Something Rhymes with Purple

We can hear the bells today, Purple People! Here in the UK, we have hit wedding season so Susie and Gyles have decided to provide you with some charming titbits to entertain those table guests you’ll be next to on the big day. The time for firkytoodling is done so, get out your best tux (or morning suit as Gyles will passionately advocate), find your finest corsage and we hope you remembered to RSVP because the ushers will be showing you to your seat shortly. Susie will walk us - not down...

Bears, Bulls! High, Low! Buy, Sell! And welcome, Purple People, to another episode. This week we’re scaling the wall of Wall Street and trekking the Square Mile of The City as we climb the ladder of high finance! Who knew that the world of bankers and brokers was so full of broken benches, brutish beasts and and bad behaviour. Are you a stag? Have you seen a dead cat bounce? Are you standing on a block of wood or hiding amongst the hedges? Susie makes a death pledge while trying on a vest,...

Happy Tuesday Purple People, how do we find you? Listening in the bath? Camped out under the stars? Out for your daily stroll? If it’s the latter- well how serendipitous! As this episode we are taking a look at nation’s favourite pastime. Whether you’re a walker, a hiker or a orienteer there will be something in this episode for you. Susie strides ahead, boldly marches and struts her stuff through the linguistic latitude and longitude of all the walking words you can think of. She also...

Well it’s a new week Purple People, and we’re coming to you from a very rainy July in England. Despite the grey and shortening days (thanks for the reminder Gyles), we’re bringing you a seed of summer with a lovely chat about flowers. Susie reminds us of one of our favourite, most misleadingly named flowers - the Jerusalem Artichoke (do check out our other episode on Flowers called Edelweiss), explains why Poppies are poopy and an excellent symbol of the circle of life, and why orchids are a...

Purple People hello and welcome to this week’s episode! If you’re feeling a bit powfagged never fear, we’ll be guiding you through King of the Dad Joke, the “highest form of literature”… yes, we are of course talking about Puns! Yes puns, or paronomasia if you’re being a real word nerd (which we always are). From our favourite famous punster William Shakespeare, to punny kebab shops (Abrakebabra, Jason Donervan) Gyles and Susie will be having a look at why we love them. Elsewhere we get...

We have a very intense episode for you this week… Or rather we should say in-tents, because this week we are fixing the guy ropes and battening down the hatches as we Carry On with Camping! Whether you’re a camping champion, prefer glamping with champagne or love to cook yourself a mushroom omelette over your fire pit, we’ve got all you outdoorsy-types covered. Elsewhere Susie explains why you might find mosquitoes in your canapés and Gyles fills his noggin with knowledge of various noggins....

Hello to our poor, powfagged Purple People! Aren’t we tired this week? Whether you’re sitting in digs having just dashed off staged or weary after a hard day at your sexy occupation, we are here for you! And this week we'll be guiding you through the entertaining and esoteric world of… video games! Are you a fan of Space Wars circa 1977, or are you a 7th generation lemming? Are you a speed bump or a snowflake? Are you dying to know what, according to gamers, is the difference between a cow...

Good day Purple People, we hope you’re all enjoying some summer sun and using your umbrellas the old fashioned way as we dive, this week, into the weird and wonderfully wordy world of James Joyce! Whether you’ve read Ulysses, are feeling particularly uxorious or are listening while peloothered, we’re here to ringroundabout you with joy. Gyles tells Susie how the sausage got made, Susie explains why a hobbledehoy is adorable, while showing our Purple People how impossible it is to not...

The purple postman has arrived ready for a full episode of your correspondence. Today we’ll delve into the tweets, letters and emails from you all to discover what ‘clockwise’ was before the invention of clocks, the turbulent tale of the word ‘manufactory’ and Gyles shares many an anecdote of a younger Gyles using the pen to woo admirers. Susie's Trio: Begrumpled - left a bit displeased or affronted Capadocious - splendid or excellent, Devon or Yorkshire Strolloping - an old Lancashire word...

Today we are getting all in a tangle (and we will be entertaining the 8 legged type that has fittingly titled today’s episode) as we dive into the devilish world of plurals in the English language. We will watch our one foot transform into two feet, see a solitary goose find some friends and become geese, and find out why a mouse does not multiply into meese. Susie is on hand to steer us through this confusing, complex and sometimes plain incorrect history that will take us from the Germans,...

