AEE 2319: Where’s That From? How to Ask About an Idiom’s Origin AI transcript and summary - episode of podcast All Ears English Podcast

Go to PodExtra AI's episode page (AEE 2319: Where’s That From? How to Ask About an Idiom’s Origin) to play and view complete AI-processed content: summary, mindmap, topics, takeaways, transcript, keywords and highlights.

Go to PodExtra AI's podcast page (All Ears English Podcast) to view the AI-processed content of all episodes of this podcast.

View full AI transcripts and summaries of all podcast episodes on the blog: All Ears English Podcast

Episode: AEE 2319: Where’s That From? How to Ask About an Idiom’s Origin

Author: Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan
Duration: 00:17:42

Episode Shownotes

Take our free English-level test here to find out what your current English level is. Do you love All Ears English? Try our other podcasts here: Business English Podcast: Improve your Business English with 3 episodes per week, featuring Lindsay, Michelle, and Aubrey IELTS Energy Podcast: Learn IELTS from a

former Examiner and achieve your Band 7 or higher, featuring Jessica Beck and Aubrey Carter Visit our website here or https://lnk.to/website-sn Send your English question or episode topic idea to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Full Transcript

00:00:00 Speaker_00
This is an All Ears English podcast episode 2319. Where's that from? How to ask about an idiom's origin. Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English?

00:00:18 Speaker_00
We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American hosts, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer. coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.

00:00:39 Speaker_00
To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven-day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slash app.

00:00:58 Speaker_01
Do you like to use slang and idioms? Today, find out how to start a conversation in English about where an idiom comes from and how this can be a way to build connection.

00:01:14 Speaker_00
Aubrey, what's going on with you today? How's it going? I'm great. How are you, Lindsay? I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good. We're going into the weekend here pretty soon. But what are we talking about on Allers English today?

00:01:25 Speaker_01
I have a question for you to start this out. Do you know the background of all the slang and idioms that you use?

00:01:32 Speaker_00
Oh, definitely not. It's impossible. I try to learn some of them and I'm curious about them, right? It's interesting. History always comes in, which is great, but there's no way.

00:01:42 Speaker_01
And so sometimes I find myself asking like other native English speakers if they know, right? If they're slaying, if they know how it started, where it came from, or an idiom, if they know the background.

00:01:53 Speaker_01
So, we recently talked about this on a recent episode when we were teaching some slang, and we said we would do a follow-up to give you guys phrases to be able to ask that, to ask where slang is from, where idioms are from, because it is interesting.

00:02:08 Speaker_00
It is interesting. And we're going to let you know what episode that was at the end. So when you finish this episode, guys, you can go and check that one out. But in the meantime, before we start today, hit that follow button. Right, Aubrey?

00:02:20 Speaker_01
Yes, absolutely. If you're not following, you might be missing episodes. Let them drop right into your queue by hitting the follow button right now.

00:02:28 Speaker_00
Yes. So this kind of scenario could come up in conversations if we've just used a word because we learned it maybe on a podcast. We know it, but we don't really know where it comes from. Or if someone else used that word, right?

00:02:42 Speaker_01
Exactly. Maybe you're both watching a TV show or a movie together and someone says something. You could hear it and then you ask them. Or if they use it, then you could ask them, right?

00:02:52 Speaker_00
Okay. So there could be a few scenarios. Yeah.

00:02:54 Speaker_01
Totally. Absolutely.

00:02:56 Speaker_00
So, all right. So what can we, what is, we're going to have those three options. So what would be the first thing we could say?

00:03:02 Speaker_01
Yeah. The first one is just to say, where's that from? Or I love adding, do you know, where's that from?

00:03:07 Speaker_00
Do you know? Ah, where's that from? Do you know? Right? Interesting. Yeah, it's native, it's natural, right? It's a way of asking a question after you've kind of, you're just continuing that question, right?

00:03:18 Speaker_01
Exactly. And then if it's not clear, like maybe somebody mentioned it already, you would use this if it's very clear which phrase you're talking about, what slang, what idiom. If not, you would need to name it, right? If someone says, bougie, huh?

00:03:32 Speaker_01
Where's that from? Do you know? Right? You might want to name it so that they know what you're referring to.

00:03:37 Speaker_00
Exactly. Exactly. And then another thing we could say is, what is this, Aubrey? Skibidi? What is that? Skibidi?

