© Testbed Audio Ltd 2008
BBC Audiobooks Ltd 2009
Stephen Fry hosts four programmes on the joys of the English language – as heard on BBC Radio 4.
Current Puns
Why does our language groan with the weight of puns? What exactly is a pun? And who, or what, is the Thief of Bad Gags?
Metaphor
The English language is chock-full of maritime metaphors: cock up, taken aback, chip on your shoulder and show a leg. And, with the help of a Greek removals firm, we also find the origin of the word ‘metaphor’.
Quotation
The uses and misuses of quotations are revealed, and there is also a frank confession from a quotation compiler, which we cannot divulge here.
Cliché
Featuring sick parrots and the cliché crisis that affected the writing of Flaubert, Joyce and Eliot, and helped shape modern language and culture.
