Something Rhymes with Purple

By Somethin' Else / Sony Music Entertainment

Arts Education Comedy

What's Something Rhymes with Purple about?

Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth invite you to enhance your vocabulary, uncover the hidden origins of language and share their love of words in this award-winning podcast.

We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us here: [email protected]

Want more Purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or by heading to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms for ad-free listening, and not 1 but 2 episodes of the show every week.

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A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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4.9

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LAST EPISODE

Walloping

03.21.2023

In today’s ‘mane’ episode, there’s no horsing around as we take gallop through the etymological equine world. Susie explains what the name Duncan and donkeys might have in common, why we might have ‘walloped’ instead of ‘galloped’, how ponies are ...

Something Rhymes with Purple episodes:

03.21.2023 Walloping In today’s ‘mane’ episode, there’s no horsing around as we take gallop through the etymological equine world. Susie explains what the name Duncan and donkeys might have in common, why we might have ‘walloped’ instead of ‘galloped’, how ponies are ...
03.14.2023 Toni Morrison Today we are celebrating Women’s History Month and looking at the pioneering writer, Toni Morrison. From her poem, ‘Someone leans near’ to her debut novel, ‘The Bluest Eye’, Susie and Gyles delve into the books, poetry, and legacy of the ...
03.07.2023 Monopoly Today’s show was recorded live at the Fortune Theatre in London. Gyles’ title of European Monopoly Champion comes into play (literally) today as he - alongside Susie Dent - take us on an etymological tour of the world of Property. ...
02.28.2023 The Purple Post Bag The Purple postman has been and Gyles and Susie are eagerly digging into all the letters that we’ve had from the Purple People from all around the world! Come discover why you are reduced to nothing in an annihilation, what ...
02.21.2023 Frasier It’s the final stop on our North American road trip and we have reached the city of technology, coffee and Frasier; it’s Seattle! Susie and Gyles will take us on our final etymological tour in this series where we will ...
02.14.2023 Erumpent Love is in the air(waves) as Susie and Gyles get to the heart of the many different types of love in their special Valentine’s day episode on Something Rhymes with Purple. Susie and Gyles will explore what the cabbage has ...
02.07.2023 Undercrackers We are diving beneath the surface today as we undress all the words related to your Undergarments at our live show at the Fortune Theatre. Come learn how your undergarments are linked to garnish, why the bra used to be ...
01.31.2023 200 Today! We have reached 200! That’s 200 episodes of Something Rhymes with Purple consisting of topics such as Drinking, Theatre, Death, Hair, Biscuits, School, Sex, Board Games, Fish, Cricket, Water Vessels.. The list is 200 items long! To celebrate our 200th ...
01.24.2023 San Fran’s Disco We are on the 4th leg of our North America road trip where we are visiting Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Susie and Gyles will take us to the meadows of Las Vegas and the snowy capped mountains ...
01.17.2023 Thimble Discover how Tailors and Tagliatelle pasta are connected, why a large nail gave its name to the technique of ‘tacking’ and the treacherous origin story of the sewing machine. It’s going to be a Singer of an episode today as ...
01.16.2023 Introducing... Please Tell Me A Story As a lover of words, we know you’ll be a lover of this comedy podcast all about story telling… Omid tells his story to Abi. Abi tells Omid’s story to Sean, then Sean to Kai, Kai to Sikisa and Sikisa ...
01.10.2023 Chandelier Susie and Gyles are guiding us out of etymological darkness as they the light way to better understanding the world of light! We’ll have many light bulb moments as we discover how extortion and contortion are twisted into the intriguing ...
01.03.2023 Elementary It’s a smokin’ hot episode today people as we delve into the world of Smoking. We’ll run into Colombos, Hamlet and Charles Dickens as we uncover why we have pipe dreams, why stogie cigars are linked to wagons, how pipes ...
