Talk Like a Native

Episode 20 - Ring a Bell

Christine: Hey Kevin, who were you talking to?

Kevin: I was talking to Beyonce.

Christine: Who’s that? His name kind of rings a bell. Is he a comedian?

Kevin: What? She is a famous singer.

Christine: Really? What song does she sing?

Kevin: The one that goes like, “All the single ladies, all the single ladies.”

Christine: Hmm...that doesn’t ring a bell.

Kevin: What is this bell you keep talking about?

Christine: Kevin, are you sure you’re an American? Why do you not know any English expressions? Rings a bell is an expression that’s used when something sounds familiar like you’ve heard it somewhere before. It’s like your brain alerting you to an old memory.

Kevin: Are you sure YOU’RE American? How do you not know Beyonce? She’s married to Jay-Z.

Christine: Umm...I’m just going to pretend I know what you’re talking about and give our listeners some examples of this expression:

I’m sorry but that description doesn’t ring any bells for me.

I’ve never met John before, but his name rings a bell.

This kind of rings a bell, but I’m not sure why it seems familiar to me.Christine: Wait, so how do you know Beyonce?

Kevin: Oh, we go way back. She used to live down the street from my house.

Christine: Where did you live?

Kevin: You know I’m just pulling your leg right? I was just talking to my mom.

Christine: Oh hey, you do know some English expressions. Want to explain it to our listeners?

Kevin: When you pull someone’s leg, you’re jokingly telling someone something that’s not true.

Christine: Nice, two expressions in one episode. I hope we didn’t overwhelm anyone.

Kevin: It’s ok, it is our 20th episode. I thought we could give them a little extra this week.

Christine: That’s a great idea. We’d also like to take this time to say thanks for listening to us and hope that you will continue to tune into Talk Like a Native.