00:03:45 Speaker_01
Have you heard Skibidi?

00:03:47 Speaker_00
So yeah, same thing.

00:03:48 Speaker_01
You would have to name it. So let's say you hear someone say Skibidi. You'd be like, Skibidi! I've heard that a few times. Where's that from? Do you know?

00:03:55 Speaker_00
Is this another new kid's piece of slang? I think so.

00:03:58 Speaker_01
I think it came from TikTok. My kids say it all the time. It depends on the context. It can mean cool, like good, or it can mean like bad or dumb. So it depends.

00:04:10 Speaker_01
Sometimes it'll refer to someone who's making a big deal about something that's not a big deal, right? Interesting. Okay.

00:04:18 Speaker_01
I am curious now if you're going to start hearing it, Lindsay, or if you guys listening, if you're going to start hearing people say skibbity.

00:04:23 Speaker_00
Maybe, yeah, I'll look out for it. I'll listen out for it. So the first one again is, where's that from? Right? Or where's that from? Do you know? Right? Much more casual, conversational. Yeah. Good. Yes.

00:04:34 Speaker_01
And the second one, a little more formal, very minorly to say, what's the background of that? Or saying, what's the background of that? Do you know?

00:04:42 Speaker_00
Yeah. And again, not everyone will know, right? But it's fun to see if they do know, right? Because if they do know, you can have a really cool conversation about history, different eras in the language.

00:04:52 Speaker_01
And I love this as a connection skill that you're sort of treating them like they might be an expert, right? Because maybe they are.

00:04:59 Speaker_01
And I think this would be fun if someone said this to me, like just name an idiom or a slang and then asked me if I knew the background, if I know where it's from. So fun if I do. If not, maybe we can look it up together. And it's a fun conversation.

00:05:12 Speaker_00
And it can spur other conversations, like we said, about history, about other topics, and why that time that it came about, right? Oh no, here comes another slang I don't even know.

00:05:22 Speaker_01
No, no, I feel so... Okay, I'll give you this one too. So it's chuggy, chuggy, and you might say, chuggy? I feel like I've heard that. What's the background of that? It's definitely the teenagers are saying it. You're going to hear it on TikTok.

00:05:37 Speaker_01
It's sort of replaced basic. People started saying basic for a while to mean uncool. Oh, that's not something people say anymore? Okay, good to know. Not so much, right? Basic is a little untrendy these days, at least with the teenagers.

00:05:50 Speaker_01
Instead, they say chuggy.

00:05:52 Speaker_00
See, I wonder, though, if there's a different set of norms. I think there is for the TikTok Gen Z crowd versus the Instagram millennial crowd, right? Because I think millennials mostly hang out more on Instagram.

00:06:04 Speaker_01
We can still say basic.

00:06:05 Speaker_00
I can still say basic.

00:06:06 Speaker_01
I think it moves a lot faster for teenagers, right? Things are coming up that they're adopting and replacing other slang. Basic is still pretty new to us.

00:06:14 Speaker_00
Yeah, that's exactly. It's pretty new. And I like what you added on here. You said, I feel like I've heard that, right? I feel like I've heard that. And that's good because you're just, you're kind of presenting it in another light, right?

00:06:27 Speaker_01
Right. I agree. Because if you hear something for the first time, you're probably not even going to notice it or you're just going to let it go. But if you have heard an idiom or a phrase a few times,

00:06:38 Speaker_01
That's when you might be like, okay, this is clearly something that's part of the language. I'm curious about the background. This is a great way to say that. I feel like I've heard that. Do you know what it means? Do you know what the background is?

00:06:49 Speaker_00
All right. I like it. So, what's the background of that is the second one. And then number three, what is it, Aubrey? What is the last thing we could say?

00:06:55 Speaker_01
Number three is, do you know the origin? So, this is the most formal of the three. This, I can imagine if I were speaking to a coworker or someone, if I'm trying to keep my language more formal, then I might say this, right?

00:07:08 Speaker_01
Like I hear an idiom, I'd be like, that's a fun idiom. Do you know the origin of that?

00:07:12 Speaker_00
Right, exactly. It's just more straightforward language here, right? Or what else? Let's see. Okay, here's one I know. A blessing in disguise. I know this one, Aubrey. Thank you. Throw me a softball here.

