A thing: The English We Speak

Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I'm Feifei.

Neil: And I'm Neil.

Feifei: Where's... your beard?

Neil: I, uh, shaved it off. I fancied a change.

Beards are such a thing these days.

Feifei: Yup, ever since beards became a thing,

I've found them a bit boring.

Neil: 'A thing'. Of course, we know what the word

'thing' normally means, but what does

'a thing' mean here?

Feifei: Our phrase for today means 'a trend'

or 'something recognisable in popular culture'.

If beards are 'a thing', it means they've become

fashionable: lots of people have them.

Neil: Yes. Cats on the internet - they're a thing.

Feifei: Oh, fidget spinners. They're definitely a thing.

Neil: Fidget spinners?

Feifei: Yes, those little metal or plastic toys

that you spin on your finger. Know them?

Neil: Oh, those things that kids everywhere

are playing with.

Feifei: Not just kids. Anyway. What else is a thing?

Listen to these examples.

Examples: Using funny GIFs in your message

is such a thing.

You know parkour: the sport of running and jumping

across buildings? Why is that such a thing?

Organic powdered food.

Since when has that been a thing?

Feifei: A well-known use of this phrase was after

American personality Kim Kardashian

posted a picture of herself pregnant,

with the words "pregnancy lips".

Neil: It's not a term that many people had heard of,

and prompted responses like this:

"Pregnancy lips? Is that even a thing?"

Feifei: Yes, when someone refers to a trend

you haven't heard of, or that you doubt exists,

feel free to respond with

'is that even a thing?'

Neil: But there's little doubt the phrase 'a thing'

is itself 'a thing' -

it's now been included in major dictionaries.

Feifei: There we are. A thing.

No plans to grow the beard back, then?

Neil: Only when being clean-shaven

becomes too much of a thing!

Feifei and Neil: Bye.