It’s teatime for Kyle and Emily! But today they’ve decided to ditch the modern day kettle and instead do things the old fashioned way, as they explore the history of the samovar. Kyle teaches Emily about an ingenious device for boiling water--one which has been well used by Russian tea lovers for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Our hosts disc…

Get ready for some spooky scary skeleton action, because this week Emily and Kyle have a bone to pick with the word charnel. Our hosts discuss why the average grave in a Medieval graveyard might not be as old as you’d assume, and explore what happens when a church has more skulls and bones than they know what to do with. Kyle might be shocked and a…

Kyle and Emily get grave this week, discussing what might become of them after they have shuffled off this mortal coil, and digging into the history of the word mortsafe. This Victorian invention has our hosts asking a delightfully macabre question: Do we need to keep the living safe from the dead… or the dead safe from the living? Turns out Mary S…

This week, Emily and Kyle are joined by Amy Vorpahl, a Dungeons and Dragons pro you might recognize from Critical Role, D20, and the recently released Goblin Mode! Amy and Kyle are guided by their DM Emily on an adventure into the magical world of thaumaturgy. Thaumaturgy might be familiar to the DnD players out there, but the history of the thauma…

There’s something in the air this week on Butter No Parsnips… and it just might be toxic. Kyle and Emily strap on their beaked masks and dive into the history of the word miasma. The roots of the word lie not just in a literal cloud of vapor, but also in the noxious atmosphere of shame and moral pollution. It turns out that even the most famous phy…

Emily and Kyle discuss the quality of what, this, that, and the other thing as they explore the confusing but useful word, quiddity. Our hosts dive into the nitty gritties of metaphysics philosophy from both Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe. Reality starts to unravel as Kyle and Emily talk about the works of Aristotle, the essence of an individua…

Kyle and Emily take a ride to the Aegean Sea and Ancient Greece, exploring the divine and danger-filled history of the word aegis. Our hosts run through a number of uses for this word, encompassing not just a literal shield but figurative protection, guidance, support, and endorsement. Aegis may have come from some strange cross-section of goats an…

This episode goes out to anyone who’s calling out from work when they weren’t quite as sick as they implied, as this week Emily and Kyle chat all about the word malinger. Emily starts by diving into this word’s French roots, which once described actual sickly people–and even, perhaps, the MOST sickly person. But this word came to be more associated…

Ever wondered if your name could influence your destiny? Kyle and Emily have, and this deep question brings them to the hilarious world of aptronyms. In this episode, our hosts explore the inception of the aptronym and delve into the theory's deeper implications, touching on ideas from Carl Jung's Synchronicity, to concepts like nominative determin…

This week, Emily and Kyle thoroughly roast each other. But don’t worry; it’s all in good fun. And it’s the perfect segue to chatting about the Aussie and Kiwi slang word, borak! Our hosts look at some of the many Aboriginal languages of Australia, most notably one from the Melbourne area called Wadawurrung. They talk about the impact that coloniali…

Our apologies on the lack of video this week, we made a mistake during recording and forgot to record video! Kyle and Emily address a question that has haunted romantic partners for years--but this divisive worm conversation leads them to a much more fruitful discussion on the word fissiparous. Lovers of zoology, biology, and even microbiology, thi…

Our apologies on the lack of video this week, we made a mistake during recording and forgot to record video! Emily and Kyle square up for an Alexander Hamilton style duel, but trade their pistols for fencing swords as they discuss the meaning and origin of the word spadassinicide. Our hosts begin by diving into the word spadassin, its history in Fr…

Watch out, because this week Kyle and Emily are flying the not-so-friendly skies! They explore WW2 history, RAF slang, and the versatile meanings of the word prang. Kyle gives everyone a refresher on WWII, and the airborne showdown between UK’s Royal Air Force and Germany’s Air Force, the Luftwaffe. With the threat of an airplane crash ever looming…

Emily and Kyle talk about the etiquette of entertaining, the traditions of travel, and the xenophilic history of xenial. You might recognize this word from the FENIX Trophy acronym or from the city of Xenia, Ohio. But, in fact, xenial goes all the way back to Ancient Greece! Emily and Kyle learn about, how to be the best host and guest, the precise…

On the hunt for some fun facts to bring to the office? Search no more, because this week, Kyle and Emily bring you the longest non-technical word you’ll find in a dictionary: floccinaucinihilipilification. Our hosts begin by exploring a few fancy British boarding schools and their history. They talk about the life of an average schoolboy of Eton Co…

Emily and Kyle are joined by science communicator, worm-enthusiast, and SciShow Tangents co-host Ceri Riley. Together they look at the science of randomness, as they explore the tricky yet versatile word stochastic. The trio looks at this word’s older uses in Greek and Latin, particularly by a few well-known mathematicians bearing the name Bernoull…