12.27.2022 Spatchcock Recorded live at the Fortune Theatre on Sunday 20th November 2022. Tis’ that peculiar time between Christmas and New Year when we might find ourselves overindulging and spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Therefore, Susie and Gyles are ...
12.20.2022 Ambassador Satch Come discover what the $10 note might have to do with Dixieland, why the city of Orleans was ‘made new’ and what ‘Mile High Ice Cream Pie’ is as we arrive at the city of New Orleans for our 3rd ...
12.13.2022 Lanolin It’s a knit and natter kind of episode today Purple People, as we unravel the words and phrases that are woven throughout the world of knitting. We’ll unstitch the mystery of what frogs have to do with knitting mistakes, how ...
12.06.2022 Rex It’s the real deal today Purple People as we enter the palace courtesy of Tour Guide Gyles for a Royal episode. Come discover why Sovereign is ‘super’, how the King was a family man, why real tennis isn’t royal at ...
11.29.2022 Xocolatl It’s a chock-a-block episode today as we dive into the chocolate box to discover how our favourite fillings got their names. We’ll hear the ‘sweet’ story that gave us the Praline, what a horse's lower jaw and Ganache have in ...
11.22.2022 AMERIGO Come discover which Italian explorer gave his name to the continent of America, why Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love and why you “Take the T” when in Boston as we travel down the East Coast of America. Susie ...
11.15.2022 Etiquette Discover what your hands have to do with manners, how the typesetters minded their p’s and q’s, why Gyles wasn’t allowed to issue the Royal Pardon and why some greetings comes at face value. Today, Susie and Gyles will be ...
11.08.2022 Mortarboard Recorded live at the Oxford Playhouse on Sunday 9th October 2021. Gyles and Susie explore the wordy world of Universities as they return to their University home of Oxford. Come discover what seminars have in common with semen, how gold ...
11.01.2022 Introducing… Three Little Words Hello Purple People! If you’re enjoying Something Rhymes With Purple, you’ll love Three Little Words. Each week, John Bishop and Tony Pitts invite guests to chat about three words that mean something to them and the one they would gladly ...
11.01.2022 Poltergeist It’s a spooky one for you Purple People as we transcend to the world of the supernatural for an etymological seance with ghosts and poltergeists. Discover what blazing fires and the ethereal have in common, why we climb to 7th ...
10.25.2022 Jujube This is one for your sweet tooth (or is it sweet teeth?!) because we are heading to the pick’n’mix store for some sweet talk from Susie and Gyles. We’ll discover the link between bread and pastilles, what gyles’ favourite word ...
10.18.2022 Mounties Time to don your toque and get cozy in your bunnyhug Purple People because today we are beginning our North American tour and our first destination is Canada, Ey! We’ll warm up with a steaming bowl of Poutine followed by ...
10.11.2022 Emovere Hello Purple People, have you ever found yourself experiencing a particular feeling or emotion and wondering, ‘there must be a word for that’? Well luckily for us, so has our very own Susie Dent! From the way to describe those ...
10.04.2022 Tintinnabulation Welcome back to Something Rhymes with Purple for our first show in our Autumn tour! Recorded live at the Fortune Theatre in London, Susie and Gyles arrived with bells and whistles on for an etymological exploration into the world of ...
09.27.2022 Dragoon Don your armour and grab your steed, Purple people because today we are galloping onto the battle field to uncover the etymological treasures of Weaponry. From biting bullets to smoking guns, Susie will guide us through the link between rainbows ...
09.22.2022 An update from the Purple Plus Club… You heard it here first - we’re expanding our horizons here on Something Rhymes with Purple and welcome you to join us for not just 1, but 2 episodes every week. If you’re an Apple Purple Person, tap the banner ...
09.20.2022 Cobbler It’s time to take a trip to the bakery Purple People where we will run into Lords and Ladies, horses and testicles as we explore the shelves of bread. Come discover why the upper crust really is better, what bread ...
09.13.2022 Water Vessels We’ve spoken before about Susie’s, often fancy, water glasses that she sips on throughout the recordings… so this week we are pouring our thoughts into the vessels that we use to hold our drinks and have done for many centuries. ...
09.06.2022 Gymnasium We’re always impressed with how Gyles manages to hot foot around the country with such speed, what is his fitness regime? So, it is back to the gymnasium this week, fully clothed this time, to discuss the many different forms ...
