From factory floors to fluorescent-lit offices, Lexiconned dives into the idioms that built the working world. In this episode, we unpack the language of labor—from punching in and climbing the corporate ladder to thinking outside the box and cutting corners. Whether you’re a blue-collar grinder or a white-collar warrior, these phrases reveal the culture, history, and humor of the modern workplace.. From punching in and getting the boot to playing it by the book, we’re exploring the work-related phrases that keep English employed.

#language, #idioms, #etymology, #expressions, #workculture, #slang, #businessjargon, #officelife, #podcast, #Lexiconned

[Sources]

• Oxford English Dictionary
• Green’s Dictionary of Slang
• “The Etymologicon” by Mark Forsyth
• PhraseFinder.org
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• Business Week (1966 usage of “climb the corporate ladder”)
• New York Times archive (1921 usage of “get under your skin”)
• John Frith, A Mirror or Glass to Know Thyself (1532 usage of “nose to the grindstone”)
• U.S. Air Force Command Manuals (1950s references to “in the loop”)
• Upton Sinclair, early 20th-century writing on “white-collar” labor
• American Speech journal (1942, early usage of “put your foot in your mouth”)
• U.S. patent records (1888 Bundy Clock, for “punch in/punch out”)
• "Nose on the Grindstone", Tyler Childers (2017) - Song Reference

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From cold feet to getting something off your chest, we use body-based idioms every day to express doubt, love, relief, embarrassment—and everything in between. In this episode of Lexiconned, TJ dives into 15 popular expressions rooted in the human body, tracing their histories from biblical texts to Broadway, battlefield slang to Shakespearean drama. It’s a linguistic anatomy lesson you’ll feel in your bones.

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Have a favorite idiom that involves the body? Drop it in a review or hit us up @LexiconnedPodcast.

Episode Highlights

• 🦶 Why “cold feet” has military roots (and financial ones too)
• 🪥 The biblical mystery of “by the skin of your teeth”
• 🧼 Why elbow grease has outlasted every cleaning product
• 🕶️ Admiral Nelson and the birth of “turn a blind eye”
• 👏 The difference between lending a hand... and giving one

Sources :

• Oxford English Dictionary
• “The Etymologicon” by Mark Forsyth
• PhraseFinder.org
• Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary
• Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
• American Speech (1942 usage of “put your foot in your mouth”)
• The Southern Literary Messenger (1852 usage of “long in the tooth”)
• New York Times (1921 usage of “get under your skin”)
• King James Bible, Book of Job
• Andrew Marvell (1672 use of “elbow grease”)
• Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary (1816)

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Share your suggestion for words or phrases, thoughts on the episodes, or just engage with us on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lexiconnedpodcast/

What do silver spoons, cash cows, and red ink have in common? In this Lexiconned episode, host TJ explores the surprising origins and cultural reach of financial expressions we use every day. It’s a lighthearted linguistic audit of how money makes us talk.

[Sources]

• Oxford English Dictionary
• Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang
• "Word Origins...And How We Know Them" by Anatoly Liberman
• Financial Times archive (Black Friday history)
• PhraseFinder.org
• Boston Consulting Group White Papers

Send us a text

Share your suggestion for words or phrases, thoughts on the episodes, or just engage with us on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lexiconnedpodcast/