Welcome back, one last time, to Bunny Trails! This week Shauna and Dan explore an appropriate phrase in an effort to End on a High Note. Bonus: Cloris Leachman, Heavy Sneezes, and the Picnic in Your Freezer. www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/07/epis...

Episode 325: End on a High Note

End on a High Note means to end in a good or positive way. It has also meant ending at the peak of a sequence or highest intensity. Bunny Trails Pod

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It's our penultimate episode! This week Shauna and Dan go Beyond the Pale. Bonus: Music Festivals, Acme Products, and Kegerators. Also, what speed do you listen to audiobooks? www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/07/epis...

Episode 324: Beyond the Pale

Beyond the Pale describes behavior that is outside the bounds of allowable action, or "over the line". Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the time-honored tradition of Counting Sheep. Bonus: Mindfulness, Sleeping Raw, and What Makes a Musical. It's Sheepnanigans all the way down! www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/06/epis...

Episode 323: Counting Sheep

Counting Sheep is a method for falling asleep where you count imaginary sheep jumping over an obstacle. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan find out why they call it the Quick and the Dead. Bonus: Religious Creeds, Highlander the TV show, and Podcasting Word of Mouth. Also - There is an important announcement in the middle of the show! www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/06/epis...

Episode 322: Quick and the Dead

The old phrase "quick and the dead" is simply using an older word that meant "living", so it means the "living and the dead". Bunny Trails Podcast

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RETRO: This week Shauna and Dan learn why we call those pesky emails spam messages. Bonus: The first spam messages (way older that you might think) and why Hormel's canned meat is called SPAM. Originally Aired December 27, 2023 www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/06/retr...

RETRO Episode 218: Spam Messages

Spam is a message you get - usually by email - that you didn't ask for. Usually mass sent to multiple people. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Cut and Dried". Bonus: Dan Sings Alt Rock, Tobacco use in the United Kingdom (1586 - 1660), and a Podcast Music Legend www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/05/epis...

Episode 321: Cut and Dried

Cut and Dried means something is straightforward. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan ignore the fluff and "cut to the chase". Bonus: BLUF, Photo Albums, and light pop-dance-funk-jazz sounds www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/05/epis...

Episode 320: Cut to the Chase

Cut to the chase means the speaker wants you to get to the point of your story or comment. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan turn a blind eye to the problems of the world. Bonus: Gaslighting Leaders (1810s), Unpopular Tariffs (1890s), and USA's Concentration Camps (1940s). Wowsers is it a fun one this week! www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/05/epis...

Episode 319: Turn a Blind Eye

To turn a blind eye means to ignore or pretend not to notice a situation. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Belly Up". Bonus: Fish, Bars, and Backwards Belly Flops www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/05/epis...

Episode 318: Belly Up

Going 'belly up' means something has failed, usually financially. Can also mean death (literal usage for fish). Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Line in the Sand". Bonus: Moral Dubiosity, Spanish Conquistadors, and Remembering the Alamo www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/04/epis...

Episode 317: Line in the Sand

A line in the sand is a literal or figurative boundary that one should not cross. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan tune into that radio phrase, Roger That. Bonus: Jolly Roger; Victor, Clarence, and Roger; and (in Dan's best droid voice) Roger Roger www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/04/epis...

Episode 316: Roger That

To say "Roger" or "Roger That" means you have received and understand the message that has just been delivered. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase Goody Two Shoes. Bonus: Nepotism, Romance Tropes, and RPG Maker-style horror genre video games www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/04/epis...

Episode 315: Goody Two Shoes

A goody two shoes is someone who always does the "right" thing. Usually meant as an insult. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan explore, "Any Port in a Storm". Bonus: A coat for your coat, Safe spaces in space, and Not-happy-little-horror Trees www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/04/epis...

Episode 314: Any Port in a Storm

Any port in a storm means any refuge or comfort from a difficult situation would be welcome. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, Pass the Buck. Bonus: Presidential Slogans, Murderous Masonic Convocations, and Mark Twain's Miner Mumbo vs Preacher Patois www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/04/epis...

Episode 313: Pass the Buck

To Pass the Buck means to push responsibility to another. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "put a sock in it". Bonus: 90s Action-comedies, Choose Your Own Adventure media, and if the Chief is inclined to jib, tell him to put a sock in it! www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/03/epis...

Episode 312: Put a Sock in It

Put a sock in it means "be quiet". It is cheeky among friends but rude among strangers. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "A Watched Pot Never Boils". Bonus: Nom de plumes, neurodivergent characters from the 1870s, and time being all wimbly wombly www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/03/epis...

