Apple pie has become a symbol of the United States. It even played a role in motivating men to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War II.

In this episode you discover how the phrase, "As American as Apple Pie" came to be so commonly used and the history of apples and apple pie in America.
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References:

"Why We Say “As American as Apple Pie”.
Link: https://www.bhg.com/holidays/july-4th/traditions/why-is-apple-pie-american/#:~:text=The%20phrase%20was%20first%20used,used%20for%20anything%20deemed%20patriotic.

"Apple Pie Is Not All That American". Link:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-apple-pie-linked-america-180963157/

"What's So American About Apple Pie?".
Link: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/cultural-traditions/as-american-as-apple-pie.htm

Don McLean singing "American Pie": Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRpiBpDy7MQ
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Host:

Stephen Carter. Website: https://StressReliefRadio.com. Email: [email protected].
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Technical information:

Recorded with Hindenburg Pro 2. Edits with Twisted Wave. Noise and reverb reduction with the application Hush. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro 2. Microphone: SE DynaCaster.
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Key words:

Johny Appleseed, apple seedlings,

In this episode you discover the original source and meaning for the phrase, "Wet Blanket".
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Sources:

- "Wet blanket". Grammerist website: Link: https://grammarist.com/idiom/wet-blanket/
- "Wet Blanket". Disappering Idioms website: Link: https://disappearingidioms.com/wet-blanket/
- "Wet Blanket" Phrase Finder Website: Link: https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/wet-blanket.html

Host:

Stephen Carter. Website: https://StressReliefRadio.com. Email: [email protected].
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Technical information:

Recorded and edits done with Audacity. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro. Microphone: EV RE320.

In this episode you discover the origen of the phrase, "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day". We trace the history of this frequently used metaphor that extends a thousand years back in time.
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Sources:

"The Origin of the Saying 'Rome Wasn't Built in a Day'": The "Culture Trip" website: Link: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/italy/articles/the-origin-of-the-saying-rome-wasnt-built-in-a-day/

"What's the meaning of the phrase 'Rome wasn't built in a day'?": Phrases.org. Link: https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rome-wasnt-built-in-a-day.html
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Host:

Stephen Carter; website: https://StressReliefRadio.com. Email: [email protected].
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Technical information:

Recorded with OcenAudio. Edits with OcenAudio and Twisted Wave. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro. Microphone: Shure SM58.
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In this episode you discover the true meaning and origin of the term "Gaslighting". You'll learn how gaslighting is used to manipulate others in ways that can destroy a victim's sense of mental and emotional wellbeing.
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Sources referenced in this episode:

Definition and origin: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaslighting

"What is Gaslighting - Medical News Today"; July 14, 2022; "Medical News Today": Link: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/gaslighting.

"Gaslighting"; "Britannica Online": Link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/gaslighting.

"Why Is Everyone Talking About 'Gaslighting'? Here's What It Means and How to Spot It"; "Real Simple Online": Link: https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/why-is-everyone-talking-about-gaslighting-heres-what-it-means-and-how-to-spot-it.

Stephen Carter; January 22, 2023. "5 Indicators Your Partner is Gaslighting You". Link: https://www.frea.support/post/5-indicators-your-partner-is-gaslighting-you.
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Host:

Stephen Carter. Website: https://StressReliefRadio.com. Email: [email protected].
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Technical information:

Recorded and first edits with Twisted Wave. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro.
Microphone: Shure SM58.
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Key words:

abuse, domestic abuse, psychological abuse, gaslighting, emotional abuse,

In this episode you'll discover:

- The origin of the saying, "You can't have your cake and eat it too".

- The original phrase and when that phrase changed to the one common today.

- How this phrase led to the identification and arrest of Ted Kaczynski, the infamous Unibomber who terrorized the world for nearly two decades.
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Sources:

"HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO"; "Today I found out" website: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/01/cake-eat/.

"The meaning and origin of the expression: You can't have your cake and eat it". Phrase Finder. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you-cant-have-your-cake-and-eat-it.html.
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Host:

Stephen Carter. Email: [email protected].
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Technical information:

Recorded in Hindenburg Pro with edits and rendering. Edits also with Audacity.

Microphone: EV RE320.
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Keywords:

Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, Thomas Howard Third Duke of Norfolk, Jonathan Swift,

In this episode you discover:

- The original meaning of "common sense" and how that meaning changed over time;

- The powerful impact of the "Common Sense" pamphlets on the American Revolution;

- The surprising home country of the "Common Sense" pamphlets author Thomas Paine;

- Opinions about how common "common sense" is; and,

- More interesting history tidbits related to the phrase "common sense".
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Host:

Stephen Carter. Email: [email protected].
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References:

Definition of "common sense" in Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/common%20sense.

"The meaning and origin of the expression: Common sense" in Phrase Finder. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/common-sense.html

Jim Taylor, Ph.D., "Common Sense Is Neither Common nor Sense" in "Psychology Today" online. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201107/common-sense-is-neither-common-nor-sense
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Technical information:

Recording and editing done with Hindenburg Pro.

