Something Rhymes with Purple - Firgun

Episode Date: November 2, 2021

This week we’re full of chutzpah as we schmooze our way through the fabulous words that Yiddish has given to the English language. While our resident mensches don’t pretend to be mavens, they swell with kvelling as they revel in this rich and unique vocabulary covering everything from they smutty schmucks to the new Purple favourite ‘firgun’. Elsewhere Susie explains what ‘relexicalisation’ is, there’s a discussion on political correctness, and as always, three brilliant words to take into your week and a brand new poem to learn by heart. If you have a linguistic query or a tale from the table we’d love to hear it at [e-mail]. A Somethin’ Else production. To buy SRWP mugs and more head to.... https://kontraband.shop/collections/something-rhymes-with-purple If you would like to sign up to Apple Subs please follow this link https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/something-rhymes-with-purple/id1456772823 and make sure that you are running the most up-to-date IOS on your computer/device otherwise it won’t work. If you would like to see Gyles and Susie LIVE and in person on our Something Rhymes With Purple UK Tour then please go to https://www.tiltedco.com/somethingrhymeswithpurple for tickets and more information. Susie’s Trio: Fipple - the mouthpiece of a wind instrument Flews - the pendulous lateral parts of a dog’s upper lip Fugacious - transient or fleeting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hello, Giles here. And knowing that we have a family audience, and the Purple people often include some very young people, just to say that today's episode does include some language that some people may find uncomfortable or offensive. Something else. This is Something Rhymes with Purple. I'm Giles Brandreth. I'm speaking to you from London, England. And in Oxford, England, is my colleague, friend,

and the world's leading lexicographer, Susie Dent. How are you, Susie? Hello. Very well, thank you very much, Giles. I'm really fascinated by this week's subject, actually. I'm really looking forward to it, because it's... Well, it is very much, Giles. I'm really fascinated by this week's subject, actually. I'm really looking forward to it because it's... Well, it is an intriguing subject and it sort of springs from the fact that I've been doing Celebrity Gogglebox with my friend, the actress Dame Maureen Lipman.

And while I was doing it, she was telling me about a play that she'd filmed, which I've now seen. It's a one-woman play. It's called Rose. It's by Martin Sherman. And it was showing on Sky Arts. I don't know if you can still, you know, find it there on Sky Arts, but it was a complete tour de force. And it reminded me of the fascinating impact that Yiddish has had on the English language. And when I spend time with Maureen, she tells me the most wonderful

traditional Jewish stories, some of which are repeatable, some of which aren't, but they can only be told by somebody like her. But she often refers to words in Yiddish. She talks about the Yiddish language. And I don't really, because I've known her for so many years, I don't really dare confess to her that I don't really know much about Yiddish history, the language, what it is. Can you give me your masterclass, your linguist's take on Yiddish? Well, it's fascinating. So, for centuries, Yiddish was the language of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. It's rarely spoken these days, of Eastern Europe is rarely spoken these days, but of course it lives on in many words that have come into English and indeed lots of other languages and in the texts of Yiddish literature. But because it's rarely spoken, Yiddish scholars are now very much trying to analyse it. It's quite

complex composition and it's had so many different influences. In some ways, it's quite complex composition and it's had so many different influences in some ways it's quite like like English so it's got a largely Germanic grammar quite a Germanic vocabulary mixed with Hebrew and Aramaic and then sprinkled with words from Slavic and ancient Romance languages and as Jewish people have migrated over the centuries it's's absorbed, as I say, much like English, it's absorbed the influences and the tongues of the many, many languages that it encountered. And along with Hebrew and Aramaic, it's one of the three major, certainly literally, languages of Jewish history. And it goes back to, well, I think the earliest documents that we have are from the 12th century. But in fact, scholars believe it goes back even further to the 9th century. Written in the Hebrew alphabet, worth saying that.

So when we talk about Yiddish these days or give our favourite Yiddish words, of course, we are what we call re-lexicalising things and also sort of, you know, pronouncing them as they have come into English. But originally they would have been in the Hebrew alphabet. You used a word there that confused me. Relexicalise. Yes, we relexicalise all the time. What does lexicalise mean?