Episode 311: A Watched Pot Never Boils

A Watched Pot Never Boils means: The more impatiently you look forward to something, the longer it seems to take Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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RETRO Episode: This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Beware the Ides of March" Which begs the question... what are Ides? Should we beware the Ides of other months? Bonus: Calends, Nones, and Caesars www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/03/retr...

RETRO Episode 102: Beware the Ides of March (2026 Edition)

Beware the Ides of March is used as a warning of something to come. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase "Spoonful of Sugar". Bonus: Magical Nannies, Toy Story Fairies, and how the polio vaccine gave us a wonderful song www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/03/epis...

Episode 310: Spoonful of Sugar

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down means something pleasant can help make a difficult situation easier. Bunny Trails: A Word History Pod

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Kick the Bucket". Bonus: Jack & Jill, General Patton, and Dan's favorite terms for dying. CW: This episode contains irreverent talk about death. Please skip if that isn't for you right now. www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/02/epis...

Episode 309: Kick the Bucket

Kick the bucket means to die. But it's not a bucket like a pail that holds water! Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore what it means to be "in the limelight". Bonus: Chemical Reactions, Chess Masters, and Cerebral 70's Lyrics www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/02/epis...

Episode 308: In the Limelight

Being in the limelight means you are getting public attention and interest. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "Tickle Your Fancy". Bonus: Robin Hood, Puritans, Lucille Ball on Broadway, and the answer to the age-old question... has this phrase always been a double entendre? www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/02/epis...

Episode 307: Tickle Your Fancy

If something tickles your fancy, it means it appeals to you. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan go AWOL. Bonus: Initialisms vs Acronyms, AWOL vs Desertion, and Co-workers vs the Team Lead www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/02/epis...

Episode 306: Going AWOL

If someone has gone AWOL, it means they are not where are supposed to be and no one knows where they are. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase "rest on your laurels". Or since the late 1700s, DO NOT rest on your laurels. Bonus: Greek Gods, Roman Funerals, and Swedish Doctors www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/01/epis...

Episode 305: Rest on Your Laurels

To rest on your laurels means to rely on past success and not take action for future success. Often negative. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Quick Quips: Shauna and Dan introduce the Quick Quips format which will be used when a phrase doesn't fit into the regular format. This week, Living the Dream! Bonus: Irony in the 1950s, Irony in the 1990s, and Irony in the 2020s. www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/01/epis...

Episode 304: Living the Dream (Quick Quips)

Living the Dream means to achieve the way of life that one has longed for. Often used sarcastically. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan make every possible effort to explain Pull Out All the Stops. Bonus: Australian Football, Coughing instead of clapping, and playing the pipe organ while Rome burns www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/01/epis...

Episode 303: Pull Out All the Stops

To pull out all the stops means to make every effort possible to achieve an outcome. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Welcome to Season 9. It seems improbable that you have been joining us for 8 years and over 300 episodes, but here you are! Thanks for being a part of the Bunny Trails community. We'll talk to you next week for Season 9 of Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast! www.bunnytrailspod.com/2026/01/seas...

Season 9 Trailer

Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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Happy New Year!!! RETRO: This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase, "At a Crossroads", which has a strong association with blues legend Robert Johnson. Bonus: Search engine optimization in the 1700s and cool pet names. Also, how do you pronounce gnocchi? www.bunnytrailspod.com/2025/12/retr...

RETRO Episode 187: At a Crossroads

To be at a crossroads means to face a decision that will have a major impact and, once made, cannot be changed. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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RETRO: Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! Shauna and Dan deep dive into the holiday phrase, Christmas Spirit. The feeling, not the ghosts. Bonus: Curmudgeonly old men, spirits pitching the Christmas spirit, and the great bagel vs donut debate. www.bunnytrailspod.com/2025/12/retr...

RETRO Episode 258: Christmas Spirit

Christmas Spirit is the general "good vibes" of positivity and happiness that happens around Christmas time. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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This week Shauna and Dan explore the history of the snowball effect. Bonus: Snowpersons, Science Fiction Matriarchs, and Snake Oil Sales Folk. Double Bonus: Air travel tips! www.bunnytrailspod.com/2025/12/retr...

RETRO Episode 216: Snowball Effect

The snowball effect is when something gets bigger or more urgent as it progresses at an ever increasing rate. Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast

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RETRO: Shauna & Dan are joined by 'Words Christmas Gave Us' author Grace Tierney @wordfoolery.bsky.social to talk Christmas, Boxing Day (St. Stephens Day if you are in Ireland), and fun holiday traditions. Happy holidays from all of us at Bunny Trails! www.bunnytrailspod.com/2025/12/retr...

RETRO Episode 259: Words Christmas Gave Us with Grace Tierney

Words Christmas Gave Us by Grace Tierney is available everywhere you get books! She is at wordfoolery.wordpress.com Bunny Trails: A Word History Pod

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