Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Human language is, of course, far from static. Our vocabularies are constantly being influenced by cultural movements, migrations, new technologies and much, much more. Indeed, even good old-fashioned mixups can shape the way we speak, write and think. As this animation from BBC Ideas explains, there’s a long and rich history of commonly misheard sayings eventually becoming widely accepted, and even replacing the original phrase. So if you’ve ever deployed ‘duck tape’ or spent an afternoon ‘biting your time’, worry not: you might just be on the idiomatic cutting-edge.
Video by BBC Ideas
Animator: Ana Stefaniak
video
Biography and memoir
As her world unravels, Pilar wonders at the ‘sacred geometry’ that gives it structure
20 minutes
video
Meaning and the good life
Why strive? Stephen Fry reads Nick Cave’s letter on the threat of computed creativity
5 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
‘I know that change is possible’ – a Deaf prison chaplain’s gospel of hope
18 minutes
video
Technology and the self
An artist swaps her head with everyday objects in a musing on consumerism
4 minutes
video
Art
The overlooked polymath whose theatrical oeuvre made all of Rome a stage
30 minutes
video
Film and visual culture
An augmented-reality filter reveals the hidden movements all around us
7 minutes
video
Beauty and aesthetics
The grit of cacti and the drumbeat of time shape a sculptor’s life philosophy
11 minutes
video
Language and linguistics
Messages born of melody – hear the whistled language of the Hmong people
18 minutes
video
Film and visual culture
Stop-motion origami unfurls in a playful exploration of how senses overlap
3 minutes