The Allusionist

⭐ NOTE: If you patreonise the Allusionist via Apple app, it will cost you more because of some nonsense fees. So it's better to go to <a href="http://patreon.com/allusionist" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">patreon.com/allusionist</a> on browser. ⭐This is the Patreon of&nbsp;<a href="http://theallusionist.org" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the Allusionist</a>, in&nbsp;<a href="http://inwhiches.tumblr.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">which</a> you, excellent podcast listener, get to peer under the bonnet (BrE)/hood (AmE) of the show, poke around the shiny pipes and mysterious greasy bits, put your hand on your chin and say with feigned confidence, "Hmm, yes, looks like a...flange?" And/or just fill it with fuel and watch it go.&nbsp; Does this analogy work? IDK, I can't even drive. I can&nbsp;make podcasts though! Specifically the Allusionist,&nbsp;an independent podcast about language and how and why we humans use it the ways we do, hosted and produced and written and researched by your imaginary friend&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/helenzaltzman" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Helen Zaltzman</a>. It would be a one-person operation, except: YOU are an indispensable part of it. Without your involvement, the Allusionist would not exist. Firstly, if it didn't go into your ears, it would be a pretty lonely exercise, essentially me shouting about words into the back of a cupboard. Secondly, your support helps fund the podcast and make more of the podcast. I'm offering the same rewards for all tiers, because you're all equally great for choosing to fund the show. OK, if you're a high level donor, you do get a bonus reward, which is having more money for bankrolling independent entertainment. But otherwise, you all get the same bunch of stuff, including:<ul><li>a patron-only Discord community where we socialise, share our linguistic discoveries and our craft pics and our joys and sorrows, and watch TV and movies together</li><li>regular exclusive livestreams with me (and my dictionary collection)</li><li>the glow of satisfaction at making a podcast you like exist&nbsp;</li><li>peeks into how I make this show, and at whatever else I'm making, plus&nbsp;spoilers for future episode topics and episodes I'd like to make but haven't been able to so far.</li><li>when live shows are happening, there will be special perks for you there!</li></ul>In case you fetched up here without knowing what the Allusionist is: you can find the podcast on the pod apps, and at&nbsp;<a href="http://theallusionist.org" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">theallusionist.org</a>.

Free

Thank you! You know, if every Allusionist listener chipped in at this level, I could retire right now. Except I wouldn't, because a) they won't, and b) I'll be making this podcast for you, since you've kindly funded it! Your etymoney fact is about why 'bread' is slang for money, which it has been since at least the 1940s - 'dough' is documented from the 1850s though, so I guess it took 90 years to cook. Sorry. The bread and the dough were synonyms for money as they are staple products, perhaps the most pressing thing to buy with the money you earned. 'Breadwinner' goes back at least as far as 1819, and the 'winner' is in the sense of the word that involved some struggle and toil to emerge victorious, rather than winning some bread in a raffle. You're a winner for funding the Allusionist, in the sense of 'at life', and also 'of my affection'. The benefits of the bread tier, and all the tiers, are: <ul><li>the glow of satisfaction at making a podcast you like exist </li><li>weekly peeks into how I make this show, and at whatever other things I'm making, plus spoilers for upcoming episode topics and episodes I'd like to make but haven't been able to so far</li><li>monthly livechats </li><li>livestreamed performances; plus, if live in-person shows are ever a safe thing again, there will be special perks for you there! </li><li>ask me questions in the Community tab and hang out with your fellow Allusionist-funders</li></ul>

bread tier

Thanks so much for kindly keeping this show going! I'm raising my cup of tea in a gratitude toast to you right now. Yes, all of you. I drink a lot of tea. Your etymoney fact is about checks, and cheques. They sure sound like checks as in the fabric pattern - words sounding or looking the same as other words is often an etymological tripwire, but not in this case! Exchequers, the accountants of the Norman kings of England, would place counters on green and black checked cloths that looked like checker boards to make financial calculations.  Well now I feel less silly carrying around three Boggle sets for work purposes.* *For spelling out the titles of each new episode. No, they're not digitally created! That's why you can see dirt in the corners of the Boggle grid. Wow maybe I shouldn't have drawn your attention to that. Why three? Because my original set, which has blue lettering, only has one cube with the letter 'B', so when I needed two Bs (for episode 20 'Baby Talk') I bought a second Boggle set from a charity shop. But the lettering was black, so the Bs don't match! Hence when I saw another set at a charity shop, I bought it. Also black. By this point you would think I should just go over to the black cubes rather than the blue ones, but I like the blue and orange colour combination, like in the show's logo.  The other day I was helping clear out my parents' house and now I have two more Boggle sets! Both black. Now I wonder whether, fifteen years ago, I somehow bought the only blue Boggle set in existence. The benefits of the check tier, and all the tiers, are: <ul><li>the glow of satisfaction at making a podcast you like exist </li><li>weekly peeks into how I make this show, and at whatever other things I'm making, plus spoilers for upcoming episode topics and episodes I'd like to make but haven't been able to so far</li><li>monthly livechats </li><li>livestreamed performances; plus, if live in-person shows are ever a safe thing again, there will be special perks for you there! </li><li>ask me questions in the Community tab and hang out with your fellow Allusionist-funders</li></ul>

Check tier

Thank you so much for supporting the Allusionist! Your contributions significantly increase my dictionary budget. Your etymoney fact about 'wedge' as slang for money is not that it supposedly just refers to a stack of banknotes folded into a wedge. The etymology of 'coin' is a wedge! The word which dates back to 14th century in English, and as far as I know, they weren't using door wedges as currency then; the wedges were the things with which they stamped metal, and the word derived from 'cuneus' in Latin. Why, yes, that's the same cuneus as in 'cuneiform', the early writing system, formed by wedge-shaped tools pressed into soft clay. The benefits of the wedge tier, and all the tiers, are: <ul><li>the glow of satisfaction at making a podcast you like exist </li><li>weekly peeks into how I make this show, and at whatever other things I'm making, plus spoilers for upcoming episode topics and episodes I'd like to make but haven't been able to so far</li><li>monthly livechats </li><li>livestreamed performances; plus, if live in-person shows are ever a safe thing again, there will be special perks for you there! </li><li>ask me questions in the Community tab and hang out with your fellow Allusionist-funders.</li></ul>

Wedge tier

Look at you with your generosity! You're King Midas but for turning money into fact-based entertainment podcasts, rather than turning your toothpaste and own children into a chilly metal. Here's your etymoney fact: 'gravy' as a term for money is from the early 20th century, but nobody is all that sure why. Restaurant server chat? Possibly. Evolution from 19th century theatrical slang for getting easy laughs and applause from the audience? Maybe! Related to the 14th century currency made of lumps of dried meat-juice? No, because I invented that. My gratitude to you is certain and true, though. The benefits of the gravy tier, and all the tiers, are: <ul><li>the glow of satisfaction at making a podcast you like exist </li><li>weekly peeks into how I make this show, and at whatever other things I'm making, plus spoilers for upcoming episode topics and episodes I'd like to make but haven't been able to so far</li><li>monthly livechats </li><li>livestreamed performances; plus, if live in-person shows are ever a safe thing again, there will be special perks for you there! </li><li>ask me questions in the Community tab and hang out with your fellow Allusionist-funders.</li></ul>

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