The Vocab Man - Fluent Vocabulary

Transcript:

And I kid you not. Okay. I kid you not. It comes back with 2,500 corrections and I am just fricking astounded. Now, how can this be now? Obviously the way she counts, if a comma is in the wrong place where she cuts it, it's one. She puts it back. It's two. So let's be conservative. Let's say it's 1,250 problems. I'm still, my mind is boggled. So anyway

And I kid you not. Okay. I kid you not.



I kid you not guys, by listening to the Vocab Man , little by little, you will definitely improve your English skills while come back to this vocabulary podcast.

You need a very good password whenever you're doing anything kind of digital and Snowden came up with a suggestion, which was, and I kid you not, Margaret Thatcher is 100% sexy. I dunno if Greece can remember Margaret Thatcher, but I assure you that it's not true.

The expression I kid you not is just another way of saying I'm being completely serious right now. I am not kidding you. So it is rather colloquial and it is used to insist that one is telling the truth. And the funny thing is that these expression was popularized by Jack Paar .

And he was the host of the Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962. Jack used this as his signature phrase, but I'm not quite sure if he invented it. So yeah.

He was already drunk. I kid you not. And this isn't me just ripping on my ex. This was one of the best trial lawyers ever.

So, this was actually a quote from the series called Goliath. So the woman said he was already drunk. I kid you not. And she was referring to her ex-husband and he is actually the main character of the series. And if you are into crime series or law series, Goliath is highly recommended by me. The Vocab man.

And I also came across another expression when I was watching this episode and the expression was "just so you know":

Just so you know, I got a case and I think it's pretty damn good. One

night.

This was the main character of the series. And why did I mention it? So it's quite simple because whenever I come across an expression, I try to remember it. And I produce a new episode of the VOCA MAN . And just so you know, was actually on episode number three, I think. And I explained these expression over there.

the magic happens when you try to focus on only a few expressions. And then all of a sudden you noticed them when you watch a series or a movie, and then by doing so it will stick for good. It will stick with you forever. Right? You, you have learned it.

Tony Blair says in his autobiography, I kid you not. He says the freedom of information act was his biggest regret in government.

But I was rambling here a bit. So let's go back to the expression. So McMillan dictionary gives the following explanation. I kid you not is used for saying that you are telling the truth. Yeah. And there is, by the way, an alternative form of I kid you not. But this one is quite vulgar . So be careful when using it, it goes like this I shit

you not. Yeah.

They called their board and which I think it was more of a lunchroom. And we were literally, I shit, you not having the meeting at a ping pong table. And they were talking about what the game plan was for this thing.

and I shit, you not, I'm not making this up. I dare you even try to make this up last night. I I'm on the phone. Cause if you look at my car right now, you're going to see a suitcase because I flew in last night and then yeah. All that. Okay. So I'm on the phone with my son, Hey, I'm on my travels home. And he says, he's, he's about to go to bed.

What are you doing, son? And he said, I'm asking Google if Han solo and the millennium Falcon and stormtroopers and princess Leia can all be friends. And I said, you're asking who, and he said that, then he quotes Bush. He says the Google.

And I kid you not guys, the Vocab Man is over for now, but it will continue. Thanks a lot for tuning in. Thanks for listening. And bye.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/ZAWTalBW4cg

Transcript:
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

Welcome back. My dear English enthusiasts . I am the Vocab Man. And this time you're going to learn the proverb. You can lead a horse to water. But you can't make it drink. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You can influence people in circumstances, but you can't force things to go your way.

Why did we pick this idiom or proverb? Well, it's pretty simple because this is actually Ricardo's favorite idiom and he explained it in one of the Vocab Man's bonus episodes between number 59 and 58. And as I promised there, I, I want to cover various idioms that Ricardo mentioned because his guest post or guest episode was hilarious.

It was a really great, it was amazing because it was packed with different idioms and expressions. So actually, Back then I asked him which his favorite idiom was and he gave just an amazing answer. So without further ado, those are the winners. Number one, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

Number two, the grass is greener on the other side. Why did I decide for them? Well, the first one is a match made in heaven for reaching my target of learning English.

I have the best material and the best teachers, but I need to do my best as a middle of the road guy. I must work hard to play hard. This is only way to accomplish my goals.