00:07:27 Speaker_01
Yeah, so you might say, I've heard that idiom, a blessing in disguise. Do you know the origin? So what does that mean, Lindsay, a blessing in disguise?

00:07:35 Speaker_00
So this is something that seems like a bad thing, right? Maybe you didn't get some opportunity, but it's actually ultimately a good thing, but you can generally only see that in hindsight, right?

00:07:45 Speaker_00
Or you could say, well, maybe it will be a blessing in disguise, but usually you're looking back because maybe there was a better opportunity that came along after that one and you would have missed it. Absolutely.

00:07:55 Speaker_01
Right. I agree. I feel like we most often say like it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It was something we expected to have negative results or not be great. And then it turned out to be good.

00:08:05 Speaker_00
Yeah, I bet we could come up with tons of examples in our own lives about this, right? Something that you thought was a loss, but was actually a win, right?

00:08:12 Speaker_00
When you think about how your life took turns, has taken different turns, it's crazy to think about.

00:08:17 Speaker_01
Yes. I think about when we left New York City, we were so sad. We really didn't want to move. We wanted to live there forever, but it was really difficult with children. It was difficult to find jobs, so we ended up moving back to Arizona.

00:08:31 Speaker_01
out to be a blessing in disguise because our children have gotten to know grandparents and cousins better than they would have, right? There are definitely benefits that we sort of didn't anticipate at the time.

00:08:42 Speaker_00
Or community. How did you do strollers in the subway? How did you do that?

00:08:47 Speaker_01
Because when we first moved there, we had a big heavy stroller and we were carrying it down the stairs. It took two people. If I was by myself, I had to ask someone to help me carry it down.

00:08:58 Speaker_01
So we got rid of that, got a really lightweight one, but it still was difficult. I still like you're holding the toddler, carrying the stroller.

00:09:05 Speaker_01
I almost always had to either ask for help or usually someone would offer help and I was always grateful because the subway station we lived by did not have an elevator.

00:09:13 Speaker_00
Right. And New Yorkers are usually quite helpful like that, but it's just tough. I mean, with that lifestyle of always taking the train, not really driving. Yeah, that would have been tough.

00:09:22 Speaker_01
I always offered if I saw someone with a stroller, I always offered to help because you just can't do it on your own if it's one parent with all the stuff they're carrying or even getting up into the bus, onto the bus.

00:09:32 Speaker_01
I always needed help getting stuff onto the bus too. The stroller in the front of the bus. Yeah, it's terrible. It's really hard to live in New York City with kids is the bottom line.

00:09:41 Speaker_00
Yeah, I mean, it's hard. It's hard to live there even as a 20-something in some ways, right? Anyways, so side point.

00:09:46 Speaker_01
And then add a couple kids.

00:09:48 Speaker_00
Yeah, but that's a good. So these are the kind of conversations that can be created just based on talking about this blessing in disguise. So the point is, digging deeper into the phrases we're using can be a conversation starter.

00:10:01 Speaker_01
Absolutely. Always sparks a fun conversation. Yes.

00:10:05 Speaker_00
Okay, Aubrey, let's show our listeners how it's done in a role play. What are we doing here? Yeah, you and I are waiting in line at a theme park.

00:10:12 Speaker_01
I'll start us out. I just heard that kid say skirt. That means like hold up, right? Do you know the origin of that?

00:10:22 Speaker_00
Yes, it's supposed to mimic the sound of screeching tires. Oh, OK, that makes sense. So if someone hears something interesting, they'd say skrt to express surprise and maybe get them to stop and repeat what they said.

00:10:34 Speaker_01
Oh, awesome. Thanks. I'm always getting my wires crossed with new slang. That's a fun idiom, by the way, getting your wires crossed. What's the background of that? Do you know? No, actually, but let's look it up.

00:10:46 Speaker_01
Oh, it looks like it originated in the 19th century and refers to accidentally connecting the wrong telephone or telegraph lines.

00:10:53 Speaker_00
That actually is really interesting. I'm going to say that genuinely. I like that expression, getting my wires crossed. We were getting our wires crossed here and that makes total sense. Is that true or did you make that up, Aubrey? That's true.

00:11:05 Speaker_01
I looked it up because I didn't know. I'm like, I'll just pick an idiom and then look up what it means. I think another good point here is that look up the background, the origin of idioms.

