Think Catchphrases Are Dead? Eat My Shorts.

Few inspirational phrases are quoted more often than Mahatma Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world.” It shows up on t-shirts, bumper stickers, even tattooed on people’s bodies. Life coaches, leadership trainers, and American presidents constantly cite it. There is ...  Show more

One of the many perks of subscribing to Decoder Ring Plus is access to every episode of Decoder Rings Back, our member-exclusive series where host Willa Paskin calls up a listener to answer their question about a cultural mystery directly. This week we’re offering a taste of the ...  Show more

Once you start listening for catchphrases in everyday life—you can’t stop hearing them. From the radio era’s “Holy mackerel!” to Fonzie’s “Ayyy!” to Urkel’s multiple go-to lines on Family Matters, we explore the irresistible quotables from sitcoms, movies and social media that ha ...  Show more

We receive a lot of fantastic show ideas from our listeners—and we’re grateful for each and every one. For our latest mailbag episode, we’re tackling five of your questions, including “Why the hell do we teach kids to play the recorder?” (We’re paraphrasing a bit.) Also: We’ll ex ...  Show more

We don’t think about the words and phrases we use all the time - until Josh and Chuck look into them and tell everyone what they found. That’s the gist of this episode! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

📝 Get FREE Episode Worksheet 🧐 Take English Level Test 👄 Improve Your Pronunciation Join Charlie and Harry on a lively, humorous journey as they navigate the captivating world of iconic brand slogans. From Carlsberg to Kit-Kats, discover how their catchy catchphrases have shap ...  Show more