I will keep my fingers crossed that the second one portrays perfectly our society nowadays. It's a pain in the neck. In my humble opinion, white people are. So envy, all that glitters isn't gold, I would tell them . If I was asked for, I also would recommend to them to have their head screwed on, to be happy as the days long and carry on with their lives.

To conclude Daniel, I hope you like my answer and find it useful. However, don't forget to never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Publishing it will be the icing on the cake using it or not is up to you now, the jury is out thank you very much, Ricardo. And yes, now it's up to us to decide if we want to use these idioms in our daily life.

And I, I heard some great examples there. The icing on the cake of course is great, which means an additional positive aspect to something that is already positive or really good. So as always, you'll find the transcript in the show notes. And of course the show is now available on YouTube as well. So check it out.

The Vocal Man on YouTube, it's definitely worthwhile. I find because we all want to become better English speakers. Right? So let's learn together guys. And thanks for tuning in. Bye. Bye. You have to also accept the fact that old saying you can lead a horse to water, but can't make them drink. Sometimes you can't lead the horse to water even.

Do you want to be part of the show? Drop us an E-Mail: [email protected]

What is your favorite expression? For more info see the link below!
https://www.videoask.com/fwegskglw


Dont' forget to watch this episode on YouTube (with an audiogram)

Full English Transcript:

I'll take my chances. All right. Hello guys. This is the Vocab Man. Recording on the go. So I'll take my chances and record while on the go.

Usually I am recording in my studio at home, but today we are going to experiment!

Candace. I'll take my chances on that. Okay. It's not politically correct.

Today's idiom is to take someone's chances. So I'll take my chances. What does it mean? So it means basically to do something even though it might fail

I'll take my chances

...and it also means to accept the risks. I'll take my chances. I'll take my chances with him. For example, that plane ticket is really cheap.

I'm going to buy it. I know the flight is often cancelled , but I'll take my chances. This comes from English Idioms and great Twitter account, which I am following because by doing so I get my daily idioms and I can learn more idioms . Okay. So what could we say instead of I'll take my chances. We could also just say, I will take the risk or I will take the chance.

I'll take my chances. I'll take my chances with you guys. Thanks. Also say it's worth the risk. It's worth the risk. I want to take the risk. I want to venture. I will take that risk. I'll take my chances in court.



#transcript #english

BONUS EPISODE!

Transcript of Ricardo's speech

When you asked me what was my favourite idiom, my first sensation was I “was scared out of my wits” and I “was shaking in my shoes” because I knew you “had high expectations” on that. I didn’t wish to “take a dislike to you” because you “have a heart in the right place”. I was “at a crossroads”. So I finally “came to terms with” and thought:

-I’ll do that! “I’ll bite the bullet”. Idioms "are my cup of tea". I must reckon, I “was on top of the world” that instant!

Choosing a single idiom among all idioms available was like "find a needle in a haystack" or "a drop in the ocean". Undoubtedly, the moment required “keeping a cool head”.

As "I have a brain like a sieve", I’ll need to look for my notes.

Should I sail through my notebook or navigate through the internet? - "There are different ways to skin a cat". I “was in two minds about that”

I also considered asking for a reliable friend whom “I am all ears”. However, I realised “Too many cooks spoil the broth” and I abandoned the idea to not “fly off the handle”.

-Definitely, I am going to grab my notebook, "it is just around the corner". I said. A “miles better idea than” search on the web.

So, “I got down to business”. “I burnt the midnight oil”. My desk became “a dog’s breakfast” full of papers, notes and clutter everywhere.

After poring over the list and having filtered results, I must admit I couldn’t choose only one idiom. Consequently, I am going to reveal my 2 favourites ones. I know “you can’t have your cake and eat it”, but “this is the life”.

In advance, the outcomes “aren’t out of this world”, and doesn’t make me feel in “seventh heaven” or “on cloud nine”. So, “without further ado, those are the winners:

1-“You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink”.

2- “The grass is greener on the other side”.

Why did I decide for them?

Well, the first one is “a match made in heaven” for reaching my target of learning English. I have the best material and the best teachers, but I need to “do my best”. As a “middle of the road” guy, I must “work hard to play hard”. This is the only way to accomplish my goals- “I’ll keep my fingers crossed”.

The second one portrays perfectly our society nowadays. It “is a pain in the neck” in my humble opinion. Why people are so envy? “All that glitters isn’t gold”. I would tell them if I was asked for. I also would recommend to them to “have their head screwed on” to “be happy as the day is long” and carry on their lives.

