Jessie: So the expression There are plenty of fish in the sea means that there are other options available. So, just like if you were going fishing and you caught a fish but at the last minute he got away, someone might say, “Well, don’t worry. There are plenty of fish in the sea.” So that means you can easily catch another fish.
Harp: Exactly. So now, you can use this expression in different ways, but the most common one is used in reference to relationships.
Jessie: Right, so a boyfriend or a girlfriend. So it’s almost like saying that you are catching a boyfriend like you are catching a fish. So if you break up with your boyfriend, it’s like the fish got away.

Maura: So she is really asking if we can give some other examples of words that are spelled with the letter P as the first letter - but we don’t pronounce the P. She is asking for more of these words that start with a P that we don’t pronounce.
Harp: Did everyone out there know this already? That when we say the word psychology, we do not pronounce the p at the beginning. Psychology is the science and study of the mind and human behaviour.
Maura: Of course if you’re listening, you only hear the s sound but when we write the word psychology it actually starts with the letter p which is not pronounced.
Harp: So to answer Anais’s question, there are not very many words where we do not pronounce the p. But there are a few words.

Maura: Maybe you go to someone’s house for dinner and they make pizza and you really don’t like onions and they put onions on the pizza. They ask if you like the pizza and you say, “Yeah, it’s delicious” because you don’t like onions but you don’t want to tell them that. You don’t want to be rude or impolite.
Harp: Yeah, exactly, that’s a little white lie. So a little white lie is usually to protect someone’s feelings, I would say.
Maura: Right, you want to be polite, you don’t want to be rude. So what is the other one? Brutal honesty. So brutal honesty is when you tell the complete truth and it can be rude or impolite.

Maura: The expression today is “to get something over with”.
Jessie: “To get something over with.”
Maura: Yeah, we usually say, “to get it over with”.
Jessie: Yeah, but we usually don’t say it that slow.
Maura: No, I’m saying it slow so that everyone listening can hear the words that I’m saying.
Jessie: So how does it sound if you were saying it in normal conversation?
Maura: Well, we say it very fast, we say “get it over with”.
Jessie: Right, so the ”t” kind of mixes with the “over”.
Maura: Exactly, it doesn’t sound like a hard “t” sound, so the real slow expression is “to get it over with”.
Jessie: “To get it over with.”
Maura: “To get it over with”, right that’s how we naturally say it. So now that we know what it sounds like. What does it mean?

Jessie: Today’s expression is “rain check”.
Maura: Yes, a rain check.
Jessie: Rain check. Rain check is kind of neat because it has a few different types of definitions.
Maura: OK.
Jessie: So let’s start off with the very literal definition. The first, and still a meaning, was kind of given to fans when they went to see an outdoor sports event if it rained and the event was cancelled. So, if they had that ticket they could either get their money back, because they didn’t get to watch that game or they could get into the next event free, the next time.
Maura: OK, so that makes sense, if there is an event and it rains, you get a rain check for the next event, when hopefully it is a sunny day.
Jessie: Right.
Maura: OK, what else do you have?
Jessie: OK, so another meaning for rain check is sometimes used at a store…

Harp: This is an idiomatic expression so there aren’t any real physical strings. It’s just an expression.
Maura: Right, the strings really represent the power and the connections to power that you have.
Harp: Exactly.
Maura: Good, you can pull strings, if you have power.
Harp: Exactly. Or someone can pull strings for you if they have power.
Maura: Exactly, it can work in all different ways, depends on who has the power. So what are some examples of where people might pull strings?
Harp: Well, there was that concert I wanted to go to last night.
Maura: OK.
Harp: Well I pulled some strings. I called my friend and he got me some tickets.

Maura: And what is shopping like in India?
Harp: Oh it is fantastic. It is completely different from North America.
Maura: Oh really?
Harp: Yeah. So I guess if you go to a shopping mall in India or in Delhi or in one of the big cities it’s the same, but we were looking for Indian clothes so we were trying to buy the lenga, the saris, the suit. And I’ll put pictures on the website so you can understand what that means. OK, so you go into a store and first thing you… sit down, right away. There is no walking around.

Harp: So, would you ever shave your head?
Jessie: I would never shave my head.
Harp: Or you could say I would shave my head when pigs fly.
Jessie: Oh I see. So pigs could never fly and I would never shave my head, so I could say, I will shave my head when pigs fly.
Harp: Exactly.
Jessie: So that means “never”.
Harp: Exactly. So should we give some more examples? My boyfriend is very adventurous and…

Harp: So maybe something happened 10 years ago but you’re still angry, you’re still holding a grudge.
Robin: OK, can you give me an example?
Harp: For sure. So let’s say, that I have an ex-boyfriend and my friend decides she wants to date him and so she dates him for maybe a month. That is my ex-boyfriend, she is not allowed to date him! I’m still going to hold a grudge 10 years, 20 years later. I think it is an unwritten rule you can’t date your friends exes.
Robin: Ok so you would be mad 20 years later.
Harp: Ok maybe not 20 years but I would hold a grudge for a while.

Maura: Robin, do you use these terms of endearment, these special words for people?
Robin: Not so often, but it’s probably because I don’t have a romantic partner.
Maura: Well, I have a romantic partner but we don’t usually use these words, and I don’t use them with my family or friends either. Like we said, some people don’t use them at all. It’s probably the best advice to not use them because it’s hard to know when a good time to use them is.
Robin: And if you do use them, use them with your romantic partner. That’s probably the safest bet.
Maura: Right, so don’t use them but if you want to, if you want to try it, use these words with a romantic partner or a really close friend or family member. Ok, so now let’s get into these words.
Robin: We have a couple of them. There’s sweetheart, and sweetie, and there’s sweetie pie…