It’s the 100th episode of Butter No Parsnips and what better way to celebrate than poring over the sacred Lexiconicon while Seth has his back turned. And that’s just what Emily and Kyle did when, in the middle of their secretive studies, they found the notably numerable word ‘centiloquium.’ In order to get his ancient text back, Seth must first lea…

CORRECTION: Alex was mistaken when telling the story about Ruben Gotay. While still a true story, he was actually explaining Jordany Valdespin's career. Kyle and Emily are joined by Alex Corigliano, co-host of the podcast dedicated to the New York Mets, the Mets Legends Cast. Emily takes everyone out to the ball game to chat about the meaning and o…

Emily and Kyle go back to school and chat with author, purveyor of grammar and writing tips, and host of the Grammar Bee at your next corporate event, Ellen Jovin! Jovin talks about her passion for language–going all the way back to sentence diagramming in her school days, and continuing into co-founding a company teaching courses in writing and sp…

Kyle and Emily jump from modern song writing to classical composing, as they explore the distinctly musical word appoggiatura. They talk about appoggiatura’s roots in Italian and beyond. Its meaning was originally related to ‘support,’ but the word later came to be associated with embellishments in classical music. Kyle tells Emily about the techni…

What might Eloise Bridgerton and Eloise at the Plaza have in common? Aside from a name, Emily and Kyle learn that both can be described by this week’s word, hoyden! Our hosts discuss the many theories surrounding this word: a Dutch origin, a connection to pagan heathens and unkempt heaths, and even a religious connotation. Emily talks about the his…

This week, our hosts chat about families of all kinds--biological and marital, real and mythical, loving and… strained, as they explore the history of the word privign. Kyle reveals some little-known Latin words that came before modern words like “stepson” and “stepdaughter.” He talks about how these step- words became common, and what a “stepmom” …

This week, Emily stumps Kyle with a word whose spelling and pronunciation defy all expectations… umquhile. Emily reveals umquhile’s many definitions, including everything from “late” to “sometimes” to “eventually.” She keeps Kyle in suspense about the word’s spelling for a while, starting with a dive into the um- prefix and its use in British mytho…

Kyle and Emily trek around the world, and through the wetlands, as they wade into the history of the word vlei. Our hosts begin with this word’s journey through valleys in the Netherlands and swamps in South Africa. They talk about some of the impacts of Dutch colonialism, and the formation of the South African language Afrikaans. Kyle spins beauti…

Emily takes Kyle from the ocean to the sky this week with the seafaring (and spacefaring) word dunsel. With three potential etymologies, the duo takes a brief stay in a Dutch origin before expanding ever outward to those glorious and historical ships of yore, paintings of which have left viewers with eternal questions such as, “What do all those sa…

Kyle grabs the doorknob with his tongue this week to let Emily into the world of the word fomite. And if you’re still around after reading that sentence, then you’ll have no fear of what follows as Kyle decides to plunge us all head first into the subject of disease transmission. Not before, of course, introducing us to that household name Girolamo…

Kyle and Emily are taken on another journey through some misused and abused punctuation—this time with a particularly Y2K bent. They sit down with the founder of the “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks Bethany Keeley-Jonker to discuss blogging, the internet of the aughts, and quotation marks used for emphasis(?) From the quilt of niche blogs st…

Emily calls out to Kyle like a songbird this week to introduce him to the amply avian word roup. Soaring through the word’s Scottish and English uses, Emily shows Kyle the “roups”. From those simple nothing phrases upon which we force alliteration to roup’s somewhat mysterious origins, Kyle discovers just what kind of grave difference the definite …

This week, Kyle and Emily sit down with renowned psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason to talk about wugs, wuggies, zibmen, and what they mean for child psychology. They discuss the Wug Test, and what it can tell us about how a child, toddler, or even baby progresses in language development. They talk about what this test has meant for early childhood …

Emily and Kyle answer the biggest questions of the cosmos, as they discuss the meaning and origin of the word ylem. Our hosts talk about how this word relates to matter and the elements, both in the works of Aristotle and other ancient thinkers, and in the Periodic Table. They chat about some quirks of grammar and pronunciation, but then they dig i…

Pack your bags and grab some snacks, because this week Kyle and Emily are going on a literal road trip through the meaning and origin of the word macadam. This eponym leads our hosts back to the life of one John McAdam, a man involved with Long Island history, the American Revolution, the Scottish highway system, and most of all civil engineering. …

Looking for some gift ideas to say thank you to your delivery person? You’re in luck, cause this week Emily and Kyle are discussing the meaning and origin of the word cumshaw. Our hosts spend some time getting to know Hokkien, a Chinese language variety from the area around Xiamen. They chat about what makes this variety different from others like …

In this episode, Kyle and Emily discuss the meaning and origin of the word jactitation. No cap. …Okay, maybe a little cap. They talk about the roots of this word, how it evolved from meanings like throw or scatter, to meanings like boast or brag. And this leads them to a fascinating dive into the history of the letter J, and its relation to the let…

