Catch Word
Slang: Wannabe
Mar 7th
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Wannabe is a slang word that comes from putting the words want to be together into one word. Do you know what this word means? It has been used in many pop songs, movies and television shows. If you wanna be a natural English speaker, check out this episode!
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 What is a Member? |
| Maura: | For sure, it’s never a good thing to call someone a wannabe. |
| Jessie: | Right. And of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to be something, if you want to be a doctor and you’re working to be a doctor that’s great. |
| Maura: | Right, in that case, probably no one would call you a wannabe. |
| Jessie: | A wannabe is someone who is just pretending that they’re something they are not. |
| Maura: | Exactly, that’s a very important distinction. So what about the word itself, wannabe, it’s kind of funny? |
| Jessie: | Yeah, I think this slang term is actually pretty new. |
| Maura: | Yeah, it originated sometime in the 1980s, which wasn’t that long ago. |
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Video: YouTube
Expression: Shrug it off
Feb 14th
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In this episode, Robin and Jessie discuss the expression to shrug something off. Check out the picture here to see an example of someone shrugging. In certain situations a person may want to shrug it off, or have to roll with the punches, and afterwards pick up the pieces. Listen to hear how all these expressions are used differently.
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What is a Member? |
Robin: Forget about it. It’s not a big deal.
Jessie: So, are there any other expressions that we can use to talk about dealing with problems?
Robin: Absolutely. Another expression that we use to deal with problems is to roll with the punches.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Illustration: Asami Takemoto
Slang: To bug someone
Feb 8th
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Many of you have probably heard of the word bug. Most people know it as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb, like to bug a person. Do you think that bugging a person would be good or bad? Do you think someone would like to be bugged? Check out this episode to find out!
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Maura: Yeah it’s a small little insect. Sometimes it has legs and wings and sometimes they fly around like zzzz.
Harp: Exactly. Some examples of bugs are mosquitoes …
Maura: Yup.
Harp: Beetles … or cockroaches …
Maura: Yup, it could also be a fly or a ladybug.
Harp: A ladybug.
Maura: That one even has the word bug in it.
Harp: Yeah, so a ladybug is red with little black dots on it.
Maura: Yeah most people … they don’t mind ladybugs.
Harp: A ladybug is the only bug I like.
Maura: Yeah, sometimes bugs can be annoying.
Harp: Exactly, which brings us to the slang definition of bug.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Movie: This Hour has 22 Minutes Cough Etiquette
Slang: Chicken!
Jan 31st
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Are you a chicken? In this episode we look at a familiar word but show you how it can be used in another way. Most of you probably know that a chicken is a kind of bird. And you can also probably imagine a chicken dinner. There is another funny way that we use chicken in English. Check it out here…or are you a chicken?
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Harp: Yes, our Catchword today is chicken.
Maura: Which for many of you listening out there…I’m sure you are thinking, “I already know the word chicken. It’s an animal.” But we do use it in another way.
Harp: Exactly, there is slang use for chicken.
Maura: Exactly. So you already know the original meaning of the word, which is the animal, but in English sometimes we use chicken to describe a person who is very afraid of something.
Harp: Yeah, someone who is scared of things.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Stephen Woods
Expression: Corny
Nov 29th
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Sometimes movies are corny, or music is corny. It is a fun adjective that can describe just about anything. A synonym for corny is cheesy, and it has nothing to do with cheese! Check out this episode to hear our corny examples.
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Jessie: I like it.
Harp: I like it as well.
Jessie: So, does that mean having to do with corn?
Harp: Um, no, not at all.
Jessie: What does it mean?
Harp: Something that is corny is something that is cliché, unoriginal; it’s oldfashioned.
Jessie: OK, so corny is an adjective describing something that’s not very sophisticated, maybe kind of sentimental.
Harp: Yeah, exactly.
Jessie: Not original.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: flydime
Expression: Down-to-earth
Nov 14th
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Are you a down-to-earth person or do you often have you head in the clouds? Are you realistic and sensible or are you a dreamer? In this episode we look at expressions used to describe people. Armando sent us a question about the expression down-to-earth and we decided to dedicate an episode to it and its synonyms, grounded and feet on the ground. Thanks Armando!
Jessie: Right, well, my friend Becky for instance is really down-to-earth. She never shows off or acts like she is better than other people. She is just honest and she always just acts genuine and real.
Harp: OK, that makes sense. She is a down-to-earth person.
Jessie: Right, but my cousin on the other hand…He tells everyone that he is a down-to-earth guy but he spends all his time dreaming about being a movie star. He is always dreaming about being something else.
Harp: So, he is not down-to-earth at all.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Quasic
Expression: To be caught red-handed
Nov 8th
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When people commit crimes sometimes they get caught! That person may be caught in the act of doing it, and if you are caught in the act then we can say that you were caught red-handed. Another similar expression that is almost never used in a serious way is to be caught with your hand in the cookie jar. We give you lots of examples of being caught doing something and how to use the expressions here.
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Maura: Right, yeah.
Jessie: If you murder somebody you might get blood on your hands. Your hands would be red and if somebody saw you, they would know that you were the murderer.
Maura: Right, if you have the blood on your hands of the person who was killed, then probably you killed that person.
Jessie: Right, but today we can use this in a more light-hearted way too.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo credit: Chief Trent
Expression: All talk (and no action)
Nov 1st
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Do you talk about doing something but never do it? Then other people might be saying that you are all talk. People can be all talk at work, or they can be all talk about some plans they have for their future. Do you think that being all talk is a good thing?
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Maura: So this is a more literal expression, you can see the meaning in it.
Harp: Exactly.
Maura: But usually or sometimes we don’t say the full expression we just say that someone is all talk.
Harp: Yeah exactly. Sometimes people say something but they never have the intention of doing it.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Duncan Rawlinson
Expression: Wing it
Oct 24th
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At Culips, we plan our episodes in advance, we don’t just wing it. You can be specific and say that people can wing presentations or speeches, or you can simply say “wing it.” When you are not prepared, but you have to do something, you should try winging it.
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Harp: It was good. I had a presentation to give.
Maura: Oh really?
Harp: Yeah, I didn’t have any time to prepare for it so I had to wing it.
Maura: How did it go?
Harp: It went really well. I was on the spot, I improvised and people really enjoyed it.
Maura: Yeah, some people don’t need to prepare in advance.
Harp: I usually do but this time I winged it and it worked.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: D’Arcy Norman
Expression: Handy
Oct 4th
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Are you handy? Yes, this little expression is connected to hands and your ability to use yours well. Handy can be used to talk about a person or thing, but it is used a little bit differently. It is very handy to know many English expressions, so listen to this episode to learn another one!
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Jessie: Exactly. For example, if someone knows how to fix a toilet if it stops working, you would say they are a very handy person.
Robin: OK, so they are handy because we need to use the toilet and if they can fix it so it’s working, they are handy.
Jessie: Right, so usually when we fix things around the house, little jobs that you are using your hands. So in my mind that makes sense why you are calling the person handy.
Robin: OK, so someone who is very good with their hands and very useful, we can actually call them a handyman.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Windell Oskay
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