Never mind relexicalise. It sounds very jargonistic, doesn't it? And it probably is amongst linguists. But it simply means reshaping words. So it is reforming them quite often to suit our own purposes, whether it's our own pronunciation needs or, you know, in some ways you could say that slang is re-lexicalising things because it's changing the meanings of existing words. So it's got, it's quite a broad umbrella in linguistic terms. But I just, there's so much going on now, as I say, to study Yiddish and that's why it's quite fascinating. on now as i say to study yiddish and that's why it's quite fascinating there's a lot well certainly that i i don't know even sort of the best scholars don't know but obviously they know a lot more than me and they're trying to they're hoping to plot the migration of jews and their language with a

precision that really hasn't been possible before and of course we have to remember that a lot of yiddish speakers were tragically disastrously exterminated during the Holocaust. So that, you know, that's sort of in some ways brought a stop to much of its history and much of its culture. But by kind of charting and mapping the migration of Jews and then the migration of Yiddish as well, they're hoping to sort of come to some better understanding of its history. But it's a really special language and I think historically quite unique. Good. Can I just summarise that? Because I'm a complete layman here and you've given me lots of information. Literally speaking, Yiddish means Jewish. It's one of three main languages

spoken by Jewish people over the centuries, dating back a thousand years or possibly more. It's particularly spoken by Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe and their descendants. That seems to be what you're telling me. And it's written with Hebrew characters. It is. But, you know, as I say, it's had so many influences upon the way and it's absorbed so many. There's many dialects of Yiddish. So it would be wrong to say that there is just one Yiddish vocabulary and one Yiddish grammar because there isn't. And if you take the American entertainment industry, you will find, particularly in New York, for example, and the history of vaudeville, etc. You will find so many Yiddish words having entered American English via huge Jewish communities.

And Yiddish has influenced Cockney English as well. huge Jewish communities. And Yiddish has influenced Cockney English as well. So if you think about Kosher, which comes from the Hebrew via Yiddish, meaning legitimate, you know, that found its way into Cockney English. So it's actually, it's there in many more languages and many more places than you might think. That's the joy of language is that it is porous, isn't it? And that's why we often say we boast about having this rich language, English, because it's taken words from so many languages and cultures around the world. Just to get this out of the way,

when I told someone we were going to be talking about this today, they mentioned the way that the word Yid, Y-I-D, has been used pejoratively to describe Jewish people and said about the dictionary, including it. And I said, as you have said a the dictionary, including it. And I said, as you have said a million times, that it's worth repeating here, that dictionaries record usage. They do not sit in judgment on words. It's worth saying. It's very true. And in the dictionary, it will certainly be labelled offensive. So there's a very clear marker that it is not

to be used. But, you know, historically, obviously, it's there. It is a record of the language as it was. I would direct people to the writings of David Baddiel. David Baddiel has written beautifully and eloquently on Jewish history and the treatment of Jewish people today. It is absolutely fantastic, his latest book about it. But he's also talked a lot about the use of that insult, that slur, which you will find in football grounds when it comes to Tottenham Hotspur, you know, up and down the country. And he's written absolutely brilliantly about it. So I do recommend his books.

Take us through some of the words that are now everyday words in broader English that have a Yiddish origin. I mean, one of the ones, speaking of comedians, chutzpah is a familiar one. Chutzpah is wonderful. And it's spelt slightly differently, I suppose, to how you might imagine. So it's C-H-U-T-Z-P-A-H. And that came to us via Yiddish. And that was in the late 19th century from Aramaic originally. So that again again, shows a sort of different influence. But chutzpah is like extreme self-confidence, isn't it? Or even the audacity, the boldness to do something. And it's untranslatable, I think, as so many of these Yiddish words are.

When we go through them, I think we'll realise just how valuable they are in our language. I had a friend called Noel Davis who loved telling different Jewish stories that he had picked up when are in our language. I had a friend called Noel Davis who loved telling different Jewish stories that he had picked up when working in New York. And he had one about the actor who complained that there weren't enough Jewish parts in Shakespeare, you know, beyond Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, who were the Jewish characters.

And one of the other actors said, oh no, of course, there's a famous one, chutzpah, Harry chutzpah in the Henry plays. Yeah, no, of course, it's the famous one, Hutzpah, Harry Hutzpah, in the Henry plays. Yeah, I mean, that is quite interesting. When you mentioned dictionary inclusion of things, there have been quite a lot of petitions in the past, I think, to, you know, to challenge quite a lot of the slurs that have been expressed through language, I suppose,

against Jewish people and associated with meanness, with avarice, with greed. And so I totally understand there's a lot of sensitivity around the inclusion of these words in the dictionary. And, you know, as you say, it is reflecting how people have considered and viewed these people in the past. There's a historical record, very important, but also you have to tread so carefully because it's, you know, a lot of it is quite offensive. Shall I go on to some of my favourite words, though, returning to the positive? Absolutely. You've got the chutzpah to get away with this. I have the chutzpah. I really hope I do. Okay. Well, I'm good friends with Robert Rinder,

