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The Allusionist

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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 216. Four Letter Words: Terisk

September 8, 2025 The Allusionist
A Boggle set spelling out the word 'terisk' which isn't a real word

Watching the film Legally Blonde one day with the subtitles on, numerous perfectly innocuous words were partially asterisked out, because of a technological problem I can't name here lest this episode be blocked from search results, thus becoming an example of the problem itself.

Who's to blame? A 900-year-old man from Lincolnshire. Although he didn't ask for this either.

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In episodes, Four Letter Words Tags etymology, lexicon, society, culture, words, language, history, vocabulary, four letter words, England, Old English, Domesday Book, Doomsday Book, census, Skuma, land, Lincolnshire, towns, town names, place names, Martin Austwick, asterisks, subtitles, programming, errors, blocklist, swears, obscenity, AOL, Dominic Cummings, technology, internet, online, cunt, C word, swearing, block, Plymouth, Clitheroe, Penistone, Lightwater, Horniman Museum, Scunthorpe Problem, Clbuttic Problem, euphemisms, Legally Blonde, Elle Woods, Reese Witherspoon, payment, rent, eels, king, royals, prosthetic E, Normans, bottoms, donkeys, plays, mores, arse, ass, hachures, Scunthorpe

Allusionist 146. Survival: Today, Tomorrow part 1

November 24, 2021 The Allusionist

The Icelandic language has remained so stable over the centuries, speakers can read manuscripts from 900 years ago without too much trouble. And when they need a new word for more recent concepts, there are committees to coin one, so that the modern Icelandic lexicon includes such things as the internet, helicopters and mansplaining. Defending the language from the encroachment of English, however, is rather more challenging.

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In episodes, Survival Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, Helen Zaltzman, history, Iceland, Icelandic, Ágústa Þorbergsdóttir, Jóhannes Bjarni Sigtryggsson, linguistic purism, neologisms, new words, coinages, calques, portmanteaus, internet, Danish, Norse, Norwegians, Norway, Denmark, technology, mansplaining, domains, lost letters, letters, thorn, eth, ash, characters, printing press, ye, programming, subtitles, translation, automated translation, Unicode, jink, Survival, jouk
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Allusionist 216. Four Letter Words: Terisk
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