This time we’re looking at casual ways to agree with a person. The expressions in this episode are cool casual slang, more often used by younger people. But if you’re older, don’t worry! These expressions can be found in music, movies, and on TV. Listen in to this episode to learn all about word, to be game, and to be down. Are you game for learning English?
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Expressions included in the Learning Materials:
- To be laid back
- Word
- My word is my bond
- To handle something
- To grab
- To be a nightmare
- To take on
- To be down
- No way José
- Wine and cheese
Andrew: Yeah. Today’s episode we are going to introduce three expressions to you that can all be used to agree with somebody’s statement or question in a very casual and laid-back way.
Harp: Yeah. These are all slang expressions used when you’re casually agreeing with someone.
Andrew: Yeah. So these expressions I use often with my friends but never in a serious or professional situation.
Harp: Yeah. And you would never use them in an essay that you were writing. It’s just really a casual way to use them.
Andrew: And our first one is word.
Harp: Word.
Andrew: Yeah. It’s just a one-word expression, which is word. H
arp: Yeah. And so you use this expression to say yes when someone has said something. You say word.
Andrew: Right. So if you want to agree with a statement that somebody has made, you can say word. And this expression is really a shortened form of a longer expression, which is my word is my bond.
Harp: My word is my bond.
Andrew: And this means that what you’re saying is true. You’re being honest. If your word is your bond, you’re telling the truth.
Harp: Exactly. So when you say word, you’re casually agreeing with what the person has said.
Andrew: Right. And this expression originates in hip-hop culture. The full expression, my word is my bond, started being used in hip-hop songs as word is bond and eventually that got shortened again to just word. And, yeah, now it’s used still in hip hop culture but also in the broader culture, and it’s just used by people when they want to agree with something.
Harp: Yup. And this is the case with many English expressions. We shorten a sentence down, so for this we just say word.
Andrew: Mmhmm. I like this one.
Harp: This expression is used verbally most of the time.
Andrew: Yup. And you really wouldn’t want to use this in a formal writing situation, but if you’re sending a text message or you’re chatting on the Internet then it’s totally OK to use these expressions.
Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast