiom - if we have a foot or boot in each camp it means we're not taking sides or she's not going to make a decision. We can also say 'she's sitting on the fence' or 'she's on the fence'.

Butt heads - If we butt heads with someone then we disagree with them.

Puppet King - this is a term specifically related to royalty and the movement of power. A puppet monarch is usually too young to make decisions, even if they're older they don't really have any power. The country is usually run by powerful ministers or advisers instead. In this case, Guy Fawkes gang wanted to install a puppet queen who would do and believe as they wanted. In Scotland both Mary Queen of Scots and James the VI were puppet monarchs in their youth because they were so young. Many rich noblemen made the most of their youth to get things the way they wanted.

Interloper - someone who comes in without permission, someone who comes from another place, often someone who gets involved with politics or a social group or activity without being asked

In this episode we are revisiting Tiffany and Miss Treason. We've just missed a major part of the story where Miss Treason takes Tiffany to a dance. She specifically tells Tiffany NOT to dance, but Tiffany dances anyway.

Remember, if your podcast provider doesn't provide a video then you can find it on the YouTube page: https://youtu.be/kuwB08Uajbo

Today's Vocabulary

Temper - We covered this in Episode 74

Defiance - proud and determined opposition or resistance

Bellies - Belly or stomach

Scythed past - Scythe is a cutting tool so when something scythes past it moves very quickly and may cut

Historical antecedents - things that have happened before, evidence from the past

Scowl - a very unhappy and angry look on your face

Vexing - an old fashioned word for annoyed

Boffo - This is a Discworld specific term. Boffo is the name of a joke shop in the main city of Anhh Morpork. It is a very famous joke shop that turns up in several of the witch books and it turns out that the owner is a witch. In this case Tiffany starts using the name of the shop to refer to anything that isn't real or is giving an untrue representation of something.

(turns up - phrasal verb meaning 'appears'; turns out - phrasal verb meaning 'in the end we find out')

Can't abide - An old way of saying you don't like something

Creepy crawlies - A common phrase to describe all bugs

Face like a baby's bottom - idiom - this idiom is often used to describe people who have very soft and young looking faces. Why not a baby's face, good question! It's English, who knows!😂

Amateur - Someone who isn't professional at something. Can be used as an insult to someone who isn't doing a good job to say they are not qualified.

Parishioner - British word that refers to Parishes, which are areas of the countryside, often related to the area's church. In this case she means the people who live in the area she serves.

Magnifying Glass - A glass that increases the size of something we're looking at.

Additional Vocabulary

Apprenticed - An Apprentice is someone who is in training and learning from a Master. If you are Apprenticed to someone then it means you are attached to them for the time of your training.

Sneaky - usually means untrustworthy or doing something secretly

Spooky - Used to describe ghostly things

On the 31st of October we celebrate Halloween in the UK. I was going to do some Halloween vocabulary, but that's a bit boring. So instead I'm going to read two parts from Terry Pratchett's book, Wintersmith.

We are introduced to several other witches in this passage. The main character is Miss Treason, at 113 years old she is one of the oldest people on Discworld. You will also hear mentioned Mistress Weatherwax, who Tiffany thinks of as a very old person, but who Miss Treason describes as 'the girl Weatherwax'.

And finally, a brief mention of Miss Tick. Miss Tick appeared in the very first novel, she travels around the world looking for young witches and getting them into training. She is a kind of teacher.

Today's Vocabulary-More on YouTube Description

Take the cake - idiom - 'We'll that just takes the cake!' 'She really does take the cake.' The Cambridge Dictionary describes this as being the worst or best of something. It can also mean something is surprising, annoying or in America, someone is the winner or best at something.

Wall to wall (odd) - idiom - Miss Treason's house is described as being 'wall to wall odd'. This idiom means everything in an area or space.

Borrowing - this word is specific to Discworld and the witch stories in Discworld. It describes a particular skill that only certain witches have (in fact we only meet 3-4 witches who can do it in the whole series). This is the skill of being able to sort of do telepathy with other animals. In many cases the witch has to lie down and her whole mind sees the world just like the animal she is borrowing. Terry is careful to point out that the animals don't feel anything and most of the witches reward their animals with food and care. However Miss Treason (being a very old and clever witch) has learned how to borrow very easily so that she can see and hear the world around her despite her own disabilities.

Creepy - a very appropriate word for Halloween, this can describe a person, place or situation that makes you feel uncomfortable and in English we can say 'it makes your skin crawl'.

Perch - a place where a bird can sit

Stubby - short and often quite wide, can be used to describe people, fingers or things

High threshold - a 'threshold' is the piece of wood across the bottom of a doorway. If a building has a 'high threshold' it means water can't get in, so this gives us the idea of strength. We have applied this to people as an idiom. So if we say 'she has a high pain threshold' for example, it means she can withstand (cope with) a lot of pain. In this case Tiffany has a pretty strong mind and will and so she is able to cope with Miss Treason's weird and scary ways better than other witches.

Witch-finder - This is Miss Tick's job. She finds young witches and takes them to older witches for training.

Hooked nose - the big and curved nose we traditionally see on witches.

Scuttling - This describes a kind of movement, sort of how an insect or mouse moves.

Liquorice - Also Licorice, this is a kind of candy, often black it has a very strong flavour.

Billowing - The movement of a cloak or large piece of cloth, such as bedsheets or sails in the wind.

Stutter - when we struggle to get a word out, this also describes a condition where people struggle to say a complete word and often get stuck on the first sound.

Today we are looking at idioms that describe untrustworthy behaviour, untrustworthy people or things you can't quite believe.

There are a surprising amount of these. Some of them can be tied back to previous episodes where we talked about keeping secrets and telling lies, both of which can be seen as untrustworthy behaviour. 

See you next week!

Today's Idioms

To pull a fast one - to try and trick someone

To rip someone off - to try and trick someone out of their money or make them spend more than is necessary. Something can also be described as 'a rip off' meaning they are asking you to pay much more than it is worth.

To be in cahoots - to be working together, usually with a bad or untrustworthy goal, but it could also be used for friends organising a surprise party

To avoid something like the plague - to don't go near something, (also 'to give something a wide berth') to avoid it as much as you can.

Smoke and mirrors - illusion and subterfuge, what you see isn't really there, you can't trust what you see.

I mentioned Trump's recent issues with the value of his properties. If you scroll down on this article you can see what I mean. He vastly inflated (falsely increased) the value of his properties so that he could get more bank loans. One of the most ridiculous was Mar-a-Lago which had an actual value of $75 million but Trump increased it to $739 million!
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/trump-accused-of-lying-about-property-values-but-did-lies-hurt-everyday-new-yorkers/3875733/

Stretch the truth/bend the truth - similar to 'little white lie' this is when we take an element of truth and make it more than it is to hide something else or lie about something else.

You can't trust someone as far as you can throw them - a phrase to say when you can't trust someone at all

Take it with a pinch of salt - Don't believe what you hear, or understand that there isn't much truth in what they're telling you.

Full of hot air - they have nothing of value or truth to tell you. They might be really good at telling a story and sound very believable, but it's not the truth.

Additional Vocabulary

mate - a word for friend

dude - an American word for friend, usually male friends but can be applied casually to everyone sometimes

hint - a little piece of information that suggests something

super loaded - 'loaded' is slang for very rich, so if someone is 'super loaded' then they have lots and lots of money

subterfuge - an act of hiding something from someone

illusion - what you see is not the truth

an element of truth - phrase used to describe something that contains some, but not the whole of the truth

A compulsive liar - describe someone who can't help but lie. It is often used to describe people who are addicted to lying or have a tendency to lie more often than they tell the truth.

The butt of my podcast - this was a play on words. Usually we say someone is the 'butt of the joke', which means they are the target of the joke, we are joking about them. In this case it seemed like I mentioned Trump a lot in the podcast today, I wasn't intentionally targeting him, but it might have seemed that way.

You come across people - phrasal verb - if you 'come across' something then it means you find it by chance

I'm all ears - idiom - means 'I am listening' or 'I want to hear what you have to say' we often use this to tell someone they can start telling us about something, we are ready to hear.

Today we're talking about lying. There are lots of ways that we use lies in different societies. In the UK we often use lies as a way to be more polite. Today we'll look at idioms that describe lies or liars.

There is a whole playlist on the YouTube channel full of Idioms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsPIPxMZYqs&list=PL6eu7BlE1AJTNrEu-AXgB9fl1mVyz_z79

See you tomorrow!

Today's Idioms

A little white lie - this describes a lie that we think isn't bad or we might even think is good for someone. We often tell a little white lie if we think the information will make someone sad, angry or unhappy, instead we keep them in the dark. (In some parts of the world (not English speaking) this is called a pink lie)

Lying through your teeth - We describe someone as 'lying through their teeth' when we want to emphasise that they are definitely lying or that this is a big or obvious lie.

Pull the wool over your eyes - This is when we purposefully try to trick someone with our words, perhaps telling lies or hiding the truth or stretching the truth (we'll come to that tomorrow). We use it when we think someone is being fooled or when we want to describe how a bad person is fooling someone.

To take someone for a ride - this is very similar to the idiom above, it means someone is tricking you. Very often the goal is to take your money.

Additional Vocabulary

On the one hand...on the other - we use this phrase when we want to explain or talk through two different points of view or situations, we are usually comparing things.

crooks - bad people, perhaps stealing money or things, but just generally not trustworthy people

buying into it - phrasal verb - if you 'buy into something' then that means you trust and believe in it. If you say, 'I'm not buying it' or 'I'm not buying into it', then it means you do not trust what they're saying and you think they might be lying to you.

They're trying to get money out of you - 'get money out of you' we use this phrase to describe when someone is trying to make you give some of your money. It might be for a charity that we don't believe in or trust, or it might be someone trying to trick you out of your money. We can also use this to describe family members or friends who are always asking for money. 'Why are they calling?' 'They just want to get more money out of me.'

Today we're focusing on telling secrets. Some of these phrases can be used to ask someone not to tell a secret, or to describe someone who can't keep a secret. We'll also cover some business vocabulary we hear in relation to telling secrets.

This is the last episode for this week but I'll be back in Episode 77 talking about idioms about lying.

Today's Idioms

Spill the beans - as we mentioned yesterday, can be used to say 'don't tell the secret' or describe someone who often does tell the secret: 'he always spills the beans.' (Can be shortened to 'spill it!' when we demand someone to tell us a problem or secret.)

Whistleblower (whistle blew - I don't think the native English speakers of the world have decided if we even have a past tense of 'whistleblowing' yet! But we need it! I think 'whistleblew' is the most likely and grammatically it works) - A whistleblower is someone who chooses to reveal previously private or hidden information to the general public or wider organisation. The reason is usually because the information is important or harmful to people or the planet in some way. Often a lot of people have tried to keep these things a secret for a long time so whistleblowers tend to get into a lot of trouble for telling their secrets.

I got a bit confused in the video about two different people. Both of them are highly controversial and there are very mixed views about whether their actions (and they themselves) are good or bad. This is often the case with whistleblowers.

Edward Snowden was a computer analyst in the NSA (America's National Security Agency) he revealed the extent to which the American agency was spying on other countries and on their own people too. He has left America and got into a lot of trouble.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

Julian Assange is an Australian editor and activist who founded WikiLeaks, a website which collects and publicises highly secret information from around the world in an effort to keep the public more informed about the actions of companies and governments.

America has asked for Assange to be extradited so he can be charged for sharing secrets. He again, is a highly controversial person and the truth and lies that surround him are confusing and difficult to unpick.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/assange-supporters-form-human-chain-uk-parliament-2022-10-08/

Erin Brockovich is an American activist, legal clerk, consumer advocate and now runs her own research and consulting company. She was the focus of the Julia Roberts movie which told the story of her battle with a large American Gas and Electric company that was contaminating the water of a town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Brockovich

The movie is excellent and well worth watching, it shows the kind of America that we rarely see on TV and, of course, it's always good to see justice prevail!

Let the cat out of the bag - this is very similar to 'spill the beans' it means to tell a secret. We can ask someone 'don't let the cat out of the bag' to keep our secret or we can say someone 'always lets the cat out of the bag' to say they can't keep secrets.

Give the game away - this is similar to 'spill the beans' and 'let the cat out of the bag' we can also use it to say don't tell someone a secret or don't tell someone what we're doing.

bite your tongue/hold your tongue - these both mean 'stop talking'. They can be used to tell someone to 'be quiet' if you think they're going to tell a secret or if you're angry about what they are saying.

This week we're starting a 4-part series on related idioms. Today, keeping secrets. Tomorrow, telling secrets! 🙊 Then next week: lies and trustworthiness.

See you tomorrow!

Today's Idioms

Mum's the word - Can be used as a phrase after telling a secret to let someone know this is a secret and they shouldn't tell anyone.

My lips are sealed - Same as above. Can be used as a phrase to say I won't tell your secret or your secret is safe with me.

Open secret - used to describe a kind of secret. This means that although the people involved or the people in charge don't acknowledge something, everyone already knows about it. It is often used to describe office secrets that nobody can or will admit, but everyone is aware of.

