Skip to main content
  • Hoopla logo
    Powered by Hoopla
  • Browse
  • My Hoopla
  • Log In
Books, videos, and music - all free from your public library!
LoginSign Up

Footer

Hoopla logo, Go to homepage
  • For Patrons
  • For Libraries (opens in new window)
  • For Vendors (opens in new window)
  • Facebook (opens in new window)
  • X (opens in new window)
  • Instagram (opens in new window)
  • YouTube (opens in new window)
  • TikTok (opens in new window)
  • LinkedIn (opens in new window)

Our Company

  • Our Story
  • Get Hoopla for your Library (opens in new window)
  • Get your content on hoopla (opens in new window)
  • Join our team (opens in new window)
  • Accessibility Statement

Our Content

  • Audiobooks
  • Ebooks
  • Movies
  • Television
  • Comics
  • BingePasses
  • Music
  • The Loop Blog

Help

  • Help Center
  • Submit Feedback
  • Facebook (opens in new window)
  • X (opens in new window)
  • Instagram (opens in new window)
  • YouTube (opens in new window)
  • TikTok (opens in new window)
  • LinkedIn (opens in new window)
  • Download on the App Store (opens in new window)
  • Get it on Google Play (opens in new window)
  • Available at Amazon Appstore (opens in new window)
© 2026 Midwest Tape, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
  1. Navigate Home
  3. Television

  4. America's Secret Slang - Season 1

TELEVISION

America's Secret Slang - Season 1

Series: America's Secret Slang
4.4
(33)
sign up
Episodes
6
Rating
TV14
Year
2013
Language
English
Publisher
History

About

"America's Secret Slang" proves that we speak history every day as it documents the stories behind our unique American version of English, from words like "southpaw" to phrases like "bet your bottom dollar."

Related Subjects

  • Documentary
  • History

Episodes

1. Guns, Booze, and Politics

22m

sign up
Politics is full of odd phrases like "pork barrel projects," "slush funds," and "lame ducks" -- all of which had practical origins and morphed to mean what they do today. The same can be said about the language and culture of guns and booze.

2. Them's Fighting Words

22m

sign up
Have you ever wondered why someone who can't get it together is called a "basket case"? Or where the term "Yankee" came from? And why do we say someone "bought the farm" when they die? The answers to these questions all have one thing in common: war.

3. Y'all Speak Country

22m

sign up
The American South has given us words like "y'all" and "rednecks" as well as dozens of colorful phrases like "fly off the handle," "having an axe to grind," and "barking up the wrong tree." But what are the origins of these expressions?

4. Westword Ho!

22m

sign up
Expressions from "riffraff" to "betting your bottom dollar", "passing the buck," "acid test" and even "heard it through the grapevine" all come from America's frontier days. But have you ever wondered why these phrases were first used?

5. Coming to America

22m

sign up
Ever wonder why American cowboys say "'git along little doggies" when they're talking about herding cattle? Or why a losing wrestler "cries uncle?" And why do we say "ouch" when we stub a toe? The answers to all these questions can be traced.

6. Talking Turkey

22m

sign up
Americans have always loved to eat and expressions relating to food--from New York's "big apple" to "wake up and smell the coffee" --pepper our everyday speech. But where did they all come from?

Extended Details

  • SeriesAmerica's Secret Slang
  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Gabriel RotelloDirector
Colin CampbellDirector
Douglas CohenDirector
Ryan T. HurstProducer
Vincent LopezProducer
Douglas CohenProducer
Zach SelwynActor
Ben WatersActor
Brian AllisonActor
Daniel FellerActor
Robert K. OermannActor
Laura WarnerActor
Johnathan MarkleyActor