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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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Tranquillusionist: Punchlines transcript

April 13, 2020 The Allusionist
Tranquillusionist Punchlines logo.jpeg

This is the Tranquillusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, in the interests of temporarily trying to stop that feeling where you think your brain is trying to claw its way out of your skull, read the punchlines to classic jokes. No setups; just the punchlines.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags Helen Zaltzman, words, language, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, jokes, punchlines, cheesy jokes, bad jokes, knock knock, doctor doctor, puns, wordplay, Oulipo, gags

Allusionist 106. Typo Demon - transcript

September 15, 2019 The Allusionist
A106 Typo Demon logo.jpg

IAN CHILLAG: Titivillus is the typo demon. I've certainly felt the effects of the demon Titivillus in my life. I've made typos. I had not, until I learned of Titivillus, known that I could blame those typos on a higher power or - is a demon or a lower power?

HZ: I think they originated when an archangel fell from heaven - Lucifer - ao I'd imagine if you're taking the conventional geography of heaven being high, then the demons would be low - but then a typing demon would probably be on the Earth's surface for maximum efficacy. 

IAN CHILLAG: Well, Titivillus did - does, maybe - walk the Earth, and what he does is make scribes make errors. So a medieval scribe is doing their work, writing down what they have to in their text, probably a religious text; and Titivillus shows up and does whatever he does and suddenly there are typos in those texts. 

HZ: And rather than ascribing that to medieval scribes having very tired hands due to the equipment that they use being exhausting to propel, and they were working in not the brightest light conditions, they were like, "No, it's demons."

IAN CHILLAG: Nope, it was Titivillus the typo demon. 

HZ: We're talking about a demon that arrived on the scene of demonism in the 13th century. 

IAN CHILLAG: Correct. 

HZ: So when we say typos, we really mean handos. 

IAN CHILLAG: Yeah yeah. The hando demon.

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In transcript, Radiotopia Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, Helen Zaltzman, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, Chillusionist, Everything Is Allusionist, Ian Chillag, Everything Is Alive, typos, handwriting, writing, scribes, scribal error, Titivillus, demons, devil, Lucifer, heaven, hell, errors, typing, handos, The Exorcist, Satan, divine, retribution, Wicked Bible, Bible, Bible translations, errors in the Bible, mistakes, gossip, spelling, buzzkills, killjoys, Ten Commandments, God, medieval, Middle Ages, Old Testament, error hell, folders, demonic possessions, autocorrect, punishment, swear jar, jokes, bad jokes, puns, portmanteaus, gentlest circle of hell, trivia, prayer, scribal, church, demonic possession

Allusionist 83. Yes, As In - transcript

August 24, 2018 The Allusionist
A83 Yes As In logo.jpg

TIGER WEBB: The broad thing about having unusual name is that it's a pretty effective substitute for an actual personality. I never had to develop one, because you could just do anything and people assume you’re interesting, or that there is some sort of grandiosity behind it.
HZ: Very colourful character.
TIGER WEBB: I'm really very boring and quiet. And the fact that I'm called Tiger I think does a lot to mask that. "Oh wow. Tiger, yeah, interesting fellow." I'm not though. But feel free to think that

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, Helen Zaltzman, Korean, Bertrand Russell, names, naming, childhood, babies, parents, birth, nominative determinism, personality, unusual names, character, fish, salmon, jewels, animals, tigers, birds, peregrine falcons, royalty, cinnamon, spices, food, jokes, bad jokes, conversation, small talk, William Blake, Tiger Woods, Pokemon, Tiger Webb, Paul Bae, Emerald Paston, Sapphire Paston, Steve Pretty, Cinnamon Nippard, Princess Ojiaku, Loveis Wise, Dennis Funk, Phoebe Judge, Criminal, Caspar Salmon, Peregrine Andrews
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Featured
Festivelusionists
Allusionist 221. Scribe
Allusionist 221. Scribe
Allusionist 220. Disobedience
Allusionist 220. Disobedience
Allusionist 219. Making Trouble
Allusionist 219. Making Trouble
Allusionist 218. Banned Books
Allusionist 218. Banned Books
Allusionist 217. Bread and Roses, and Coffee
Allusionist 217. Bread and Roses, and Coffee
Allusionist 216. Four Letter Words: Terisk
Allusionist 216. Four Letter Words: Terisk
Allusionist 215. Two-Letter Words
Allusionist 215. Two-Letter Words
Allusionist 214. Four Letter Words: Bane Bain Bath
Allusionist 214. Four Letter Words: Bane Bain Bath
Souvenirs on BBC Radio 4
Souvenirs on BBC Radio 4
Allusionist 213. Four Letter Words: Dino
Allusionist 213. Four Letter Words: Dino
Allusionist 212. Four Letter Words: Park
Allusionist 212. Four Letter Words: Park
Allusionist 211. Four Letter Words: -gate
Allusionist 211. Four Letter Words: -gate
Allusionist 210. Four Letter Words: 4x4x4 Quiz
Allusionist 210. Four Letter Words: 4x4x4 Quiz
queer playlist
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The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.