To conclude Daniel, I hope you like my answer and find it useful. However, don’t forget to “never look a gift horse in the mouth”. Publishing it would be “the icing on the cake”.

Using it or not, “it is up to you now”, "the jury is out".

------

Thank you Ricardo! You did really well!!!!
Daniel

What is your favorite expression? For more info see the link below!
https://www.videoask.com/fwegskglw


Links:

The Vocab Man YouTube channel with transcripts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGeFQ81EnxPmfmCi3RlFMxw

https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/geopats-language-1323254
https://www.stephfuccio.com/podcasts

Transcript:

The following program contains explicit language. Today, on the Vocab Man, I am talking to you about the phrase (to) bitch about
Hi everyone. This is Stephanie from the Geopats Language Podcast. I am coming to you from the Grand Park of Tirana, which is in the capital of Albania. A lesser known country, unfortunately, but a beautiful one that is just East of Italy and just North of Greece. I am from the U S but am living here for a few months, because - well COVID anyway, today, on the Vocab Man, I am talking to you about the phrase "bitch about", so let's get started.

0:57

So the phrase bitch about, is quite interesting now that I think about it, it usually introduces something that you're complaining about.

1:05

We need more people out there voting because if we do not get more voters than those same politicians that everybody likes to bitch about all the time on both the right and the left, they're going to stay in power because it's just going to be the same people voting every single time.

1:21

It basically means the same thing as complaining about. So, if I were to say, I don't want to bitch about my homework but it's basically the same thing as I don't want to complain about my homework but, but homework is boring. So let's think of a different example. I don't want to bitch about my husband but....

1:39

Shh...don't tell him, I don't want to complain about my husband but... now I lied a little bit there. When I said that it's the same. It's not the same. Otherwise, we wouldn't have different ways to say it. Can you hear the birds in the background?


2:01
Wow. They're really loud today. Anyway. it's not the same when you say bitch about, you're definitely talking to someone you're very friendly with someone you're very informal with and someone that you know that you can trust, because you're about to tell them a lot about the thing that you're going to complain about.



2:27
So for example, if I say, I don't want to bitch about my husband but he does blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Those things that I'm telling that person are very private.
I will leave the comments open if you guys want to bitch about it, whatever you're feeling. Go ahead!


2:46
Well, they're just things I wouldn't say in public.
So when you're using bitch about versus complain about it's more casual, more private and more informal. So you would never say this, for example, you would never say this in a job interview. You would never say this to an older conservative relative. You would probably not say this to your parents unless you were like an older adult or you had very free loving kind of anything goes kind of parents.

3:22

This is my channel. Okay. I'm doing what I think is best and that's what it is. So that's what it is. And if you guys go in the comments of this video and go bitch about it, delete delete, delete, delete. Like I'm going to delete everyone who complains about it because I'm done with this. Okay.


3:38

Generally speaking "bitch" is not the worst curse word you can use, but it's definitely not one that's as soft as say "shit" or "damn", it's definitely not the F-word, which I don't even feel comfortable saying on a recording, to be honest with you, but it's definitely a strong one. Now in it's strict sense, bitch. B I T C H actually is just the name of, I believe it's a female dog and I actually don't know why it has come to mean what it means now in this sentence in this example, bitch about it is the verb.

4:16

(to) Bitch is the verb. It's the action, like complain as an action, but bitch can also be a person, but that's an entirely different episode. So I'll let Daniel explain that to you later. Thank you so much for listening to this breakdown of how to use the word bitch about or the phrase bitch about, again, this is Stephanie from the Geopats Language Podcast, which can be found wherever you listen to audio.
It's G E O. P A T S Geopats Language. Thank you so much. Bye bye.


4:52

The be careful with how much you bitch about other people.
Thank you so much, Stephanie, for your contribution. I really had a blast when I was listening to your audio message with your great explanations. And just so you know, here comes the audio bit, which comes from Stephanie's podcast and actually.


5:14

I came across "to bitch about" and I just asked Stephanie, if she could give us an explanation. Thank you for listening to the Vocab Man. Bye.
Why are we talking today? Because you had a podcast frustration that I found really relevant under talked about, and that I wanted to hear more about. So you ready to bitch up a storm?