It’s all aboard the HMS Purple this week as Admirals Dent and Brandreth navigate their way through the linguistic flotsam and jetsam of the Royal Navy. With a good wind behind them they sail through the official ranks before unpicking the complex slang used above and below deck. And there’s time for a quick word with the Sky Boatswain before sitting down to a delicious helping of ‘Adam and Eve on a raft’. We hope you like the cut of their jib! As always we get through as many of your...

Pay little heed to the title Purple People, this is still your weekly words and language podcast, Something Rhymes with Purple and not an Only Fool and Horses parody podcast but it does introduce us nicely to the subject of today’s episode: catchphrases! Ever wondered how something becomes a catchphrase? How catchphrases differ from a slogan or a quote? If you can even trademark a catchphrase? Then do listen on dear Purple People because in this episode Susie will take us back to the days of...

This week we’re peeking behind the magician’s cloth to trick you into a world of tricks, rigs, and prestidigitation. With characteristic sleight-of-hand our mesmerising hosts saw in half the language of magicians, Gyles shares some jaw-dropping tales from being up close with TV magicians, and Susie recounts a tale of when Countdown’s Nick Hewer was scammed on the street. Warning: this episode does contain some minor spoilers of how well-known tricks are performed. Please don’t tell the Magic...

Today is an episode for the bookworms (and we are assuming that that will be many of you, Purple People) as Susie and Gyles will be delving into the world of books. Come (digitally) leaf through the chapter of this volume of the Purple anthology to hear what chapters and cabbages have in common, why our index finger pointed out the perfect name for the index page and why having the book thrown at you, meant you were off to prison for a very long time. Susie will share how her love of reading...

This week we’ve donned our lycra, packed our panniers and we’re free-wheeling through the language of cycling. Whilst whizzing on two wheels (Susie) or three (Gyles) we’re ditching the granny gears and aiming for the maillot jaune as we bring you up to speed on everything from Boneshakers and Penny Farthings to bonks, breeks, and RLJs, whilst hopefully avoiding an an endo. As always there are plenty of questions from the wonderful Purple People to answer, Gyles has a delightfully witty poem,...

Hello Purple People! Our fabulous new range of merchandise is now live at https://kontraband.shop/collections/something-rhymes-with-purple There are brand new mugs, bags, and t-shirts for you, each with a favourite Something Rhymes With Purple word and definition on them. PLUS for this first week we are giving you 10% off all items if you use the code purple2021. So whether you’re buying a treat for yourself or a gift for a Purple loved one then now is the time to do it. Learn more about...

Welcome to this week’s tissue meeting where we’re doing our finest Mad Men impressions to get you subliminally hooked on the words we have to offer. From ‘5 o’clock shadow’ to ‘va va voom’ we’ve put a ‘tiger in our tank’ to discover the language that advertising has gifted to us in this episode which ‘does exactly what is says on the tin’. Simples. After discussing the most memorable advertising taglines, Susie gets into the technical language of adverts and slogans, and Gyles reveals his...

It’s our 2nd birthday here on Purple so the perfect opportunity to remind ourselves of what a brilliant year we’ve had - despite the obvious challenges and difficult global situation. This time last year we reverted to recording remotely but, if anything, this added to the intimate feel of the episodes and provided us with a weekly half-hour of stillness within an otherwise chaotic world. Within these clips of the best bits of the last year we set sail across the world’s oceans, take a walk...

Show notes: Hello Purple People, Word Nerds and to all of you who joined us live last Thursday but are loyally listening again! In this, our 104th Episode, we are LIVE on our two year anniversary and what better way to celebrate than with all of you, watching and listening from all over the planet! Susie is cat-bombed, Gyles’ jumpers are extraordinary and a mystery man makes an appearance… You won’t be bored of the board game chat, Susie impresses with her poker face and a rather witty...

Happy Tuesday Purple People and welcome to what is literally our best ever, extra special, supersized edition of the show! This week Gyles and Susie will be exploring the humongous world of hyperbole. They're stars, legends and heroes- but don't tell them I said so... Whether you're feeling rather mediocre or you're half way up a mountain, join us as we attempt to hop off the euphemism treadmill and prove that it's actually quite nice to be quite nice! Elsewhere Susie explains the dangers of...