Episode 314: Any Port in a Storm

Quick Quips: This week Shauna and Dan explore, "Any Port in a Storm". Bonus: A coat for your coat, Safe spaces in space, and Not-happy-little-horror Trees

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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast 
Quick Quips
Episode 314: Any Port in a Storm
Record Date: April 6, 2026 
Air Date: April 8, 2026

Intro

Dan:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase. 

I’m Dan Pugh

Shauna:
And I’m Shauna Harrison

Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today. 

Welcome to another Quick Quips episode where we look at phrases that, for whatever reason, don’t fit into our regular format.

This time, we’re looking for any port in a storm.

Meaning
According to Oxford English Dictionary, in figurative context, a port in a storm means:

Quote
a refuge, escape, or comfort in difficulties or troubled circumstances. Especially in any port in a storm: any refuge will suffice in times of trouble.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/port_n1?tab=meaning_and_use&hide-all-quotations=true&tl=true#29297834 

How it Started (Could be figurative or literal)

Before modern navigation and forecasting, storms could quickly put ships in serious danger. When that happened, sailors would head for the nearest available harbor, even if it wasn’t their planned destination.

In other words, safety mattered more than preference. It was better to be at port - even if the safety of said port was uncertain - than to face the definite danger of the sea in a storm. 


1657
An early example that reflects the same idea appears in a 1657 work by Samuel Purchas titled A Theatre of Politicall Flying-Insects. The book uses bees as a way to discuss politics, leadership, and human behavior.

In one passage, Purchas compares the strength of a person’s character to a ship sailing through rough weather.

Quote
When weaker vessells beare saile only in a calme, a true vessell of Christ should saile best to his wished port in a storme.
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/port_n1?tab=meaning_and_use&hide-all-quotations=true&tl=true#29297834 


1749
By the mid-1700s, the phrase had clearly entered everyday language. In John Cleland’s 1749 novel Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, a character uses it in conversation:

Quote
Pooh, says he my dear, any port in a storm.
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/port_n1?tab=meaning_and_use&hide-all-quotations=true&tl=true 

This shows the phrase had shifted from a moral or instructive metaphor about navigating difficulties to a casual expression in dialogue, much like we’d use it today. And it had clearly moved into the meaning of finding that safety amidst a challenge

How it Shifted (or How it Became Figurative)

1948
Moving forward to the 1900s, the phrase makes ita way into comics. A March 14, 1948 ad in the Evening Star, out of Washington, D.C., is titled, Your Portable Port in a Storm for “Gleneagles” Topcoats.

Quote
When the barometer falls ominously and a big blow's in the making, unfurl your "Gleneagles" and you're full-rigged for clear sailing! … the trim tailoring… the all-weather utility of "Gleneagles" – America's Practical Coat.
End quote
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1948-03-14/ed-1/?sp=125&q=port+in+a+storm&r=0.093,-0.037,0.778,0.354,0 

The audience is expected to immediately recognize the phrase and enjoy the wordplay. 

And next we’ll look at just how the phrase is used today, but first, a quick thank you to our sponsors

A Quick Thank You 
Dan
This episode is brought to you by our amazing Patrons on Patreon. It’s 100% free to join the Bunny Trails community, so give our weekly discussions and poll questions a try!

Shauna
If you love our content and want more, 
we have some paid tiers, too
including early access to the week's episode, 
a weekly behind the scenes video,
and Original Digital Artwork once a month, made by ME.

Dan
You can also get awesome name recognition like Pat Rowe and JGP do every episode. And our top spot is currently occupied by the amazing Mary Halsig Lopez.

You can join the Bunny Trails community for free at bunny trails pod on Patreon. 

That’s patreon.com/bunnytrailspod 

How it's used today

Any port in a storm has stayed in the English lexicon pretty well. 

1973
The phrase appears in television in 1973, an episode of Columbo was titled “Any Old Port in a Storm.”

Quote
A winemaker and connoisseur kills his half-brother in a fit of rage to prevent him from selling the family winery, and Lt. Columbo has to be very creative to solve the case.
End Quote
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069901/ 

Here, the episode title plays on the idiom as the characters make decisions driven by pressure, desperation, or necessity. It’s a clever nod to the original meaning while giving the audience a hint about the twists and stakes of the plot. Any Old Port in a Storm is listed on fan sites as one of the very best Columbo episodes.

We’ll talk about another 1973 entry in our behind the scenes video which airs every Friday on Patreon. That’s at patreon.com/BunnyTrailspod. 

2012
In 2012, the band Dirty Heads released their album titled Any Port in a Storm. The group blends reggae, rock, and hip hop in their songs. https://youtu.be/JXbwYzErrWY?si=wKO6pHuBI4TVW_rd 

To me, it almost feels like the album title could be referring to the idea of finding safety and comfort in music.


2019
The phrase also appears in visual art. In 2019, Lynda Arthur created an acrylic-on-canvas painting titled “Any Port in a Storm.”

Quote
“I have an interest in geometric and loose expressionist paintings. The colours are what I felt drawn to when painting it and seemed right for the picture. My method of painting has gradually evolved from figurative to abstract, which offers a fascination I can’t explain. It has been said that inspiration is the beginning, the middle, and the end of art and also that art is a mystery — to me that sums it up fairly well.”
End Quote
https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Any-port-in-a-storm/436886/12034901/view 

This painting has colors that some might not connect with the name - yellow, pinkish red, off-white, black - but the vibe fits for me. 

Shauna:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included, reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod, or comment on our website, bunnytrailspod.com

Poll question 

Dan:

It’s poll time! 

Recently we asked our Patrons: If your life had a theme song, what genre would it be?

The winner is Classical followed by Country, Pop, and Rock. 

Pat said: 
Quote
Beethoven Symphony No9 Ode to Joy.  Definitely a tough one...I love different works from all of the genres. My second choice is "I won't Back Down " by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the young years!
End Quote


Shauna: 

JGP shared: 
Quote
While, thankfully, my days of it being They Might Be Giants' song "Minimum Wage" have passed, I think what my life's theme song would depend on how the day is going - sometimes it's The Benny Hill theme song, others Flight of the Bumblebee, and occasionally Blues Traveller's 'Run Around" or, like Pat Rowe, Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down'.
End Quote


Dan: 
Jan said
Quote
What genre is that music that starts playing in keystone cops flicks? That’s probably what I’d say mine is on any given day.
End quote

Mary said: 
Quote 
At first, I was going to say Limelight by Rush because it always seemed like everything I did was on display for the world and I really love performing it. Then, Better Be Home Soon by Crowded House. Now, it’s New World Symphony. Most beautiful melody ever written. I would like to live into that someday. 
End Quote

This has changed for me over the years. I tried to think of it as   the theme song to a TV show about me, knowing there would be cool background music for different scenes. There was a time in my life where Eye of the Tiger would have been my theme. But I've mellowed out these days and have much less to prove. Now I'm mostly about trying to not make the same errors of my youth and to live the lessons of my life, so I'd go with Sweet Mistakes by Ellis Paul.

As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!

Outro

Dan:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember, 

Together:
Words belong to their users.