5:37

I am extremely ready to bitch up a storm and I'm mostly, mostly bitching about myself. So... that's cool.Well. You're bitching about an element of podcasting that I think is still tenable. So first of all, we have to mention the name of your podcast because that's where. Part of the bitching started. So can you introduce your podcast, please?

https://www.send7.org

Full English Transcript:

Look forward to.

Do you have any favorite idiom or expression in English?


Yeah. Probably my favorite idiom expression is something which is quite common actually. It's not so difficult. But I just love it because it's something we use all the time and it's not very translatable. Well, it's not translatable into Spanish and French in a very good way. And it is just "ooking forward to" I look forward to, so, you know, I look forward to seeing you next week.


0:41 I look forward to that big talk.

Me too. Me too. I really look forward what Stephen is going to tell us about his favorite English expression. Thank you for tuning in guys. You are listening to the Vocab Man, as always, you may take advantage of the transcript, which is available in our show notes for free. In case you didn't recognize Stephen .

01:05 Special Guest Stephen Devincenzi from the SEND 7 Podcast

Stephen is actually the creator and speaker of the podcast called Simple English News Daily (SEND 7)

Good morning. This is SEND 7 world news in seven minutes. I'm Stephen Devincenzi it's Wednesday, the 24th of February, 2021,

Starting in Africa today. In Niger Mohamoud Bazoum has been declared the winner of the presidential election...


1:42 So usually,we listento him in a more formal context because he is reading out the news.

I'm looking forward to the summer. And of course, during pandemic times, I'm looking forward to hugging my mum again, this expression I think is just really, really nice.


And from trying to translate it into Spanish with some of my Spanish speaking friends, there's nothing, which is quite the same.

It just doesn't quite exist. And it in French as well, the same, it just, there's nothing, you know, there's some things which are similar, but not the same.


2:17 Could you give us an explanation in English or could you paraphrase this chunk of

Yeah, I'm looking forward to: so. Looking forward to is something that you will only say if you know that something is going to happen. So, you can't say I'm looking forward to winning the lottery because you don't know if you're going to win the lottery. Well, actually you probably aren't. So, I'm looking forward to would be for something that you know is going to happen.

2:49

So, you know, that Christmas is going to come again. So you can say I'm looking forward to Christmas. And you know, that's it can be a very nice thing to say, even in an email or something like that, it can be used in informal situations. As I said before, you're talking to your mum who you haven't seen in person for many months.

And you say, mum, I'm looking forward to hugging you soon or just, I'm looking forward to seeing you soon. But also you can even use it in a more formal situation. So if you are, for example, I don't know you having a business meeting or an interview with someone, even then, you can always say, I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Or, I'm looking forward to talking to you. so it can be both informal and formal. And I think it's just got a really nice feeling behind it, which is why I like it. And I use it a lot.

3:48
And is it something that students don't use correctly, maybe?

Do you see it?

Yes I do. I sometimes would see people, using it in ways probably because in Spanish and French, There is no good translation that it can be just quite difficult to use. For example, you wouldn't say I'm looking forward to eating a pizza, you know, you might say I'm looking forward to when that pizza arrives at my door, which I've already ordered on the phone maybe.

But yeah, I think it's just because it's quite a difficult phrase to translate that. Yeah, I think people just don't use it that much, but English speakers do use it a lot.

Ruby. I look forward to this. We all do I look forward to getting to know you Bianca?

There's nothing. I look forward to with a greater pleasure.


4:50 Thank you Stephen!

Okay. Yeah. Thank you very much, Stephen, for that, I really liked that. Stephen where can we find you to wrap this interview up?

Thank you very much. Wrap up the interview. That's a great expression as well. No. Well thank you for having me Daniel people can listen to Simple English News Daily in their podcast app. They just, all of them, Spotify, Apple, Stitcher, all of them. I think, you can look for simple English news daily.

Podcasts and the websites where you can find the transcripts and all old episodes is send7.org, S E N D 7.org. But yeah, I think I think that's pretty much it, Daniel.

So that's actually pretty much it for today, guys, as Stephen said it before. And as a matter of fact, this was only a small part of the whole interview, which I conducted with Stephen, which lasts about 45 minutes in which he talked about his language journey and his great podcast. I personally find it a great way to learn and improve English by listening to a news podcast, which is specifically tailored for English learners.

Have a good one.

You can listen to my interview with Daniel about my language journey and my podcast journey. On episode 92 of my fluent podcast, have a great day.

There's nothing I look forward to with great pleasure.