08.30.2022 Barocco Building on our recent fascination with cathedrals, this week we cast our architectural net a bit wider by taking a look at the other wonderful structures we walk past every day. Eavesdrop on us as we delve beneath the facade ...
08.23.2022 kê-tsiap What’s small and red and speaks with a husky voice? A hoarse radish! (groan!) And Purple People, that’s what we have on the table for you today. We are exploring the condiments box so pull up a chair and get ...
08.16.2022 Titamatorta Susie and Gyles are going hammer and tongs at the English language today as they deconstruct the world of DIY… Come learn why the vice isn’t as vicious as it may seem, what the saxons and the saw have in ...
08.09.2022 Ultracrepidarian Put your best foot forward and join us as we march through the sole-ful language of shoes. There’s no loafing around as we find out what links your pumps to ocean liners, the beach snacks that lend their name to ...
08.02.2022 Feles Psssss psssss... Over here Purple People! It’s your weekly dose of the English language where Susie and Gyles let the cat out the bag about all those word myths you’ve always wondered about! And speaking about cats, today’s episode will ...
07.26.2022 Cackletub Recorded on the hottest day of the year where better to seek some solace than within the cool walls of a cathedral? Take a seat as we take in the nautical origins of the nave, the link between the spire ...
07.19.2022 Chiaroscuro July is the 125th anniversary of The Tate Britain, one of the UK’s most established art galleries, so today on the podcast we are going to be dedicating an episode to Art and specifically, painting . We’ll discover what the ...
07.12.2022 Googly We’re stepping up to the crease this week as we test our knowledge of the rich, and sometimes baffling, language of cricket. We discover the agricultural origins behind some of the terms, we find out the difference between the different ...
07.05.2022 Vespa We’re brushing off our entomological skills once again as we revisit the world of creepy crawlies. Find out why ants in your pants is a bad thing but the ant’s pants is quite good. We also swap nostalgic stories of ...
06.28.2022 Tantalus Today’s episode is fabulous in the most literal of senses as Susie and Gyles are looking into fables and specifically the works of one of the most famous writers; Aesop. In a slow and steady manner, we will learn about ...
06.21.2022 Swazzle This week we’re embracing nostalgia and throwing open our trunks to skip through the wonderful world of toys. Along the way we discover the real Teddy behind the bear, where the word Muppet comes from, and why it’s not necessarily ...
06.14.2022 Phloem Here in the UK, we’re striding into summer - we’ve just celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee where people were quaffing Pimm’s at street parties up and down the country and with Wimbledon just around the corner, an episode on Summer ...
06.07.2022 Electrick We’re full of energy this week as we fuel up on petrol (or should that be gas?) and blaze through the language associated with power and resources. Pop a few coins in the meter and join us as we discover ...
05.31.2022 Chenille We are morphing from etymologists into entomologists today as we put the world of insects and other creepy crawlies under the microscope. We will find out why bees really are the busiest especially when it comes to the English language ...
05.24.2022 Furlong Hands and feet at the ready Purple People, today we are looking at the world of measurements. We’ll find out how Oxens’ shaped our measurement system, why you would have a different weight village to village and how a stick ...
05.17.2022 The Purple People Eater A highly enjoyable sift through the mountain of emails you’ve sent in over the last few weeks with some absolutely corking questions to answer. In this week’s footage we lurch from poaching to doughnuts (or should that be donuts?), we ...
05.10.2022 Ichthyologist You are in for a whale of a time today Purple People as we are jumping into the deep blue sea and meeting the fishes. We will discover why Halibut are holy, what Cod and weak beer have in common ...
05.03.2022 Best of SRWP Vol. 3 Celebrating three years of Something Rhymes With Purple here are our favourite moments from the past 12 months on the pod. Join us as we remind ourselves of the fascinating etymological tales behind words like ‘naff’ and ‘tuxedo’, we relive ...

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