Judge Rinder. Absolutely lovely man and fascinated by Yiddish. He uses it quite a lot and he uses mensch quite a lot, which I just like. Mensch, thoroughly German, but it's more than just a person, which is what it means in German. You know, Yiddish has stamped it with a whole lot of other associations of a person of integrity and honour. So if you do something from the heart, from the soul, and it's full of integrity you are a mensch which i absolutely love one of my absolute favorites actually is kvelling have you heard of kvelling sort of i don't really know what it means no i mean it rings a distant bell okay so this is something we all do uh those of us who have children particularly and again i don't think there is

an equivalent in english so kvelling you'll find it in the dictionary and it's defined as being happy and proud but it's a lot more than that it's to swell with pride over the achievement of someone you love so it causes you to kind of gush about them and to revel in their success and as I say we do this particularly with our children I think so we will go around telling people what their child has achieved and, oh, aren't they advanced and that kind of thing. That is kvelling. It's not as brash as boasting. It's more instinctive. And I think it's very genuine, but it is definitely kind of feeling that pride and joy in someone else's achievements, but also banging on about it. Can I tell you a sweet kvelling story? Yes.

As an aside. Okay. You know who I mean by Hayley Mills? Yes. A great child star in the 1950s and 1960s. And her first film was Tiger Bay. And she went to see Tiger Bay with her father, John Mills, who was a film actor and a star. And on one side of her, his opening, she was 11 or 12 years of age. On the other side of her was Sir Lawrence Olivier, a hugely famous actor. Anyway, she'd never seen herself on screen before, and she sort of giggled nervously throughout the performance,

the premiere of the film, and then went home to bed. And the following morning, she was up early, and the newspapers arrived with all the reviews. And she opened the newspaper and read the reviews, and essentially they said, because she was in the film, but so was her read the reviews. And essentially, they said, because she was in the film, but so was her father, that Hayley Mills, age 12, acts her father off the screen. She's the star of the film. She's brilliant. She's wonderful. Anyway, she was so ashamed of this, so embarrassed that she had inadvertently upstaged her father, that she hid

the reviews under the sofa. And then when her parents came and said, you know, where are the newspapers? She said, oh, I don't know. They haven't arrived. Anyway, later in the day, the cleaning lady was there and was cleaning under the sofa and discovered the newspapers. And she was so embarrassed. And her father said, these are fantastic reviews. She said, I'm so sorry. She burst into tears. Oh, Daddy, I'm so sorry. I didn didn't mean to you know you I seem to get better reviews than you and he then said no when you get to my age you'll realize and this is the use of your word felling yeah how proud you are to see your own child do even better than you it's a wonderful thing yeah so when you are much older Hayley you will understand when you have children how the delight one takes in the success of one's children so you didn't need to hide these what a lovely gesture so yeah i mean what's a what's a sort of beautifully modest uh thing to

do and sort of tiptoeing around his feelings as well i think that's lovely so quelling is to swell with i didn't know that word and that's spelled how k-v-e-l-l-N-G. And I think, this is my guess, I'm going to look this up now. I think it might be related to a German Kvelle, which is a sort of welling up or gushing or swelling. And I think it might come from there. But because Q-U-E-L-L-E-N in German is pronounced Kvelling, as Kvelle became, is yes, indeed, it does come from there there and we couldn't pronounce it so we decided K-V-E-L-L would be a little bit more self-explanatory which I agree with so yes so we've got Kvelling which I love we have Maven which I love as well because my good friend Rachel who works on Countdown has called her daughter Maven and it means an expert which is gorgeous

an expert or somebody who knows but we have to mention insults because no language does an insult better than Yiddish, I think. A lot of them are penis related. So you schmuck from the German schmuck for a jerk, essentially a foolish person. You've got a schnook for a fool who is easily duped. You've got a schlub and a schlub or a schlubber is somebody who just schlubs around. I mean, it's just the sound says it all. You just kind of loaf around. You're unkempt and lazy and you don't look after yourself. Is a schmuck also a slang word for a penis? Yes. There's lots of, I mean, even in English. So it's like saying someone's a dick. Yes. He'smuck a prick yes very good exactly the same yes uh yes there's sort of many many penis related insults in uh in our language and in yiddish and i suspect in many others as well and of course this applies particularly to me a clut i am the biggest clut in that i'm very clumsy i fall over myself and it comes from the German for a wooden block

