iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

313: No More Mr. Nice Guy Was Perry Como the original Mr. Nice Guy? How does he relate to an infamous gossip columnist’s Hitler joke? In this bonus, Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield explain. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast #nomoremrnieguy

132

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

312: Nice Guys Finish Last What do a cement mixer and a 1948 Cosmopolitan article have to do with the phrase "nice guys finish last"? In a bonus segment, Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield explain. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

020

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

311: Happily Ever Arter In a bonus segment for all listeners, John McWhorter talks about a word from Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim pronounces "after" as "arter". Where did that come from? 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

020

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

310: Grand Am John McWhorter shares exciting new findings in his years-long study of on the use of “you am” and “we am” in native English—outside of minstrelsy. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

120

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

309: Haut Corn! John McWhorter asks: What did Black New Yorkers sound like in the 1800s? Find out in this first of a two-part episode. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #johnmcwhorter #podcast

020

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

308: A Quick Buck A buck is a male deer. Or a dollar bill. Or a strapping lad. Or a poker term. Are they related? Bob Garfield passes the buck to Mike Vuolo to find out. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

030

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Bonus: Nice Work If You Can Get It The Gershwin brothers wrote their hit song “Nice Work If You Can Get It” for a 1930’s musical. Did they coin the term? 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

030

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

307: Nice of You to Join Us What does Jane Austen have in common with George Carlin? Biting commentary on “nice”! Find someplace nice and quiet for Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo on a not entirely pleasant word. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast

131

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

306: The Dating Game, Great White Edition Which came first, the Great White Shark or the Great White Way? Play along with Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo to guess the order three phrases were born. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast #thedatinggame

030

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

305: The Original Maverick Legend has it that Samuel Maverick was a 19th-century rancher who refused to brand his cattle—was he? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo explore in this newly unlocked bonus episode. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

141

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

47: Get One’s Goat When did we start getting each other's goats? And why goats? In this episode from the archives, linguist @BenZimmer.bsky.social joins Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield to investigate a caprine phrase. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast

031

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Plus: Lexicon Valley interviews linguistic pioneer (and cyber security expert) @cristin.bsky.social Cristin Flynn Goodwin! 🐐

010

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

304: The G.O.A.T. Kids these days are goated. How did that happen? As Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo explain, an aggrandizing acronym seeded in the 1960s was born decades later. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

120

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

280: The Amazing Great Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the soaring hyperbole of self-evaluation in this fan favorite from our archives. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

031

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

303: The Ethereal Omelet On the elusive meaning of ethereal. Bob and Mike with a double dose of beautiful words—like the pleasant-sounding “mellifluous,” which means pleasant-sounding! @poetrysociety.org 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast

121

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

302: The Most Beautiful Word Poetry Society @poetrysociety.org members have chosen the most beautiful word in the English language. Any guesses? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss wordly beauty—and a favorite poem. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast

031

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Bonus: Stuff and Nonsense Paranoid about your paraphernalia? You’re in the right place. Listeners asked about the origin of two more “para” words; Mike Vuolo has answers. 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

020

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

301: The Dating Game, Paranormal Edition Which came first, "paramilitary" or "paranormal"? Join Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo to guess the chronological order of three “para” words. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast #thedatinggame #paranormal

031

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

300: Parasocial Climbing Are you in a parasocial relationship? In the age of AI, perhaps we all are. Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield trace the rise of “para” words from parasocial to parachute and paragraph. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

031

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Bonus: Bet! John McWhorter stakes a wager on the word “bet”. 🔑Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

030

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

299: The Lowdown on Lowkey John McWhorter on the hidden logic of "lowkey." Plus, where did all those terms of venery originate—like a flamboyance of flamingos, a murder of crows and a parliament of owls? 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

020

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

298: The Dating Game, Perfect Edition Which came first, the "perfect crime" or the "perfect storm"? Play along and guess the chronological order: perfect crime, perfect fit, perfect storm and perfect stranger. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast

040

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

297: A Perfect Episode "Perfect!" is everywhere. Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo examine the evolution and ubiquity of a flawless word. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

120

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Bonus: To Catch a Swindler Persistent and mercurial, “swindle” made its way into English twice. Mike Vuolo on its dizzy, giddy, possibly antisemitic history. 🔑Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

010

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

296: I’ve Been Hornswoggled! In our first Mailbag feature, Steven in Australia asks, “When did people start getting hornswoggled? Is it painful?” Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo have answers. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

011

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Bonus: Flipping the Bird What do geese and the British theater have to do with an angry driver’s go-to insult? 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

