Episodes

  • What does 'espionage' actually mean? | SECRETS & SPIES

    What does 'espionage' actually mean? | SECRETS & SPIES
    Jan 21 2026

    Rob and Jess are going deep undercover to unearth the origins of words from the word of espionage.
    🕵️‍♀️ What's the difference between a SPY, and ASSET, and an AGENT?
    🔍 What does ESPIONAGE literally mean?
    🇬🇧 Was there ever an MI4 as well MI5 and MI6?
    These questions answered – and many more – in a supremely secretive episode of Words Unravelled.

    🎥 Dr Geoff Lindsey's COVERT vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHRN6GlNOs

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    42 mins
  • What did the first internet troll write? | TECH WORDS

    What did the first internet troll write? | TECH WORDS
    Jan 14 2026

    Rob and Jess are talking tech! In this episode, they explore the linguistic origins of terms from technology, Sci-fi and the internet.
    🧌 Who was the first internet troll?
    🤖 What does 'robot' literally mean?
    🔫 Does Jedi actually mean something?
    ⌨️ Are we pronouncing 'meme' correctly?
    These questions answered, and a whole lot more, in an extra nerdy episode of Words Unravelled.

    🚨ROBWORDS LIVE🚨
    Ticket: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-theatre/events/2026/apr/evening-etymology-rob-words

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    🎥 WATCH THIS EPISODE: https://youtu.be/vrZwAuQ6X0c
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    48 mins
  • What is the 'Nocebo Effect'? | MEDICAL TERMS EXPLAINED

    What is the 'Nocebo Effect'? | MEDICAL TERMS EXPLAINED
    Jan 7 2026

    Rob and Jess are taking a surgical look at words from the world of medicine.
    💊 What is the Nocebo Effect?
    🩺 Are doctors named after leeches (or the other way round)?
    🚑 What does "ambulance" literally mean?
    These questions answered, and many more, in another wordy nerdy episode of Words Unravelled.

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    👀 WATCH THIS EPISODE: https://youtu.be/KVFMuOBPjNs
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    47 mins
  • What does 'chupacabra' literally mean? | CRYPTIDS & MYTHICAL BEASTS

    What does 'chupacabra' literally mean? | CRYPTIDS & MYTHICAL BEASTS
    Dec 17 2025
    Jess and Rob are exploring the etymological origins of mythical beasts and cryptids.
    🐺 What does "Chupacabra" mean?
    🦑 Why are we getting the name "Kraken" wrong?
    🐉 What animal was the original "dragon"?
    These questions answered – and many more besides – in another Words Unravelled.

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    👀 WATCH THIS EPISODE: https://youtu.be/hcVF8b2w6n4
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    46 mins
  • Why do we say 'bury the hatchet'? | SAYINGS EXPLAINED

    Why do we say 'bury the hatchet'? | SAYINGS EXPLAINED
    Dec 10 2025
    In this episode, Rob and Jess explore the stories behind a host of common sayings.

    🪓 Does anyone actually 'bury the hatchet'?
    😈 Was there ever a 'devil's advocate'?
    🔫 What is a 'son of a gun'?
    🪶 Why would you have a 'feather in your cap'?

    These questions answered – and many more – in another idioms episode of Words Unravelled.

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    WATCH THIS EPISODE: https://youtu.be/d2q4bBjWmtI
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    43 mins
  • Vulgar language and criminal slang

    Vulgar language and criminal slang
    Dec 3 2025
    This episode of Words Unravelled is not for the easily offended, as Rob and Jess explore dictionaries dedicated to underground slang.

    Focusing first on Francis Grose's 'Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue', our hosts pick out some of the rudest, meanest and funniest words recorded in 18th century London.

    They also discuss other attempts to document the everyday talk of the criminal classes, and take a special look at London's 20th century 'gay language', Polari.

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    42 mins
  • Is English a Germanic language?

    Is English a Germanic language?
    Nov 26 2025
    It's sometimes said that English has taken on so many Latin and French words that it is now a Romance language. Rob and Jess believe this is false, and in this episode they explain why.

    Join them as they explain just how similar English is to its siblings Dutch and German and its cousins Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. Learn about the many words borrowed from other Germanic languages. And discover why English has Germanic DNA.

    Enjoy another wordy, nerdy episode of Words Unravelled.

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    47 mins
  • Getting quizzed on the quirks of English (with Joshua Blackburn)

    Getting quizzed on the quirks of English (with Joshua Blackburn)
    Nov 19 2025
    What is the Baader-Meinhof effect? How many quotes are wrongly attributed to Churchill? What's Jess's funniest linguistics joke?

    These questions answered, and many more, in a special episode of Words Unravelled featuring League of the Lexicon founder Joshua Blackburn.

    You can find out more about his board game and accompanying book, The Language-Lover's Lexipedia, here: https://www.leagueofthelexicon.com/

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    WATCH THIS EPISODE: https://youtu.be/TFMaxYzWvJc
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    40 mins