as if you're tripping over a block all the time and falling flat on your face, which is absolutely what I do. And some of them started out quite innocently. So to schmooze, and I think you schmooze brilliantly, if I may say so, to schmooze is to converse informally, but to sort of, to do it in a way

that is very artful and quite persuasive. That came from German, but ultimately from Hebrew for a news or a rumour, and then to the kind of exchanging of rumours or gossip and talking or chatting. And originally, it was just an informal and warm chat. But to schmooze has since taken on, I think, think suggestion of trying to gain something I'm not saying that's what you do Giles um so it kind of took a slight turn but it's always a I think a slightly affectionate type of insult that Yiddish delivers well some people think I'm more schmaltzy than schmoozy schmaltzy yeah that's straight from German so schmaltz in German if you go into a supermarket it means dripping or lard so if something is schmaltzy it's really kind of

greasy a bit unctuous and just a bit over sentimental ah very good um spiel is another one don't give me that spiel spiel comes from german for a play spieling is to play but again it's got an edge to it so spiel is a kind of story or speech that is designed to achieve something it's deliberately kind of persuasive um if you like um lots of s words in yiddish schlep is another great one to schlep something around is to drag it around and again that's straight from german schleppen to drag so so many of them have this fantastic sound schlock means cheap we've mentioned spiel and schmooze and schmaltz that sound is exquisitely yiddish and as i said i think

i think it sort of packs a punch merely through its its sound which is absolutely brilliant but i think one of my favorites again this was told to me by Rob Rinder, and it's Davka. Now, Davka has a whole load of meanings in Yiddish, but apparently the way that Rob described it, it's something that's always said with an eye roll. It's kind of used with a slightly amused or ironic feeling of, wouldn't you know it, or of all or it's he said it's got so many different meanings it's almost impossible to define it in a dictionary but it's used to be contrary I suppose and whereas my mum used to call me contrary Mary all the time because I would always do the opposite of what she wanted I think in Yiddish that would be expressed as being

dovka. Yes that's I think spelled in lots of different ways. But when I looked it up, it was D-A-V-K-A, Dovka, which is fantastic. Am I right in thinking, because it doesn't sound like it, that glitch is a Yiddish word? Yeah. Because somebody said to me it was and it sounds, well, a glitch is so much the right word for something going wrong with technology or I hit a glitch. Yes. But it's a Yiddish word, is it? Well, so today a glitch is a kind of a hit or a snag. But actually, originally, it was something a bit more urgent than that. And it was used in the US by engineers to mean a sudden surge of electrical current and not one that you particularly want. And then astronauts

took it over and began to use it for any kind of malfunction of equipment. And there's a possibility it comes from the Yiddish glitch, meaning a slippery place. In other words, you slip up because you're on uncertain territory and unsafe ground. So possibly, I think it's not proven that it comes from Yiddish, but it does sound very Yiddish, doesn't it? I think it, again, is quite onomatopoeic, really, as so many of these are. Giles, I have to tell you about some of the

words from Yiddish that I think we should use more because, I mean, there are so many, but some of them are absolutely exquisite. And above all, as I've said, we have no clear equivalent in English. And, you know, people always say, oh, German will have a word for that. Well, quite often, Yiddish will have a word for it. Can I interrupt you there to ask you something about political correctness here? Yeah. Because I've got books of Jewish jokes on my shelves, given to me by people like Maureen Lipman. And I thought, oh, I could tell some of these today. And then my wife said to me, oh, I don't think so, George. You know, you can't tell them as well as the great, you know,

great Jewish comedians like Jackie Mason. And also, she said, I'm not sure it's appropriate for you to be telling Jewish jokes, given you're not Jewish. Is there an element of cultural appropriation in taking words from another language because you think they're amusing and interesting and using them? I ask that as a question. I mean, it's a very subjective answer this because everyone will have their own viewpoint. But I think I'm with Michelle on this one, I have to say, because, you know, there are so many words that have been used against people in the past that have now been

reclaimed by those communities. And it's absolutely fine for those communities to use them. But for outsiders is not so fine because of the history, because of that legacy of using them offensively and as derogatory slurs, even if that is not your intention at the moment. And in the same way as I think you would be on dodgy territory telling a Welshman, Irishman and Englishman joke, because, you know, there's bound to be a punchline that is some kind of insult. I think I would, yeah, I would leave it to those who, you know, it is kind of used against in a sort of self-effacing, self-deprecating way. I think I would be careful. So, I would endorse what you're just saying. So, now I'm asking you, you're saying there