The full interview with Stephen is here: www.myfluentpodcast episode 92


What is your favorite expression? For more info see the link below!
https://www.videoask.com/fwegskglw

What is your favorite expression? For more info see the link below!
https://www.videoask.com/fwegskglw


Drop in your audio message and tell us about your favorte expression:

https://www.speakpipe.com/myfluentpodcast_VOCAB

Hundo
Open up your wallet and you'd expect to find ones, tens, twenties, maybe even a Hundo. The last thing you'd ever expect is a Tom also known as a $2 bill.


0:21 Introduction of "Hundo"

Hello guys today on the Vocab Man, we cover a very short word
and actually it is a hundo. And what do I mean by that? Well, it's basically
another way of saying hundred

you know, 50 people, a hundred people, a couple hundred people I'm going to be honest with you. When I came across a hundo, it just cracked me up. I mean, I just had to laugh. I mean, this in a positive way, I just had so much fun and I really liked that word.

0:56 You just told your spouse instead of making 78 K a year, being this executive, Gary V fucking told you that you can garage sale and make a Hundo like they're scared. Rightfully so. Cause it's hard to get to 78 K in garage sale and Amazon, you got to get good.
So usually on the Vocab Man, we cover very practical expressions so that you can use them in daily life. Well, with this word, it's a little bit different, I guess, because this is rather American slang and you probably won't use it in daily life because it's not common in other countries. I guess, people might not understand, I guess, but even so I thought this might be interesting for you. Well, it's just that I am having a lot of fun to hear that slangy word.
What I want to say is the focus today lies rather on understanding the expression "hundo" than on using the word for yourself. .

Just so, you know, there will be a transcript available. You can find them in my show notes. So let's have a closer look at the audio clip.

0:56 You just told your spouse instead of making 78 K a year

2:12 What does K stand for?

So what does the K stand for? 78 K So actually it stands for the K is $1,000 or alternatively a kilo dollar. It's a shorthand way of writing large numbers by using metric prefixes, just like a kilogram or kilometer similarly, but strictly speaking , it's not actually a proper use of the system since a dollar isn't a scientific unit of measure.
So a shorter explanation would be the K stands for an informal English expression, which is used to represent the number 1000.

0:56

You just told your spouse instead of making 78 K a year, being this executive, Gary V fucking told you that you can garage sale and make a Hundo like they're scared. Rightfully so. Cause it's hard to get to 78 K in garage sale and Amazon, you got to get good.


3:11 Outro
You are listening to the Vocab Man, I am Daniel from Switzerland. I am an English learner and hopefully you will stick with me and learn with me because learning together is more fun. And who knows, maybe we will make it to episode hundo one day. Bye.
Open up your wall and you'd expect to find ones, tens, twenties, maybe even a Hundo. The last thing you'd ever expect is a Tom also known as a $2 bill.

Alvaro's Instagram Channel:
https://www.instagram.com/mc_courtain/

www.myfluentpodcast.com

Transcript:

0:00 Alvaro's introduction to the idiom "To paper over the cracks"

...and an Idiom that I like is to paper over the cracks. I like it.
I've never heard that.

0:53 this is good. It's good to paper over the cracks

0:20

Hello guys, this is Daniel. You're listening to the Vocab Man and you are about to listen to Alvaro from Spain, with whom I had an interview on episode 84 on my other show called My Fluent Podcast. And I asked him, which is one of his favorite idioms and that's basically the reason why we will cover the idiom "to paper over the cracks". It's a great idiom. Just a reminder. There is a transcript available.

0:53 What does the idiom "To paper over the cracks" mean?

This is good. It's good to paper over the cracks means like imagine a crack okay. On a wall. Right. And then you're trying to fix it. A crack is a crack. A crack is a problem in your life.
Something big, a big issue in your life. I mean, I mean, you put papers, you try to cover it.
You try to solve it just by putting some papers
But it's still...the crack is still there. Yeah. The crack is a still there. So apparently, apparently the problem is solved a problem and she apparently you overcame the problem but it's not, behind the paper behind the bill, the poster, the crack is still there.
So I don't know. So you could say sometimes, uh, this is just a paper , over the crack or I dunno, there was some combinations, with this, but I liked that one.

1:40
So even though other already gave a great explanation, I want to repeat from my point of view. So to paper over the cracks could mean to repair or to conceal or cover up something on a superficial level without addressing underlying problems.