To keep someone in the dark - This is about keeping information from someone on purpose. It might be because the information is dangerous or could hurt them, it might just be because we don't know how to tell them.

Spill the beans - to tell someone's secret. Often used to ask people to keep a secret ' don't spill the beans!' Or to agree not to tell a secret, 'don't worry, I won't spill the beans.' But can be used when someone does tell a secret, 'she always spills the beans!'

Additional Vocabulary

I would stick with that. - to continue with something or choose something

Your secret is safe with me. - a common phrase used just like 'my lips are sealed' to let someone know you will keep their secret.

Insider information - means someone has access to more information than everyone else. Is often used in business to talk about corporate espionage (secretly collecting and reporting information) or crimes within the finance sector where people know about mergers (for example) before they happen and so can make a lot of money.

Having an affair - a common phrase used to describe adultery (these days people don't have to be married for the phrase 'having an affair' to be used, they just need to be in an acknowledged relationship.)

Top secret - often seen on government documents to describe something that nobody should know. Can also be used just like 'my lips are sealed' to let someone know they shouldn't tell anyone. 'The party is tomorrow, don't forget, top secret! 🙊'

The word 'temper' is used in a lot of phrases but what actually is it?

'Temper' usually describes someone's anger level. For some people who are described as having a 'short temper' they tend to get angry easily and quickly.

There are a lot of different ways we use the word 'temper'. Let's talk about some of them today.

Have a great weekend!

Head to the Cambridge Dictionary website to find out the wide variety of ways this word can be used. Today we'll mostly be focusing on anger.

Lose your temper - when you become angry, start shouting or become violent we can say you have 'lost your temper'.

Have a temper - we sometimes say someone 'has a temper', this is describing something we think of as part of their personality, something we don't think they can change and it means they tend to get angry easily.

Watch/mind your temper - we might say this to someone when we want them to be careful or calm down. It suggests that we think they will get angry soon and we are asking them to be aware and calm down.

Control your temper - this is similar to 'watch your temper', however, where as the two options above suggest a warning, a time when we can see the potential for someone to get angry but they haven't got angry yet, 'control your temper' suggests they are already angry and we are asking them to reel it in (idiom - control yourself, calm down or stop doing what you're doing), we are telling them this is inappropriate and they need to stop.

They have a short/hot/real/violent temper - these are all words used to describe someone who tends to get angry quickly and often without warning.

His temper flared - often used in books to describe the inside feeling of someone who is getting angry, they may or may not act on this anger but this is letting us know something made them angry.

My temper is rising - this can be used as a warning to tell someone we are starting to feel angry and they should stop what they are doing.

She has a good/even temper - This is a much less common use of 'temper' but can be used to mean someone doesn't tend to get angry but instead tends to be calm most of the time. If we describe someone as 'even tempered' it's almost the opposite to someone described as 'having a temper'.

Temper, temper! - A phrase used, often with children, to tell someone to calm down or mind their temper. Once you hit teenage years this becomes a phrase that can really make you angry!😂

Additional Vocabulary

You're stepping on dangerous ground. - idiom - often used as a general warning phrase, meaning you're heading towards trouble or if you keep talking in this way there will be trouble.

Today we are talking about phrasal verbs that start with 'look'. There are a lot of them! So we're not covering all of them today.

Hopefully you have heard of many of these before and we're just reviewing or you're hopefully going to feel a bit more confident about using or understanding them.

https://7esl.com/phrasal-verbs-with-look/

https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/phrasal-verbs-look/

https://www.learn-english-today.com/phrasal-verbs/phrasal-verbs-LOOK.html

Episodes 72 also has vocabulary for looking at things.

Today's Vocabulary

Look through - to look through something like files or a book for something, however we can also look through binoculars, for example.

Look in - usually to look in a particular place for something

Look over - to check or review something

Look over there - to look in a particular direction

Look up - to find a word in the dictionary or to physically look up. Remember we can also physically look up.

Look up to - to see someone as a role model or someone you want to be like

Look for - to look around for something you have lost

Look at this - to look in a particular direction (usually close)

Look after - to take care of someone or something

Look back on - to remember something that happened in the past

Look down on - to disrespect someone

Additional Vocabulary

A fools errand - idiom - something that it's really silly to do or a waste of time

Role model - someone who provides a good example of who we want to be or what we want to be like

You could drive yourself mad - idiom - 'drive someone mad' means something that makes you feel angry, stressed out or frustrated