America's Secret Slang

2013

America's Secret Slang

7.9 | en | Comedy

Host Zach Selwyn hits the streets to ask everyday people what they know about the origins and meaning of American slang, and then he reveals the true etymology and hidden history of common phrases and words that are unique to the United States. In each 30-minute episode, Selwyn focuses on a specific period in American history, revealing words that originated during that era or had significance for the geographic region.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP8 Hail to the Chief

Aug. 02,2014

Presidents, sex and romance, and manners have influenced American English.

EP7 Go for Broke

Jul. 26,2014

Exploring the ways the language has been shaped by Vikings, the Cold War, computers, music and gambling; the meanings behind the colors of the rainbow.

EP6 Bite the Bullet

Jul. 19,2014

Words that originated in the military, police, aviation and baseball; a "last ditch effort"; freelance workers; pushing the envelope.

EP5 Cut to the Chase

Jun. 28,2014

How entertainment influenced common words and phrases.

EP4 Off the Cuff

Jun. 21,2014

Ways American English has been shaped by clothes, crimes, punishments, insults and the Internet.

EP3 Lower the Boom

Jun. 14,2014

How American English was influenced by the seas, the ancient world, big business and the news industry.

EP2 Riding Shotgun

Jun. 07,2014

Exploring words and phrases that are rooted in history.

EP1 Straight from the Horse's Mouth

May. 31,2014

How American English has been changed by animals, food, sports and death.

7.9 | en | Comedy , Documentary | More Info

Released: 2013-04-14 | Released Producted By: Flight 33 Productions , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://www.history.com/shows/americas-secret-slang

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Reviews

xbuckwheatx I have always been interested in where words came from and/or why we say what we say. I loved this show.... often wondered what happened, and hoped it would come back on. With that said, I'm a little disappointed with it at the same time. Was this show geared towards education (actually learning something), or just a simple means of entertainment? Nevermind, don't answer that. I'm not surprised.. look at the recent programming.Not sure if this constitutes as a spoiler, per se, but upon looking at the cast and crew section, I noticed the show itself had no fact checkers. If so, they aren't listed. That just leads me to believe that they just go with whatever people say, and air half truths or something totally made up for ratings.I have also been the victim of repeating something I heard on the show, and got called out on it.... as being false. Which is my fault for being a moron (for believing what I saw on TV).Research what you see on this show.

RFM-2 Another good idea gets the sloppy "History Channel" treatment to end up passing along at least as much garbage as it does good information. Why the writers can't do some simple research using reliable sources (like the O.E.D. for example) is beyond me. Though there is SOME good information presented, it is mixed in with so much misrepresentation and so many folk etymologies which are simply wrong, that you can't tell what's real and what isn't. One glaring example is "The Whole Nine Yards," which they claim originated in WWII -- except that there is documentation showing the phrase in use four decades before that time. Scholars of "Word and Phrase Origins" have long acknowledged that we don't know for certain where that phrase came from, but they know many claims that are simply NOT true, including the one made on the program. Don't trust a thing you hear on this show unless you verify it yourself from a credible source. If only the show's staff did that themselves...