00:11:16 Speaker_01
Because then if someone asks you, you know you have something interesting to say. And I love in this role play that I said, no, but let's look it up. Because you can Google and find out the background of slang and idioms and find out together.

00:11:29 Speaker_01
And that also sparks a great conversation.

00:11:31 Speaker_00
It's amazing that we can just Google anything now. It doesn't mean it's always going to be the correct answer that Google is going to give us, but we can. We have so much access to information. It's incredible. Let's go through this.

00:11:43 Speaker_01
So first you, or I asked, I heard someone say skirt, just like S-K-I-R-T. I hear kids say this quite a bit. And so then I asked you like, Oh, I think it means this. Do you know the origin?

00:11:58 Speaker_00
Perfect. Perfect. And then what else did, what did we say from the episode?

00:12:03 Speaker_01
You did happen to know. If not, you could have said, let's look it up, right? Or no, but you're like, oh, that's supposed to mimic the sound of screeching tires. And you shared like when it would be used, right?

00:12:14 Speaker_01
So you're a wealth of information here about Skrt.

00:12:17 Speaker_00
And this is really good practice too for your English. Teaching someone something is such good practice for you're actually learning it.

00:12:24 Speaker_01
Absolutely, right? If you have learned this, you found this out, but haven't had a chance to talk about it, then you have this conversation and you're going to remember that slang after that.

00:12:33 Speaker_00
Exactly. And then the next one came up about getting our wires crossed. And I said, that's a fun idiom, by the way, get your wires crossed. What's the background of that? Do you know? So that was our next phrase.

00:12:44 Speaker_01
Yes. And I really love this connection skill. If someone uses an idiom, That's so fun to say, like, that's a fun idiom, by the way.

00:12:51 Speaker_01
And then you can name it, get your wires crossed, and then ask if they know where it's from, like, just to jumpstart a conversation about it.

00:12:58 Speaker_01
Especially, I think, if you are talking to another language learner, because they are putting an effort to learn these idioms. They're proud to be able to use these idioms.

00:13:08 Speaker_01
I think of myself speaking Spanish, French, whenever I can use an idiom, I'm so proud of myself. Oh my gosh, yeah. Yes. You know, give them their props for it.

00:13:16 Speaker_00
Yeah, and it shows positivity. It shows personality when you say, that's a fun idiom, right? Yeah. Very good. Okay. It looks like that. And then we said, let's look it up. Anything else here that we need to see from this conversation to review?

00:13:29 Speaker_01
I think this is just great to see how this could happen in a regular conversation, right? We're just chatting at a theme park. It doesn't have to be like, okay, let's talk about idioms, right? This can be worked into just a regular conversation.

00:13:42 Speaker_01
You're going to be hearing slang and idioms and you can just remark on them, right? Just mention them, ask about them. It can come up very naturally. Yeah.

00:13:51 Speaker_00
And the reality is there is no conversation about any topic where we say, okay, Aubrey, now we're going to talk about X, Y, Z. If we do, it's pretty unnatural. It doesn't happen. Topics ride parallel to each other.

00:14:05 Speaker_00
We go back to the previous topic, forward to the next one, grab a random one. And I think that is the key where our listeners can see themselves move into the C1 level to be able to hang in that place, to be able to hold on and contribute.

00:14:19 Speaker_00
Yes, that's connection right there. Love it.

00:14:20 Speaker_01
Absolutely. So true. This is such a great connection skill. I'm excited for you guys to be able to do it.

00:14:25 Speaker_01
We do want to share, if you missed the recent episode where we promised this follow-up, it was episode 2313, scroll up to listen to it, How to Learn English Slang at Warp Speed.

00:14:36 Speaker_01
This was a few fun expressions from TV and movies with the background, which does help you remember them if you know a little bit about where they came from.

00:14:44 Speaker_00
Yeah, guys. So that is your next episode. Go right now over there and check out that episode. And I think that's the takeaway today. Slang and idioms are important, but it's more than just using it. There's so much more we can do here.

00:14:56 Speaker_00
We can ask about it. We can connect. We can use it as a bridge to the next topic. Yes, absolutely. Such a great connection skill. Love it. Guys, hit the follow button if you love our style of connection, not perfection. All right. Good stuff.

00:15:09 Speaker_00
Aubrey, take care. See you next time. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score.

00:15:29 Speaker_00
And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.