Join Kyle and Emily as they take a tour of Roma (Italy AND Texas), discover the real reason marble statues are missing their noses, and visit the tragic resting place of one of Shakespeare’s most tragic families.

On this special episode of Butter No Parsnips, Kyle and Emily speak to author of the book Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids and word wizard Jess Zafarris (@uselessetymology) about just a few of the most illicit of her many etymological adventures.

This week, Emily attempts to describe the nuances of Martian culture, reveals the unexpected link between beat literature, I.T. magazines, and Forbes articles, and tests Kyle’s knowledge of science fiction. You grok?

Sweet dreams are made of words! Kyle and Emily learn way too much about architecture (it’s all about the cupulas), get personal with Mr. and Madame So-and-So, and realize modern art might all lead back to two Swiss-Austrian artists.

This word might be familiar to some (or it might not…), but it prompts Emily and Kyle to discuss the formation of hybrid languages, the presence of indigenous terms in Seattle slang, and Mark Twain’s travels and tribulations in the tropics.

Seth opens up the Lexiconicon once more, but this time in a jolly way, as he takes Emily and Kyle on a journey through the strange, French, and enviably productive world of Oulipo. And all to serve an incredibly contrived and festive end no less!

Kyle and Emily are no fools in this episode, in which they discuss a play about an old lady with poor decision making skills, the 3 oldest Stooges, Tom, Dick, and Dan, and the life of one of America’s underrated and overlooked authors.

Strap in, sports fans, because Emily and Kyle are talking about the crazy scoring of American football, the constant evolution of modern language, and the creative word-smithery of Lewis Carroll.

Take a taste of the high life as Kyle and Emily weasel their way into the upper class intrigue of the 19th century, meet the first muppet president of Iceland, and play a long game of telephone – er, letters, we guess.

Think you know this word already? Take another squint at it, as Emily tells Kyle about some protrusive parish architecture, a comparably cushy form of seclusion, and a seriously saucy group of nuns.

In this episode Kyle “dazzles” Emily with an ancient and magical word, alerts the world to the existence of the “werely porpapyne”, and we learn that “smaradge” isn’t just from a The Princess Bride bit.

This week Emily and Kyle answer such beastly questions as: What does it mean to have a parrot on your coat of arms? Who gets to be the Popinjay King? and What are the best (and worst) animal sounds?

Emily discovers the variety of meanings a three-letter word can contain, everything’s snappy and, just, “Blix”, you know, and Clapham and Dwyer take us back to the era of Gugnuncs with their classic vaudeville routine.

On this terrifying episode of Butter No Parsnips, your hosts Kyle Imperatore and Emily Moyers are joined by the spirit of ⁠Seth Gliksman⁠ as he cracks open the sacred Lexiconicon to peer deep into the weird word world. Through divination and conjuration and prestidigitation, Seth shares the hidden mysteries of anagrams gone by before the Lexiconicon beckons him back to the realm whence he came.

In our first ever guest episode, Kyle and Emily are joined by fellow word enthusiast Jackie to discuss Spanish rascals, a beloved Australian children’s book, and a questionable career move for several actors.

Tantivy, soho! Saddle up and ride tantivy with yokels Kyle and Emily as they discover the Lexicon Balatronicum, flashback to slander the likeness of an old friend, and sing their little hearts out (if you don’t leave this one humming, you’ve got no groove).

Kyle might find it hard to believe that this word has multiple meanings--but Emily reveals how “quincunx” relates to a short-lived Roman coin, a bizarre horticultural book, and even a common board game piece.

In this third of a line of ‘y’-ending words: Emily describes the day-to-day of Mayor of Thebes and man-about-tomb, Senefer, Kyle introduces the sport of battledore (not a colosseum-style fight to the death), and the two discuss the meaning of some pneumatic mnemonics.

Kyle twiddles his fingers in excitement as Emily deciphers the Middle English writings of a female saint, airs the grievances of a 17th century French incel, and finds a symbol of empowerment in the most unlikely of places.

Strap in for the long haul as Kyle takes Emily on a deep-dive into the hidden intentions of the Hermetic tradition, the biography of real ladies-man Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (yes, he’s definitely single, trust me), and a seriously strange suffix.