Synopsis
Victoria Coren, Adam Hart-Davis, Marcel Theroux and Simon Hoggart head off on the trail of the real people whose names have been immortalised in the English language.
- Programme: Balderdash & Piffle
- Series: 2
- Episode: 07: Who Were They?
- Channel: BBC Two
- Broadcast year: 2007
- English Language
Licence: ERA Licence required
Free to watch for UK schools, colleges and universities with an ERA Licence
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from Balderdash & Piffle
S02E01: One Sandwich Short of a Picnic | Balderdash & Piffle
S02E01: One Sandwich Short of a Picnic | Balderdash & Piffle
Victoria Coren presents this series about words. Investigating the words we use for madness, former nurse Jo Bra...
S02E02: Man's Best Friend | Balderdash & Piffle
S02E02: Man's Best Friend | Balderdash & Piffle
This episode investigates the many uses we have for the word 'dog'. How and when did we come by 'dog', and what makes it an i...
S02E03: Euphemisms: The Lace Curtain of Language | Balderdash & Piffle
S02E03: Euphemisms: The Lace Curtain of Language | Balderdash & Piffle
Victoria Coren, Artur Smith and Michael Portillo investigate the euphemisms for sex, death, war and go...
S02E04: Dodgy Dealings | Balderdash & Piffle
S02E04: Dodgy Dealings | Balderdash & Piffle
Victoria Coren, Suggs and Neil Oliver investigate words for dodgy dealers, rapscallions and other sorts of scallywag.
S02E05: X Rated | Balderdash & Piffle
S02E05: X Rated | Balderdash & Piffle
Victoria Coren, Burlesque star Immodesty Blaise and Roland Rivron investigate dictionary entries about sex and what they tell us about ...
S02E06: Put Downs and Insults | Balderdash & Piffle
S02E06: Put Downs and Insults | Balderdash & Piffle
Victoria Coren, John Sergeant, Denis Healey, Ian McMillan and Mike Harding enlighten us on words such as wazzock, prat an...
S02E08: Fashionistas | Balderdash & Piffle
S02E08: Fashionistas | Balderdash & Piffle
Victoria Coren leads the hunt for the word-origins of various footwear.
More resources about English Language
Speeches that Shook the World
Speeches that Shook the World
Documentary in which poet Simon Armitage dissects what makes a perfect speech by examining famous speeches that provoked radical change, surpri...
Sir Gareth Southgate | The Richard Dimbleby Lecture
Sir Gareth Southgate | The Richard Dimbleby Lecture
Former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate reflects on his personal journey as a leader and the importance of b...
Episode 1 | The Speaker
Episode 1 | The Speaker
The search is on to find the UK's best young speaker in this eight-part series, starting with the first regional auditions from Glasgow and London.
The Three Principles of Rhetoric | Speeches That Shook the World
The Three Principles of Rhetoric | Speeches That Shook the World
Actor & Communications Consultant Vincent Franklin describes Aristotle's three principles of rhetoric.
The Key Elements of Making a Good Speech | Speeches That Shook the World
The Key Elements of Making a Good Speech | Speeches That Shook the World
Simon Armitage takes tips from Shakespearean actor Charles Dance on how to deliever a speech that wi...
Rebel Tongue
Rebel Tongue
Alistair Heather sets out on a mission to reclaim the Scots language. For years, Scotland’s ancient tongue was ignored or mocked. Now, one and a half million pe...
Speeches - Martin Luther King's ''I have a dream'' speech | Speeches that Shook the World
Speeches - Martin Luther King's ''I have a dream'' speech | Speeches that Shook the World
Simon Armitage dissects what makes a perfect speech by examining famous speeches th...
Churchill's Wartime Speeches | Speeches That Shook the World
Churchill's Wartime Speeches | Speeches That Shook the World
Simon Armitage examines the speeches of one of Britain's best known orators.
A Trampwoman's Tragedy | Poetry Book
A Trampwoman's Tragedy | Poetry Book
Dame Judy Dench reads Thomas Hardy's poem, A Trampwoman's Tragedy.
