TELEVISION

America's Secret Slang - Season 1

Series: America's Secret Slang

4.4

(33)

Episodes

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

Episodes

1. Guns, Booze, and Politics

22m

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

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

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

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

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

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?