Episode 4: Words Have Wool: Untangling The “Black Sheep”

Ever been called the black sheep of the family? Maybe you’ve said it about someone else — the rebel, the rule-breaker, the one who didn’t quite fit the mold.

But here’s the twist: that fluffy little phrase carries more history (and bias) than most of us realize.

In this episode of Canadian Salad, Andrea and Hostion trace the origins of “black sheep” — from literal flocks of woolly animals to biblical mistranslations, colour symbolism, and the way language quietly reinforces who’s “in” and who’s “out.” It’s a conversation about how words evolve, how culture shapes meaning, and why being mindful with language isn’t “politically correct” — it’s just being human.

Expect laughter, learning, and the occasional cat cameo (Pepper, we’re looking at you 🐈‍⬛).
Plus, a simple way to rethink outdated phrases using the three R’s: Reclaim. Replace. Reflect.

Because words have wool — and sometimes, it’s time to brush them out.

Episode Sources
The Origin & Meaning of Black Sheep - Etymonline
Black Sheep - Grammarphobia
Why We Say ‘Black Sheep Of The Family’ - Book Browse
The black sheep effect: The case of the deviant ingroup robot - National Library of Medicine
What’s the origin of the expression "black sheep"? - The Straight Dope
Gaslighting the black sheep - Medium
Language bias and black sheep - Natural Language Processing Lab
Black sheep and white lies (idioms with colours) - Cambridge University Blog

Quiz Sources
The Origins of Black Pepper: Once Called Black Gold - Raw Spice Bar
Why is Blue the Worlds’s Favourite Colour - YouGov