2:05 Example from Daniel Goodson

So imagine your wall at your home and all of a sudden you discover some sort of a blemish or a crack on the wall. So it's something unpleasant. You don't want it to see for others. And that's why you decide to just cover it because yeah. To cover the unpleasant thing and you will put some paper hour, the crack. but of course it will show again. It's just a matter of time until it gets discovered again.

2:45 another audio clip:

Um, it's like a short term solution, you know? Cause you think, you know, you like paper over it crack, but that crack is still there, that needs to be addressed or it's going to get worse potentially. It's okay to ask someone for help.

3:00 Obama using the idiom:

We can't paper over problems and we're not going to solve this if we're always just trying to be politically correct.

And as you can see in the example of Obama, you can also just use to paper over problems instead of "cracks". So it's absolutely fine that way. And just so you know, well,

3:20 Why do I interview people for my podcast?

Why did I interview our row on my phone podcast? It's just to come out of my comfort zone and I try to. Express myself as clear as possible.
I also asked him for some expressions and idioms, because that way, if he is giving me some explanations, it will stick better in my mind. And at the same time I can cover it here on the Vocab Man , which hopefully will help you as well, which will support you in your English learning journey. So thank you very much for tuning in.
And have a good one.

4:09 last clip

And this is really is a revolusionary impulse, I think to think that things are so rotten in society, the only thing we can do is to burn down the sides and start all over again. But that does seem to me to be maybe not the first thought we should have when we're thinking about a structural problem with a house.
What's very interesting to me though. And this is when you start thinking about a structural problem in a house, what do you do about it? Well, one thing you try, one thing you could do temporarily is paper over the cracks. A crack appears in the house. You can put paper over it, and we use that as a metaphor of course, of papering over the cracks.
What happens if you pay for over the cracks, the crack reappears. So all you've done is made a cosmetic difference. You haven't got to the structural problem. You need to do something much more substantial in order to overcome that difficulty. It might not be burning down the house. Probably not many structures can be improved, but something much more thoroughgoing needs to be done in order to bring about some sort of repair.


Here is the link to the interview with Alvaro:

https://myfluentpodcast.libsyn.com/85-how-to-overcome-stuttering-alvaro-from-spain

Transcript:

Even though he was a hero Tom's primary concern after the accident was his mum finding out that he had driven the tracktor. He says, please don't tell my mom she'll tell me off the driving, the tractor, his mom's response he's might as well hit. Right? I can't tell you. How proud I am of him.

0:14

She'll tell me off the driving the tracktor.

0:24 Introduction

Hello guys. Today here on the vocab, man, we tackle a phrasal verb "to tell someone off". So basically if you tell someone off you speak to them, angrily or seriously because they have done something wrong. For example, "my parents told me off for not doing the homework" or "they told me all for watching the Netflix series called Fargo".

0:54

So now let's have a closer look at a very short audio clip. In which you are going to be able to find the phrasal verb. So be prepared. Um, the most endearing thing of Paolo was his love of field hockey. Um, and he would have talked about as a child in Punjab, his mum having to ground him or tell him off because she found him practicing his field hockey strokes late at night in his bedroom.

1:21

I will play it a second time. And this time I'm going to stop after a few seconds. And give you more information.
Um, the most endearing thing of Paolo was his love of feeld hokey. The most embarrassing thing means something like the thing that you love the most or that you fancy the most Paolo is the name of the guy the speaker is referring to, loves the most hockeyand it's not ice hockey, but it's field hockey. Um, and he would have talked about as a child in Punjab, his mum having to ground him or tell him is a state of India located in the Northwestern part of the sub continent. And there was another expression here to ground him

2:09 Informal use

So this is a difficult one. I guess it's very informal. It's very informal. And it is used. For example, when your parents prohibit you from taking part in some usual activities. So maybe you didn't do your homework and then you could be grounded for a week. For example, his mum having to ground him or tell him off because she found him practicing his field hockey strokes late at night in his bedroom.

2:45

And I have to admit that it is not that easy to follow and to catch the meaning. So don't give up, go back and relisten to it, or have a look at the transcript, which will help you to support you in the process of learning to understand more, to understand the speaking words of a native speaker,

3:13 Some synonyms

To reprimand or to scold. So that's almost it for today, guys, to be honest, I got the idea covering this specific phrasal verb from the book called practical everyday English. And you might already know that teacher Zdenek recommended it on episode 47 here on the Vocab Man.