010

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

295: Loose as a Goose Is there anything particularly loose about a goose — or does that idiom exist only because it rhymes? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo investigate the origins of an anserine expression. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

000

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Bonus: Whys and Wherefores “Why did you do it?” John McWhorter on the many ways that English-speakers ask ‘Why?’ 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

000

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

294: The Sound of a Car Backshifting John McWhorter on language change — from the meaning of wit to the pronunciation of automobile. Plus, a defense of redundancy! 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

011

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Bonus: Going Dutch Does that other definition of ‘Dutch oven’ belong in the dictionary? We ask @stefanfatsis.bsky.social. Plus: In coining 'Dutch bargain,' someone had it in for the Dutch. 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast

031

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

293: How Do Words Get into the Dictionary? @stefanfatsis.bsky.social, author of ‘Unabridged,' shares with Bob Garfield a little-known, rigorous process — that has no guarantee of success. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast @groveatlantic.bsky.social

072

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

292: Look It Up! The Story of the Dictionary ‘Unabridged’ author @StefanFatsis.bsky.social and Bob Garfield on lexicography and the heiress with history’s best collection of dictionaries. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast @groveatlantic.bsky.social

011

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

291: Open Season for Racists Like 'analog watch' and 'snail mail,' 'openly racist' is a retronym — John McWhorter and Mike Vuolo explain. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

120

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Bonus: Sleeping with the Fishes A mobster sleeps with the fishes. Does the phrase predate The Godfather? Could Homer hold a clue? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo angle for answers. 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast

120

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

290: Playing the Angles From St. John the Apostle to Miller’s Crossing grifter Bernie Bernbaum—and from fishing to geometry—Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield cast about for the origin of ‘angle.’ 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast #angle #angler

021

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

289: You Get the Gist During an appearance on The Gist with Mike Pesca, hosts Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discussed the curious backstory of, you guessed it, the word gist. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast #onlanguage #gist @milkepescs.bsky.social

032

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Bonus: What Is a Blazer? Derek Guy (@dieworkwear.bsky.social) on the blazer, associated with prep schools and date nights. Where does the term originate? 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast #derekguy #onlanguage #blazer #bonus

010

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

288: Derek Guy on the Language of Clothing The vocabulary of outerwear and dress as a form of social language with the menswear historian behind @dieworkwear.bsky.social. 🎧Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast #onlanguage #derekguy #dieworkwearg

000

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Bonus: Why We Don't Say "the" Ukraine John McWhorter on why, and a Slavic language few have heard of. Plus: what do you call two Slovenian blacksmiths? (It’s not Lovro and Oskar.) 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #podcast

020

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

287: McWhorter vs. McWhorter The world was shocked by a controversial article published by "John McWhorter." Here, he sets the record straight. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast #johnmcwhorter

240

Reposted by Lexicon Valley

ishmael278.bsky.social @ishmael278.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Thanks for another very entertaining and informative episode. Ad salute tuam bibo.

021

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

286: A Toast to Toast From a medieval recipe for Glazed Sops to the Ghostbusters franchise, Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo raise a glass to the unlikely journey of the word toast. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #toast #nye #happynewyear #happy2026 #podcast

151

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

285: All the Rage Bait Oxford English Dictionary editor Fiona McPherson talks to host Mike Vuolo about the terms that caught her attention this year. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #oed #woty #ragebait #aura #aurafarming #biohack #onlanguage #podcast

141

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Bonus: From Onism to Perdickety John Koenig weighs in on a few of Mike Vuolo's obscure sorrows — what are yours? 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast #onism #perdickety #neologism #obscuresorrows

031

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

284: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Author John Koenig talks about inventing words for those subtle emotions that hitherto had no name. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #anemoia #obscuresorrows #dictionaryofobscuresorrows #onlanguage #podcast

021

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

6 7: Everything You Don't Know About the Word of the Year Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield join and The Gist’s Mike Pesca @milkepescs.bsky.social to talk #67 —from rapper Skrilla to the basketball court to #wordoftheyear. 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #podcast #lexiconvalley

032

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Bonus: The Original Maverick The story of the word maverick has many versions. This one is true. 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast #maverick

021

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

283: Gobbledygook Explained Gobbledygook sounds like one of those words that somebody just made up — so is it? 🎧 Listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #gobbledygook #gobble #onlanguage #podcast

132

Lexicon Valley @lexiconvalley.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Bonus: The Fuss Over Nonplussed Are you nonplussed over the misuse of nonplussed? You're not the only one. 🔑 Unlock bonus episodes to listen: lexiconvalley.supportingcast.fm/listen/lexic... #lexiconvalley #onlanguage #podcast #nonplussed

031