are words from Yiddish that we should use more. Are we, by taking words from another culture, is that cultural appropriation? Words that are already with us, like glitch, I can see no problem with at all. But if you're saying, well, there's a lovely word futzing, which I just adore. It does, you can tell me what it does in a moment. Is it then appropriate for you, in inverted commas, to be using the word futzing if you're not Jewish no because I don't think it's poking fun at anybody unlike the sort of jokes and I think it has been absorbed into the language it's not kind of referencing any particular trait the jokes that I wasn't planning to tell but the jokes in the Jewish joke book

are not anti-Jewish jokes quite Quite the reverse. Absolutely the reverse. I think what my wife was saying to me is, Charles, given you are not Jewish, it's not appropriate for you to tell a joke that is a traditionally Jewish joke. Yeah, oh, I see what you mean. It's interesting. I think I shouldn't tell a Jewish joke because I can't tell it very well.

But if I could tell it brilliantly, then I would think it would be acceptable. Just as I think if I could play the brilliantly then I don't think it would be acceptable just as I think if I could play the part of Shylock brilliantly I should be able to play the part of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice even though I'm not Jewish. It's an interesting area isn't it I mean there's no necessarily black or white answer yeah I think the answer is. No well let me tell you about my first word because I think that you'll understand why i'm saying i think we should use it more often because i think it expresses something that we would all like to feel and it also reflects beautifully on the jewish language and jewish

culture and and yiddish and that's fergan so f-i-r-g-u-n it's sometimes pronounced fergan as well it's unselfish pride so it's kind of joy in someone else's happiness and if you remember I often talk about the word confelicity in English which is exactly that pleasure in someone else's happiness and firgen was coined as recently as the 1970s and it's become a really sort of popular concept because it is that unselfish delight in someone else's success. Might go back to the German für gunnen, meaning to grant. But it's all about generosity of spirit. And each year on the 17th of July, there is International Fürgund Day. And it promotes that idea of tipping your hat to other people without any agenda.

So totally unbegrudging joy in their success. And I just think that's beautiful. And yet another word that I think we could usefully add to our vocabulary and you mentioned futzing perfect to futz about is what most well I speak for myself I tend to do this for the first half hour of each day I just futz which is basically just messing or pottering and not doing what you should be doing so it's delaying the inevitable start to the day by just basically mucking about. There's so much here, Giles, but should we take a break? And if you would like more fascinating words from Yiddish, then why not subscribe to this show on Apple

Podcasts if you'd like to, because you can also skip out the ads. Otherwise, we'll be back after the break to answer some of your brilliant emails. I'm Nick Friedman. I'm Lee Alec Murray. And I'm Leah President. And this is Crunchyroll Presents The Anime Effect. We are a new show breaking down the anime news, views, and shows you care about each and every week. I can't think of a better

studio to bring something like this to life. Yeah, I agree. We're covering all the classics. I don't know a lot about Godzilla, which I do, but I'm trying to pretend that I don't. Hold it in. And our current faves. Luffy must have his due. Tune in every week for the latest anime updates and possibly a few debates.

I remember, what was that? Say what you're going to say and I'll circle back. You can listen to Crunchyroll Presents The Anime Effect every Friday wherever you get your podcasts and watch full video episodes on Crunchyroll or the Crunchyroll YouTube channel. Hi, I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson, host of the podcast Dinners On Me. I take some of my favorite people out to dinner,

including, yes, my Modern Family co-stars, like Ed O'Neill, who had limited prospects outside of acting. The only thing that I had that I could have done was organize crime. And Sofia Vergara, my very glamorous stepmom. Well, why do you want to be comfortable? Or Julie Bowen, who had very special talents. I used to be the crier. Or my TV daughter, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons,

who did her fair share of child stunts. They made me do it over and over and over. You can listen to Dinners on Me wherever you get your podcasts. Who's been in correspondence with us this week? Well, we used the word doofa for the first TV remote control we had in our house, it says Kenny from Glasgow. I thought it was a word we'd made up ourselves, but I now know that other people have used it too. Do you know the origin? Now, we've talked about remote controls and the huge lexicon that's grown up around them before, I think, Giles,

because there's bimmer, blapper, blooper, dooper, dibber, flipper-dropper, plinker-podger, pringer. One person told me they call it a re-smog. Twanger, twidger, wanger. Well, I think wanger can mean something different. But you get the drift. There are absolutely loads. And quite why this word attracts so many possibilities is a bit of a mystery. But doofa, we think, goes back to the idea of that'll do for now that'll do for now it's a kind of thing

in my job it's a gadget it's a widget that'll do for now a do for how intriguing that's good isn't it and we also had an email from martin wilkie have you got that one there yes can you tell me why men with the surname clark usually have the nickname Knobby. Wow. Yeah, I've looked into this before. Yes. So people call Clark with an A, Clark with an E, Clark with an A and an E at the end. They have historically been given the nickname Knobby Clark. And some say it's because Clarks in London used to wear what were called Knobby hats, which is a type of bowler hat. Oh, Clarks as in people who worked in a clerical capacity. Exactly.