3:45

I have to say it really, it really helped me personally as well, because I've learned a lot of expressions from that series of books.

And I can only recommend it.

3:55

I will say that I am very happy about my purchase so far. I could learn a lot of things.

4:05

Kind of all over the place. So it's a bit of phrasal verb, some idiot, just a bit of slang as well. So it's, it seems like the author of the book tried to go for expressions that are used a lot, you know, that's why it's called practical everyday English.
So these are expressions that perhaps you wouldn't find, sometimes you wouldn't find them necessarily in a classic cause book. Yeah. Like some of those slang expressions, perhaps some of the idioms,

3:45

This book focuses on practical expressions, which we use in our daily life. That's also what we are trying to do here on this podcast.
The Vocab Man is meant to help you learn relevant expressions, idioms, phrasal, alerts, and stuff. So I hope you like it. I am Daniel. Thanks for listening. And I hope that you will tune in for the next episode, which is coming soon.

Have a good one.

The full transcript is further below...

Word list/difficult expressions explained with time stamps

If you snooze you'll lose

2:53 To reassure = put/set someone's mind at rest / to raise someone's spirits
To put someone at ease

3:40 "Vice versa" basically means the other way round

3:50 "terminology" is another way of saying expressions or words or the language that is being used,


Full transript:

On the ball, but when you're in a kitchen, it's quick like this all the time, and you've got to be very sharp on this episode of the Vocab Man, we are going to focus on the idiom on the ball, which means to be up to date with modern developments. And of all others quick to catch on to know what is happening.

0:31

I find this a bit strange because on the, where we as dictionaries, it says that the idiom to be on the ball is meant to be slang. It occurred to me that I came across a lot of ways in which, for example, politicians used this expression. So I don't know if it is still slang, but it is often used in business context as well.

1:00 first clip

But when you're in a kitchen, it's quick like this all the time, and you've got to be very sharp and on the ball. And it, a lot of it is sensibility. Like I say, where you have a good team of guys and girls in the kitchen and there's that look, it's that sensibility. It's a, it's a nod. It's an, you know, if this course adjustments it's services like going to war you plan.

1:25

I think this is a great picture to explain the expression, to be on the ball, because if you are working in the kitchen, you always need to be yeah. Up to date with modern developments ahead of others. If you snooze, then you lose. I mean, it is a very competitive bronch, I suppose.


1:48

And, and the speaker really spoke very fast. So maybe. I'm going to show it again, but this time at a slower pace,

1:57 first clip at a slower pace

but when you're in a kitchen, it's quick like this all the time, and you've got to be very sharp and on the ball and you, it, a lot of it is sensibility. Like I say, where you have a good team of guys and girls in the kitchen and there's that look, it's that sensibility.

2:16

It's a, it's a nod it. And you know, if this. Cost adjustments with services like going to war you plan. But as soon as you go into it, things change, you have to adapt. So yeah, to be on the ball really means to be aware of what is happening and being able to react or deal with it quickly. In other words, to be attentive, knowledgeable and quick to take action.

2:47

And actually, I would like to stick to this interview because this is going to reassure (put/set someone's mind at rest) you as an English learner. Not understanding every single word from a native English speaker, because the guy you were listening to right before is a chef in the kitchen. And actually he. He moved to New York and the interviewer asked him what about when he came to New York and what was one of his biggest surprise or biggest challenges that he faced as a non American in a New York kitchen, but listen for yourself.

3:35

What I mean by that? Well, we'll aim my accent. Vice versa basically means the other way. Round me understanding the American terminology. Um, terminology is another way of saying expressions or words or the language that is being used, especially working with people from California, who. Would have this very sort of bro speak kind of way, which I had no idea what they were saying.

4:08

I kind of laughed the expression he used there, bro. Speak. So meaning how brothers speak. With each other. So in a rather slang way. Okay. Remember, there was a gentleman that I worked with at Boulay and, um, he would, he, he was working on this other stove. I was working on the side of the stove and he would look at me and say, Hey guy, can I, can I take my guy and write it in your guy?

4:37

I'm like, what that translated into? Can I take this piece of lamb and braise it in the shoe that you're making? I didn't know that because everyone else seemed to, but I didn't true. True story. Wow. Yeah. Um, okay, so that is meant to reassure you because I think that we as English learner should not beat ourselves up that often because even the native speakers don't understand each other sometimes.