Microphone: EV RE320
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Keywords:

Thomas Paine, American Revolution, England,

Discover the history and origin possibilities for the saying, "it's raining cats and dogs".

The saying extends back to the 17th Century and has enjoyed use in everyday conversations for centuries.
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Sources mentioned in the episode:

What is the meaning of "It's Raining Cats and Dogs"?: Phrases.org: https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/raining-cats-and-dogs.html
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What is the origin of the phrase "it's raining cats and dogs?". Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/meteorology-climatology/item/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-its-raining-cats-and-dogs/
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Comment in "The Guardian" newspaper online website by Huw Roberts, Caerdydd UK: "I don't know but the Welsh version, "Bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn", is equally bizzare - "Raining old ladies and sticks": https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-22408,00.html
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‘Raining fish’ that fell from sky in Texas were vomited by birds, researchers claim

"‘Raining fish’ that fell from sky in Texas were vomited by birds, researchers claim": https://ktla.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/nationworld/raining-fish-that-fell-from-sky-in-texas-were-vomited-by-birds-researchers-claim/
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Host information:

Stephen Carter. Website: https://StressReliefRadio.com. Email: [email protected].
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Technical information:

Recorded with Twisted Wave. Edits with Audancity. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro.

Microphone: BY
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Keywords:

word origin, phrase origin,
history of words, word history,

You've heard the phrase: Kangaroo Court. Discover it's real meaning and origin in this episode.
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Host:

Stephen Carter; https://www.StressReliefRadio.com | Email: [email protected]

Sources:

Definition from Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

Merriam-webster.com.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kangaroo%20court

"Harvard Law Review" article: https://harvardlawreview.org/2021/02/kangaroo-courts/

“Christian Science Monitor”:
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2019/1024/Kangaroo-court-has-a-peculiarly-American-past

History and derivation of Kangaroo Court from Phrases.org.uk: www.Phrases.org.UK
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/kangaroo-court.html
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Technical information:

Recorded with Amadeus Pro. Edits with Audacity. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro.

Microphone: Zoom ZDM-1.
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Key words:

justice, court, claim jumping, show trial,

By listening you discover how the sayings, "More fun than a barrel of monkeys" and - bonus - "Barrel of laughs" originated and changed over time.
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Timestamps:

00:00 - Episode topic;
00:20 - Show and host info;
00:57 - History of "More fun than a barrel of moneys";
07:32 - Origin and history for "Barrel of laughs";
10:01 - Listen and subscribe / follow;
10:20 - How to contact host Stephen Carter;
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Sources:

Dictionary.com for "More fun than a barrel of monkeys": https://www.dictionary.com/browse/more-fun-than-a-barrel-of-monkeys

Ask Uncle John Anything website: https://www.portablepress.com/blog/2014/12/more-fun-than-a-barrel-of-monkeys/

Historically Speaking: https://idiomation.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/more-fun-than-a-barrel-of-monkeys/

Barrel of Laughs at Phrase Finder: https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/barrel-of-laughs.html
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Host:

Stephen Carter | https://www.StressReliefRadio.com | Email: [email protected].
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Technical information:

Recorded and first edits with Audacity. Leveled with Levelator. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro.

Microphone: EV RE320
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Key words:

barrel, monkeys, laugh, laughs, fun,

In this episode you discover the origin and true original meaning of “Good enough for government work” You also learn how the meaning changed completely during ensuing years from it’s first use in the early 1900s.
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Host:

Stephen Carter. Email contact: [email protected].
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Sources:

From A History of the Canadian Parliament (the phrase's first appearance is in Parliamentary records on June 8th, 1906) and The Project of War: American Culture During World War 2.

Source: " https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/9lt9hi/good_enough_for_government_work_when_did_the/
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Origin of close-enough-for-government-work


- "Government work" is also a term for the manufacture of something on company time for personal use. For example, a custom trailer hitch made at a welding shop for the welder himself on the afternoon shift with no supervisors around is government work. Commonly heard in Ontario, Canada and northeast U.S.

From Wiktionary

- Originated in World War II. When something was "good enough for Government work" it meant it could pass the most rigorous of standards. Over the years it took on an ironic meaning that is now the primary sense, referring to poorly executed work.
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Good enough for government work and close enough for government work are both American idioms to describe something that is merely adequate, something that meets the bare minimum standards, something that is subpar. The expressions good enough for government work and close enough for government work have a surprising origin. Around the turn of the century, the terms were used to mean something of high quality or something that was the best of the best. This definition of good enough for government work and close enough for government work may have persisted through World War II, though some believe this is the time when the meaning of the expressions began to change. By the 1960s and 1970s, good enough for government work and close enough for government work came to mean the exact opposite of their original definitions.
Source:
https://grammarist.com/idiom/good-enough-for-government-work-and-close-enough-for-government-work/#more-34113
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Technical information:

Recorded and initial edits using Audacity. Additional edits with Twisted Wave. Leveling with Auphonic.

Microphone: EV RE320
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