AEE 2319: Where’s That From? How to Ask About an Idiom’s Origin
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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? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz.

and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. 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.

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.

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when you visit buyatoyota.com. That's B-U-Y-A-T-O-Y-O-T-A.com. Toyota, let's go places. Hey, 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? I have a question for you to start this out. Do you know the background of all the slang and idioms that you use?

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. 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. 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. 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? 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.

- 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? - 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? - Okay, so there could be a few scenarios, yeah. - Totally, absolutely.

- Mm-hmm, so all right, so what can we, what is, we're gonna have those three options, so what would be the first thing we could say? - Yeah, the first one is just to say, where's that from? Or I love adding, do you know? Where's that from, 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? 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? Where's that from? Do you know, right? You might want to name it so that they know what you're referring to.

Exactly. Exactly. And then another thing we could say is, what is this Aubrey? Skibidi? What is that? Skibidi? Have you heard Skibidi? So yeah, same thing. 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 is this another new kid piece of slang came from tick tock my kids say it all the time it means it depends on the context it can mean cool like good or it can mean like bad or dumb so it depends it can sometimes it'll refer to someone who's making a big deal about something that's not a big deal right interesting okay

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. 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. 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?

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 could have a really cool conversation about history, different eras in the language. 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. And this would be fun if someone said this to me, like just name an idiom or 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.

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. No, I feel so uncomfortable. Okay, I'll give you this one too. So it's chuggie, chuggie. And you might say chuggie. I feel like I've heard that. What's the background of that?

This is another, it's definitely the teenagers are saying it. You're going to hear it on TikTok. It means the same as, it's sort of replaced basic. People started saying basic for a while to mean sort of 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. Instead, they say chuggy. Good to know.

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. Oh, we can still say basic. I can still say basic. Okay, good. Okay. 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. Yeah, exactly. It's pretty new. And

And I like what you added on here. You said, I feel like I've heard that. 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 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 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

All right. I like it. So what's the background of that as a second one? And then number three, what is it, Aubrey? What is the last thing we could say? 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? Like I hear an idiom, I'd be like, that's a fun idiom. Do you know the origin of that? Right. Exactly. It's just more straightforward language here, right? Yeah.

Um, or what else? Let's see. Uh, okay. Here's a sample. Here's one. I know a blessing in disguise. I know this one. Thank you. Throw me a softball here. 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 blessing in disguise. 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. 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 if you had done the first one. Absolutely. 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.

Yeah, I bet we could come up with some tons of examples in our own lives about this, right? Something that you thought was a loss, but was actually a win, right? When you think about how your life took turns, has taken different turns, it's crazy to think about.

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 like find jobs. So we ended up moving back to Arizona. It turned 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. Yeah. You know, we sort of didn't anticipate at the time.

Or community. How did you do strollers in the subway? How did you do that? 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. 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. 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.

Right. And New Yorkers are usually quite helpful like that. They really are. But it's just tough. I mean, with that lifestyle of always taking the train, not really driving. Yeah, that would have been tough. 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. I always needed help getting stuff onto the bus too. The stroller in the front of the bus and...

Yeah, it's terrible. It's really hard to live in New York City with kids is the bottom line. Yeah, I mean, it's hard. It's hard to live there even as a 20 something in some ways, right? And anyways, so side point, add a couple kids. Oh, 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. Absolutely. Always sparks a fun conversation. Yes.

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And with available features like heated seats and a multimedia touchscreen, you can stay connected in comfort and style. Or check out an affordable and reliable Corolla with a trim for every lifestyle. From the hip and agile sedan to the sporty hatchback, there's a dependable Corolla built just for you.

Plus, both Camrys and Corollas are available in hybrid models. So no matter your style, you can drive efficiently and affordably. So visit your local Toyota dealer and check out amazing national sales event deals on Camrys, Corollas, and more when you visit buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places.

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. Okay. 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?

Yes, it's supposed to mimic the sound of screeching tires. Oh, okay. That makes sense. So if someone hears something interesting, they'd say skirt to express surprise and maybe get them to stop and repeat what they said. 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. Oh, it looks like it originated in the 19th century and refers to accidentally connecting the wrong telephone or telegraph lines. 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. Yeah, 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 didn't really...

And I think another good point here is that what, you know, look up the background, the origin of idioms, because then if someone asks you, you know, you have something interesting to say. And I love in this role play that I said, you know, no, but let's look it up because you can Google and find out the background of slang and idioms and find out together. And that also sparks a great conversation. It's amazing that we can just Google anything now, right? It doesn't mean it's always going to be the correct answer that Google is going to give us, but...

you know we can we have so much access to information it's incredible um all right through this so first you or i asked i heard someone say skirt skirt just like skrt i hear 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

Perfect. Perfect. And then what else did, what did we say from the episode? 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? So you're a wealth of information here about SCRT.

And this is really good practice too for your English. Teaching someone something is such good practice for you're actually learning it, right? 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.

- 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. - 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. 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. Especially I think if you are talking to another language learner because they are putting in effort to learn these idioms. They're proud to be able to use these idioms. 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.

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 way. And then we said, let's look it up. Anything else here that we need to see from this conversation to review? No, 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. 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. 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. No. If we do, it's pretty unnatural. It doesn't happen. It's...

topics ride parallel to each other. 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, right? To hang in that place, to be able to hold on and contribute. Yes, that's connection right there.

Love it. Absolutely. So true. This is such a great connection skill. I'm excited for you guys to be able to do it. 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. 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.

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. We can ask about it. We can connect. We can use it as a bridge to the next topic, right?

right 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 awesome 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. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

The national sales event is on at your Toyota dealer, making now the perfect time to get a great deal on a dependable new car, like a legendary Camry built for performance and available with all wheel drive. You can count on your new Camry to get anywhere you need to go.

And with available features like heated seats and a multimedia touchscreen, you can stay connected in comfort and style. Or check out an affordable and reliable Corolla with a trim for every lifestyle. From the hip and agile sedan to the sporty hatchback, there's a dependable Corolla built just for you.

Plus, both Camrys and Corollas are available in hybrid models. So no matter your style, you can drive efficiently and affordably. So visit your local Toyota dealer and check out amazing national sales event deals on Camrys, Corollas, and more when you visit buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places.