Like old-fashioned secretaries before the word secretary existed. And they dressed extremely well and they were considered a bit posh. And knob in sort of English dialect or English slang, it means being a bit of a toff, a bit smart. So the idea is if you were knobby clerk, you looked sort of smart and a little bit posh. We don't know where Nob itself comes from. Seems unrelated to snob, but that is why we think they used to wear knobby hats, so bowler hats. They were smartly dressed. They looked a little

bit like knobs, i.e. posh people. And so Nobby Clark became the nickname of choice. Oh, that's fantastic. Now, look, we've run out of time. And there's so many things I wanted to share with you and indeed with our Purple listeners, because Purple listeners may not realise that I'm in London when we record these and Susie isn't at her home in Oxford.

But today on the Zoom that I'm looking at her on, there clearly is a kind of filter, what she says is a filter, because I said to her, beautiful she was looking. And indeed she is, and she said there was a filter. And that reminded me about my extraordinary lunch that I went to the other day for the Oldie magazine, honouring the oldies of the year. These are people who still have snap in their celery, though they are of riper years. And it was an amazing lunch. I sat next to delia smith

you remember she's in the dictionary doing a delia do it well there you are oh i should have told her she's in the dictionary i think she knew that hit the headlines quite a few a few years ago she is so delightful she's 80 years of age people are older than you think wow and also i sat there with jeff hurst the great footballer so je Jeff Hurst, who is now 80, looks about 60, actually looks about 40. It was alarming. At this lunch was my friend Roger McGough, the poet. He was being honoured because he's in his 80s and still writing brilliant poetry. And he gave me a copy of his new book, Safety in Numbers.

And I thought this week and maybe next week too, I'd share a couple of poems by Roger McGough with you. Lovely. This one is simply called After You. No, After You. The winding path, soon face to face, eyes fixed, you quicken your pace. Who backs off? Who goes through? Bad luck. You feel the smugness it sticks like glue practicing your scowl you continue on that was then and this is now social distancing bringing us closer the winding path soon face to face you stand down wave them through what's the hurry? No, after you, a smile shared sticks like glue. Oh, that's lovely. What was that lovely word you gave us earlier?

Fergan. The Yiddish word for... Fergan. Exactly. Tipping your hat at someone. A smile shared when there's no, you know, there's no reason for it. It's just a smile shared. I have a trio of words for you. Would you like them? Oh, forgive me. We got to the trio of words before I did the poem out of order. I'm very happy to bring up the words.

I apologise. OK, let's have your trio of words. I've got three Fs for you. Not Firgin, actually, but three Fs. One is a fipple. And a fipple is the mouthpiece of a recorder or similar wind instrument. Just quite useful, I think. Floos, F-L-E-W-S.

And those are the thick, pendulous lips of a bloodhound or a dog which has those sort of you know they have the dewlaps under the chin it's the kind of lips this time the flues i like that and happiness life well hopefully sadness too are all fugacious fugacious meaning transient or fleeting fugacious ah nothing lasts neither happiness nor despair not even life itself lasts very long said celia johnson in brief encounter beautiful beautiful way to end and thank you so much to everybody for listening we really do appreciate both you listening and you getting in touch to tell us what you think and if you would like to you can email purple at somethingelse.com.

Something rhymes with... Oh, yes, we can do it in unison. Why don't we do it together? Something rhymes with purple is a Something Else production. It was produced by... It was produced by Lawrence Bassett. You're trying to trick me at this. No, I'm not.

With additional production from Steve Ackerman, Jen Mystery, Jay Beale, and... You can say this bit. Oh, I'm just trying to think. All those Yiddish words. He's definitely not a schmuck and he doesn't schmooze because he's hardly here anymore.

What should we call him? He's a schlub. Is he a schlub? I think he's a schlub. Gosh, he'll kick you in the tush if you're not careful. It's gully.