Big Words for Smart People

Eric and Frankie are not linguists.

What Eric and Frankie lack in bona fides (boring fides, more like it) they make up for in sibling jocularity, rampaging tangents, and lighthearted ribbing. They already know you're a smart person, you don't need to be told that.

Instead, join them every Wednesday to learn a new, cool, big word to enrich your new, cool, big brain and listen in on a casual conversation loosely connected to the word.

BW4SP releases weekly to enrich your lexicon, ~30 minutes at a time.

All thoughts, ideas, and opinions expressed in Big Words for Smart People are their own.

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Episodes

13: Fetid

Wednesday Oct 22, 2025

Wednesday Oct 22, 2025

It's the penultimate word for Octobword and this one stinks! Also, trigger warning: dead animals (squirrels, deer)
 
Fetid - Adjective
: having a heavy offensive smell
 
In this episode:
Post-poop-cold-coffee
A thousand years of latent piss
A very bad soup
Dead Skull speriment
"I wanna huff your cat" if you know what I mean
 
Like what we do?
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Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

12: Lachrymose

Wednesday Oct 15, 2025

Wednesday Oct 15, 2025

The Octobword for this week is...
 
Lachrymose - Adjective
1: given to tears or weeping : tearful
2: tending to cause tears : mournful
In this episode:
I swear, I don’t know how how my glasses broke
Catharting all over the place
Weepy food
Surprisingly real moments
What fills your egg cup?
What’s your favorite terrible game names?
What’s the scary loud thing in your life?
Ambulance jumpscare
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

11: Lugubrious

Wednesday Oct 08, 2025

Wednesday Oct 08, 2025

It's time for another spoooooooky word!
 
Lugubrious - Adjective
1: mournful
especially : exaggeratedly or affectedly (see affected entry 2 sense 1a) 
2: dismal
In this episode:
Vampire Water Bed
Bernd das Brot
Airbud XIII - Now He Plays Baseball
Droopy Dog “Impressions”
Frank is Valid
The Azure Waistcoat Comedy Tour
Blehhhh
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary
 
Music in this episode:
Bach - Violin Concerto in A Minor - III. - BWV 1041 (Chamber Ensemble) 
MIDI The Chain by Fleetwood Mac

10: Inauspicious

Wednesday Oct 01, 2025

Wednesday Oct 01, 2025

It's the first Wednesday of spooky season and we've got twoOOOooOOOoo  words to celebrate!
 
Inauspicious - Adjective
1: being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
Auspicious - Adjective
1: showing or suggesting that future success is likely : propitious
2: attended by good auspices : fortunate, prosperous
 
In this episode:
The narrowest ass in North Carolina
Cat coughs - Draw what you think Ruben looks like
Talking about Twilight in 2025
“I’m gListening”
I’m not a ‘fate’ person, but…
Hi Mom!
Disclaimer: The hosts of Big Words for Smart People do not encourage you to fill a paper bag with paint and huff it like an asthmatic's inhaler.
Second Disclaimer: Eating spiderwebs is totally okay.
 
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

9: Worst

Wednesday Sep 24, 2025

Wednesday Sep 24, 2025

It's our 'worst' episode (yet), but not like you think!
 
Worst - verb (transitive)
: to get the better of : defeat
In this episode:
Conquering your challengees (sic)
Frankie uses “Java” as a reference to ‘cool coding…’
Reasons I can’t get a job
Parenting metaphors
“I’m gonna knock it over”
obtusive crosswords
 
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

8: Tyro

Wednesday Sep 17, 2025

Wednesday Sep 17, 2025

We're still figuring things out, I guess you could say that, when it comes to podcasting, we're still a:
 
Tyro - noun
: a beginner in learning : novice
 
In this episode:
Tyro Banks
Master's in Pokemonology
What are you happy to be terrible at?
Easy mode is a-okay
rUbBeR pEnCiL
Daniel the Sweet Little Cheek-Clapping Lad
 
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

7: Endemic

Wednesday Sep 10, 2025

Wednesday Sep 10, 2025

Make using this word a key part of your identity, the word of the week is:
 
Endemic - adjective
1a: belonging or native to a particular people or country
b: characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, area, or environment
 
2: restricted or peculiar to a locality or region
Endemic - noun
1: an organism that is restricted or peculiar to a locality or region : an endemic organism
 
2: a disease or outbreak of disease that is typically present in a particular region or population : an endemic disease
 
In this episode:
Snail Lore
Lauren Bacall Seals
Frankie is an ozzyboo
Crafting in silence near one another is my love language
Fun animal facts? Best I can do is big plants
 
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

6: Idiosyncracy

Wednesday Sep 03, 2025

Wednesday Sep 03, 2025

Go off, Quang! It's a new word for Word Wednesday:
 
Idiosyncrasy - Noun
1a: a peculiarity of constitution or temperament : an individualizing characteristic or quality
b: individual hypersensitiveness (as to a drug or food)
 
2: characteristic peculiarity (as of temperament)
 
In this episode:
Tiny little, semi-transparent Stewie Griffin knockoff tee
Diagnosing yourself with a personality
I’ve got too much money riding on Hoof Hearted
Fishing for a better parent, a 30 pound whopper
Relationship litmus tests
how do you teach empathy
What are your idiosyncrasies?
 
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

5: Cedilla

Wednesday Aug 27, 2025

Wednesday Aug 27, 2025

Eric's word for the week is that saucy little tail on the bottom of a 'c,' that's more fun to say than it is to type, it's 'cedilla.'
 
Cedilla - noun
: the diacritical mark ¸ placed under a letter (such as ç in French) to indicate an alteration or modification of its usual phonetic value (as in the French word façade)
 
In this episode:
C is a stupid letter
Ambush haircuts
We formally acknowledge this is a deeply American problem
“Optional” grammatical markings
What’s the ____ diacritical mark?
Don't be supercilious, sex is super silly...ous
This quickie could have been an email
 
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
 
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

4: Jejune

Wednesday Aug 20, 2025

Wednesday Aug 20, 2025

Happy Jejaugust! It's our highest energy, most hype episode yet! Jk, this ep is jejune af, y'all. Frankie and Eric are taking a relaxed stroll through their travel woes in this, BW4SPs quaternary episode. 
 
Jejune - adjective
devoid of significance or interest : dull
juvenile, puerile
lacking nutritive value
 
In this episode:
Air travel is magic, change our minds... or maybe it's hell? You can't change our minds because we haven't decided yet
"help!"
No hard feelings, Newark
Ooooo, what's that smell? It's "pugnent"
Lightning strikes near the scrunchy-tunnel
An inch and a half changes everything
Airport sinks, am I right?!
 
Like what we do?
Join our Discord Community! https://discord.gg/nJC7nat4Jm 
Drop us a Line! bigwordsforsmartpeople@gmail.com
Support us! https://ko-fi.com/bw4sp
Our excellent bees by Lava-Salmon
Show-notes definition pulled from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

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