The Idiom

Host Rune Pedersen dives into the fascinating world of everyday language in How Humans Talk—a series about how we connect, persuade, and make sense of each other through conversation. From subtle word choices to cultural quirks, each episode explores how language shapes who we are, how we relate, and the world we live in. Hear from communication pros, cultural observers, and wonderfully curious guests as they unpack the hidden layers of how humans talk.

Well, this is it. The last episode of The Idiom. It feels like we should talk about the biggest topic of all, the one we put off until the end (the real end). Death! There are oodles of idioms about death. From pushing up daisies to hitting a deadline, it seems our language is peppered with them. Which makes sense, death is one of the few truly universal experiences across all cultures.

Here in Australia, we’ve been slowly getting better at talking about mental health. But it’s not the same story across all cultures. For many, discussion of mental fitness remains cloaked in idioms, or worse, silence.

We’re not comfortable talking about money in Australia. You don’t go to a dinner party and ask people their salary. But why not? Money is something we all need and want. We've all got money on our minds, so why not share? Rune goes in search of answers, and the idioms we use to skirt around money talk.

Do idioms and language get in the way when you’re trying to participate in a new culture? Idioms add spice to the meal of conversation and Australians use them a lot in daily conversation, but they depend on a shared cultural understanding. In a society as multicultural as Australia, is that a problem?