Lexiconned

From cold feet to getting something off your chest, we use body-based idioms every day to express doubt, love, relief, embarrassment—and everything in between. In this episode of Lexiconned, TJ dives into 15 popular expressions rooted in the human body, tracing their histories from biblical texts to Broadway, battlefield slang to Shakespearean drama. It’s a linguistic anatomy lesson you’ll feel in your bones.

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 Have a favorite idiom that involves the body? Drop it in a review or hit us up @LexiconnedPodcast. 

 Episode Highlights

• 🦶 Why “cold feet” has military roots (and financial ones too)
• 🪥 The biblical mystery of “by the skin of your teeth”
• 🧼 Why elbow grease has outlasted every cleaning product
• 🕶️ Admiral Nelson and the birth of “turn a blind eye”
• 👏 The difference between lending a hand... and giving one

Sources :

• Oxford English Dictionary
• “The Etymologicon” by Mark Forsyth
• PhraseFinder.org
• Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary
• Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
• American Speech (1942 usage of “put your foot in your mouth”)
• The Southern Literary Messenger (1852 usage of “long in the tooth”)
• New York Times (1921 usage of “get under your skin”)
• King James Bible, Book of Job
• Andrew Marvell (1672 use of “elbow grease”)
• Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary (1816)

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What do silver spoons, cash cows, and red ink have in common? In this Lexiconned episode, host TJ explores the surprising origins and cultural reach of financial expressions we use every day. It’s a lighthearted linguistic audit of how money makes us talk.

[Sources]

• Oxford English Dictionary
• Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang
• "Word Origins...And How We Know Them" by Anatoly Liberman
• Financial Times archive (Black Friday history)
• PhraseFinder.org
• Boston Consulting Group White Papers

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In this episode of Lexiconned, host TJ Martin takes us on a tour of everyday trouble, decoding ten expressions born from secrecy, stress, and slip-ups. From medieval market scams to nautical metaphors, learn how we dress up life’s chaos in vivid, memorable turns of phrase. 

Explore the expressions: Caught Red Handed, Bite the Bullet, Kick the Bucket, Skeletons in the Closet, Let the Cat out of the Bag, Under the Weather, Hit the Fan, and more. 

Sources:

• Oxford English Dictionary
• EtymOnline.com
• Grose’s Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785)
• WorldWideWords.org
• Kipling, Rudyard. The Light That Failed (1891)
• Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1819)
• Quarles, Francis. Emblemes (1635)

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Episode Description
Why do we say "by and large" when we mean "generally"? And how did a dozen turn into thirteen? In this Lexiconned episode, TJ explores curious expressions tied to measurement: "Give an Inch (Take a Mile)," "By and Large," "A Baker's Dozen," "In Spades," "A Hair's Breadth," "To the Nines," and "Second to None." It's a journey through nautical navigation, medieval law, card games, and poetic numerology.

Sources

• Heywood, John. A Dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Proverbes in the Englishe Tongue. 1546.
• Smith, John. A Sea Grammar. 1627.
• Nashe, Thomas. Lenten Stuff. 1599.
• The New Republic, 1929 issue (earliest metaphorical use of “in spades”).
• Hamilton, William. Epistle to Ramsay. 1719.
• Burgoyne, John. Personal correspondence, 1789.
• Various medieval tailoring and engineering manuscripts referencing “a hair’s breadth.”

#podcast #wordnerds #languagelovers #idioms #expressions

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Truth.
 It built our loyalties.  It fueled revolutions.  It shaped law, journalism, art—and everything we trust (or don’t).

In this special Foundations episode of Lexiconned, we explore the complex roots of one of humanity’s most powerful—and most contested—words.

From ancient oaths to Enlightenment science to today’s digital battlegrounds, truth has been worshiped, weaponized, and worn thin.

Where did it come from?  How has it evolved?
 And what does it still demand from us today?

Sources

• Oxford English Dictionary – Entries for truth, troth, trēowþ
• Online Etymology Dictionary – Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European roots (treuwaz, deru-)
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – Oaths and early law
• Magna Carta (1215) – Foundational texts and historical translations
• Novum Organum by Francis Bacon (1620) – Foundations of modern scientific truth
• Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton (1687) – Scientific objectivity
• 1984 by George Orwell (1949) – Political manipulation of truth
• King Lear by William Shakespeare – Truth in tragedy
• Emily Dickinson, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant” (published 1890)
• Comparative linguistics resources for aletheia (Greek), Wahrheit (German), shinjitsu (Japanese), and vérité (French)

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What does justice really mean? In this powerful long-form episode, TJ breaks down the word that lives at the heart of courtrooms, protests, and moral debates around the world. From Hammurabi to hip-hop, Supreme Court rulings to superhero stories, we trace justice’s tangled roots through language, law, and culture—and ask whether it can ever truly live up to its name.