Gather ‘round y’all, because this week Kyle and Emily are chatting with Bob McCalden, Chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society. Our hosts talk with McCalden about how to write with this oft-misused piece of punctuation correctly. They discuss the apostrophe in possessives and contractions, as well as some more elusive cases of English grammar.…

Take a trip through the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of censorship, as Emily and Kyle discuss the meaning and origin of the word bowdlerize. They begin by talking about the family name from which this word derives. That takes them on a deep dive into a time which was very concerned with being family-friendly. Our hosts talk about the Regency a…

Take a load off and put your cares aside, because today Kyle and Emily are talking about the meaning and origin of the word cark. Our hosts dig into some etymology and talk about cark’s roots in French, Latin, and more. They talk about the many meanings and pronunciations this little word has traveled through, varying from physical weight or labor …

Poetry lovers are either gonna love or hate this one, because Seth takes Kyle and Emily on a journey through the meaning and origin of the word flarf. Our hosts travel back to the early 00s internet, and see the emergence of a rather avant garde form of poetry. They read a poem or two from this new genre, talk about how Google plays into their crea…

This week, Emily and Kyle discuss the meaning and origin of the word accismus. They’re too polite to say it themselves, but really they’d love for you to listen. Our hosts dive into the Ancient Greek arts of speech and rhetoric. They look at the origin of irony, and a classic comedic scene between Hercules and one of the Greek gods. And they look a…

Get ready for a sinfully good episode that is sure to get you out of a bad mood, because Kyle and Emily are discussing the meaning and origin of the word peccant. They talk about this word’s first appearances in texts from Ancient Greece. They explore its meanings from wicked to corrupt to unhealthy, as well as its connection to another modern word…

We hope you’re ready to start the revolution, because Emily and Kyle are talking about the meaning and origin of the word agitprop. Our hosts explore the role agitation and propaganda played in Russia during the rise of communism. They trace the paths of these words through Latin, English, and Russian, then explore the ways the Soviet Union propaga…

Get ready for some hot goss’ and buxom gals, because this week Kyle and Emily are discussing the meaning and origin of the word zaftig. The hosts delve into the history of Jewish immigrants and their languages in New York City and beyond. They look at some Yiddish words which have made their way into English, and they trace how zaftig evolved from …

This one goes out to all the IT guys, all the nerd dads, and anyone else who likes to hack, cause today Emily and Kyle are talking about the meaning and origin of the tech word mung. Our hosts skim through a bit of Old English, and the many connections mung has to other modern words. But then they quickly get down to what this episode is all about:…

This week, the sun, moon, and planet earth all come into conjunction as Kyle and Emily talk about the meaning and origin of the word syzygy. This word lies where stars and planets align, thus it delves our hosts into some fascinating astronomy. They chat about the movements of celestial bodies, what causes an eclipse or a full moon, and exactly how…

Emily and Kyle take a break from Duolingo to talk about language learning with an expert on the subject: polyglot, journalist, and author of language books Babel and Lingo, Gaston Dorren. Our hosts chat with their multilingual guest about his linguistic travels from his native Limburgish and Dutch, to other European languages, and beyond. Dorren ta…

Kyle and Emily take a cup o’ kindness for the sake of auld lang syne, and talk all about Hogmanay, i.e. New Year’s in Scotland. Turns out the Scottish new year looks considerably different than what Kyle and Emily are used to. They take a look at midnight visitors and gifts, a pagan tradition from the Scottish highlands, why the town of Stonehaven …

It’s that time of year again, and Seth, Kyle, and Emily are celebrating the merriest of holidays. Is it Christmas, you ask? No, of course not! It’s Chump!! Chump is a beautiful holiday, in which we indulge in some linguistic nostalgia and some delightful wordplay. But of course the most important Chump tradition is party games! After all, what holi…

This week, Kyle and Emily leave their manners a little on the left hand as they’re joined by the author of Green’s Dictionary of Slang and foremost slang lexicographer Jonathon Green. Our hosts get at the heart of what it takes to compile such an impressive collection of slang words. They delight in Green’s exaltation of the Captain of slang himsel…

This week, Kyle and Emily peek over the fence to get a glimpse at both the neighbor’s yard and the meaning and origin of the word stickybeak. This delightful portmanteau prompts us to stick our nose into some Australian rhyming slang, sniff around at some 20th century poetry, and even peep into Holinshed’s Chronicles. But this nosy word also made o…

This week, Emily and Kyle open the Sunday newspaper, turn to the funnies page, and read all about the meaning and origin of the word grawlix. They talk about how this cartoon cursing word was coined by the cartoonist behind Beetle Bailey, who quite literally wrote the book on cartoon art. But these swearing scribbles have been in comics a lot longe…

Better brush up on your manners, because this week Kyle and Emily are talking about the meaning and origin of the word punctilio. The pair discuss Latin origins, petty details, and all things strict and proper as they explore this word’s history. Digging into its usage over time, they unearth stories about 16th century satire, the Italian book of e…