207. Randomly Selected Words from the Dictionary
The Allusionist
Helen Zaltzman
4.7 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2025
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Happy tenth birthday to this show! To celebrate, here's every randomly selected word from the dictionary from the first decade of the show.
Visit theallusionist.org/randomlyselectedwords to read the transcript and get other Tranquillusionist episodes.
The podcast is taking a break until early May 2025, but the Allusioverse will continue to be in full swing: become a member at theallusionist.org/donate. You get regular livestreams with me reading from my ever-expanding collection of dictionaries, inside scoops into the making of this show, and watchalong parties - such as Great Pottery Throwdown (2025), and Cold Comfort Farm (1995). And best of all, you get the company of your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.
There's also a free livestream for everyone happening 18 January 1pm PT/4pm ET/21:00 UTC at youtube.com/allusionistshow.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with music composed by Martin Austwick of palebirdmusic.com. Find @allusionistshow on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Bluesky.
Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk about your product or thing on the show, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:
• Rosetta Stone, language-learning programs available for 25 different languages. Allusionist listeners get 50% off lifetime memberships at rosettastone.com/allusionist.
• Understance: comfortable, stylish, size-inclusive bras and undies. Shop the range and learn about your own branatomy at understance.com.
• Curiosity Weekly from Discovery, the podcast that brings us the latest and greatest scientific discoveries, and explains them even for those of us who don’t have a science PhD. Listen to Curiosity Weekly in the places you get your podcasts.
• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online forever home. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.
Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is The Illusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, have been learning about and talking about language for 10 years. |
| 0:12.0 | A full 10 years since this show launched with two episodes about bras and puns. |
| 0:17.7 | So much has happened in Podland over that 10 years. |
| 0:20.5 | There was a boom? |
| 0:21.9 | Podcasts getting bought for tens of millions of dollars, but not this one. |
| 0:26.1 | Then after the boom, the boss companies and shows perished. |
| 0:30.4 | But not this one. |
| 0:31.8 | Still hoofing along. |
| 0:33.8 | To celebrate this decade anniversary, I am taking a break. |
| 0:39.2 | The show will be back in early May 2025 with new episodes. |
| 0:44.2 | Also, if there are any topics from the past episodes that you would like me to revisit, |
| 0:48.7 | let me know. |
| 0:49.7 | I've got some exciting updates already bubbling away. |
| 0:52.6 | Also, during the break, there will be an illusionist |
| 0:55.4 | piece called Souvenirs broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 sometime in March. And there will be the |
| 1:02.6 | return of my other podcast, Answer Me This, with new episodes the last Thursday of each month. |
| 1:10.1 | And things will be keeping lively in the Illusiverse throughout the break, |
| 1:14.2 | with fortnightly relaxing live streams with me and my dictionaries, |
| 1:18.0 | including one this weekend, which is open to all at YouTube.com slash illusionist show. |
| 1:23.8 | But with paying members of the Illusiaverse, |
| 1:25.5 | we are watching the new season of Great Pottery Throwdown together, and soon we're going to watch Cold Gunfort Farm. |
| 1:32.1 | And we socialise in the Illusionverse Discord community, where members are designing their own heraldic coats of arms, they're learning weaving, they're sharing podcast and TV and book recommendations, and supporting one another through this existence. |
... |
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