Links to Supreme Court Cases Referenced:
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Korematsu v. the United States
Buck v. Bell

Sources

• Oxford English Dictionary – "justice," "just"
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• The Code of Hammurabi, translation archives
• Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
• U.S. Supreme Court rulings: Dobbs v. Jackson, Students for Fair Admissions
• United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Orlando Patterson, Freedom and Slavery and Social Death
• Legal linguistics and comparative law journals
• Translations and cultural references from Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Zulu, Mandarin

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For the month of May we are kicking off a series, I’m calling foundations. This is the first episode in that mini-series.

Freedom is one of the most powerful—and most misunderstood—words in the English language. In this extended deep-dive, TJ traces the word from its ancient Proto-Indo-European roots to its modern cultural clashes. Along the way, we examine what freedom meant to medieval peasants, Civil War soldiers, civil rights activists, post-9/11 veterans, and protestors across the globe. This isn’t just about politics—it’s about language, identity, and the stories we tell when we say we’re free.

This episode is dedicated to all those who have stood up, spoken out, and sacrificed for freedom.

Sources

• Oxford English Dictionary, "freedom," "free"
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Declaration of Independence, U.S. Archives
• The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream," 1963
• FDR's Four Freedoms Speech, 1941
• Arabic chant translations from the Arab Spring
• Scholarly work: Orlando Patterson, Freedom in the Making of Western Culture
• John Lewis interviews and writings
• Jon Meacham, The Soul of America
• Various translations from native speakers & linguistic databases

Music Credit Courtesy of Alegend from https://pixabay.com/users/jeremusic70-25199461/

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How Horse Racing Shaped the Way We Speak
Dark horse. Down to the wire. Photo finish.
These aren’t just racing terms—they’re the language of life, competition, and culture.

In this special Lexiconned bonus episode, TJ heads to the track—linguistically speaking—to explore 12 iconic phrases that began at the races but ended up everywhere else.

From political campaigns to product launches, these metaphors shape how we think about odds, momentum, and last-minute victories.

And with the Kentucky Derby as our backdrop, this is one episode that truly goes the distance.

Don't forget to check out the podcast Short Pour

Sources

• Disraeli, Benjamin. The Young Duke (1831) – First use of “dark horse”
• Library of Congress – U.S. Presidential Election Archives
• Oxford English Dictionary – Entries for “neck and neck,” “long shot,” “front-runner,” “post time,” “photo finish,” etc.
• New York Clipper (1850s–1870s) – Early racing journalism
• Chicago Daily Tribune (1890s) – “Down to the wire” in print
• Harper’s Weekly (1858) – “Homestretch” usage in racing
• New York Times Archives (1896) – “Also-ran” in sports coverage
• Louisville Courier-Journal (1925) – Bill Corum coins “Run for the Roses”
• Racing Post (2020) – “Camera Ready: The History of the Photo Finish”
• National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame – Historical records
• Merriam-Webster – First recorded uses of key phrases
• Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1905) – “Off to the races” early figurative use
• Congressional Records (1916) – “In the homestretch” political usage
• Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Archives – “Win, Place, Show” history

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In this episode, TJ dives into the frustrating and humorously ironic history of "red tape." From King Charles V’s attempts at administrative modernization to modern-day governmental battles against paperwork, discover why bureaucracy never seems to die. Prepare yourself for a journey through layers of officialdom and comedic despair—welcome to the tangled world of red tape!

Don't forget to check out the podcast Short Pour

#bureucracysucks

Sources:

• "Red Tape: Its Origins, Uses, and Abuses," Thomas Carlyle, historical writings.
• "The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable," edited by Elizabeth Knowles, Oxford University Press.
• Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 19th edition, edited by Susie Dent, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd.
• “The True History of Bureaucracy,” by John Merriman, Yale University Press.
• "Origins of English Words and Phrases," by Robert Hendrickson, Facts on File Inc.
• US National Archives, pieces of history article
   https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2021/10/21/holding-it-together-from-red-tape-to-grommets/#:~:text=While%20red%20tape%20is%20used,154%20miles%20of%20red%20tape.

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Ever wondered why we divide our time into a seven-day cycle? Why is Sunday the “sun” day, and Wednesday such a spelling nightmare? In this episode of Lexiconned, TJ takes you through the history, mythology, and linguistic evolution of our week’s daily roll call—from celestial bodies to Norse gods, and a bit of Roman imperial influence. Learn how these seven words structure our lives and why we’re still stuck with them after thousands of years.

Sources:

1. Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary
2. Oxford English Dictionary
3. Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
4. Crystal, David. The Stories of English
5. Lindow, John. Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs

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Share your suggestion for words or phrases, thoughts on the episodes, or just engage with us on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lexiconnedpodcast/