Letter of complaint | Outnumbered
Letter of complaint | Outnumbered
There are crossed lines, missed deadlines and communication nightmares as Mum and Dad try to find out where their children are.
Talking about the past | VE Day 80
Talking about the past | VE Day 80
Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid talk about the importance of remembrance and their experiences.
02: The Mother Tongue | The Story of English
02: The Mother Tongue | The Story of English
Robert Macneil presents the second programme in this series tracing the history of the English language from its roots to presen...
Episode 2 | The Speaker
Episode 2 | The Speaker
The search to find Britain's best young speaker continues in Manchester and Cardiff. The judges hear youngsters speak out about topics including teen...
Episode 6 | The Speaker
Episode 6 | The Speaker
The six remaining Speakers get political in their bid to become Britain's Best Young Speaker. Alastair Campbell mentors the youngsters in the power o...
01: An English-speaking World | The Story of English
01: An English-speaking World | The Story of English
Robert Macneil on how English is being adopted by the world as the most important language to learn, he traces the use o...
03: A Muse of Fire | The Story of English
03: A Muse of Fire | The Story of English
This programme centres on the English of Shakespeare and the King James Bible and its spread into the New World via Elizabethan exp...
08: The Loaded Weapon | The Story of English
08: The Loaded Weapon | The Story of English
Robert Macneil explores troubled story of Irish-English in North and South Ireland Gaelic speaking Irish through famine, conflic...
Away with Words | Writer's Block
Away with Words | Writer's Block
Compilation secondary schools programme consisting of a new unit focusing on key literacy skills and illustrating how the skills of reading ...
Episode 3 | The Speaker
Episode 3 | The Speaker
Twenty contenders are reduced to eight. The judges want to know if the teen speakers can think on their feet and speak off the cuff, having proved th...
For the Sake of Argument | Writer's Block
For the Sake of Argument | Writer's Block
Compilation secondary schools programme consisting of a new unit focusing on key literacy skills and illustrating how the skills of...
More from Adam Hart-Davis
S02E06: South East | Local Heroes
S02E06: South East | Local Heroes
Adam Hart-Davis's search for Britain's greatest scientific pioneers is in South-East England, where he looks at the work of Hertha Ayrton, ...
The Clock That Changed the World | A History of the World
The Clock That Changed the World | A History of the World
Adam Hart-Davis tells the story of the amazing 280-year-old wooden clock, made in Lincolnshire, that changed timeke...
03: The Aztecs, Maya and Incas | What the Ancients Did for Us
03: The Aztecs, Maya and Incas | What the Ancients Did for Us
Roving reporter Hermione Cockburn describes Aztec, Mayan and Incan inventions, including chocolate, suspension ...
20: Anglesey | Hart-Davis on History
20: Anglesey | Hart-Davis on History
Adam Hart-Davis and Jayne Constantinis visit Anglesey, featuring a look at the Menai Straits, Welsh music, Beaumaris Castle, Amlwch Port...
02: The Applyance of Science | What the Stuarts Did for Us
02: The Applyance of Science | What the Stuarts Did for Us
Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Stuart Period in science and enginee...
01: Seeying the Worlde | What The Tudors Did For Us
01: Seeying the Worlde | What The Tudors Did For Us
The development of scientific instruments gave the Tudors new worlds to explore, both on land and on sea. And did the Eng...
04: Crime and Punishment | What the Victorians Did For Us
04: Crime and Punishment | What the Victorians Did For Us
Adam Hart-Davis investigates the Victorian innovations that left a lasting impression on British society. In this p...
06: Ahead of Their Time | What the Romans Did for Us
06: Ahead of Their Time | What the Romans Did for Us
In the last of the series, Hart-Davis looks at how the Romans kept the citizens of the empire entertained, taps his fing...
09: River Thames | The History Hour
09: River Thames | The History Hour
Adam Hart-Davis explores the history of the River Thames in Surrey, and looks at how newspapers can be used for historical research.