Full English with Mr Duncan - #44 - What does 'gone to pot' mean? Listen and Learn (with captions)

oh hi everybody this is mr duncan in england

welcome to another full english lesson

right here in the birthplace  of the english language

which just happens to be england

it is so nice to see you here once more

before i get underway with today's lesson

i would like to set a brain teaser for you

so as to give those cogs and gears in  the old noggin a chance to oil themselves

by the way the word noggin  is a slang term for head

the question is what word can be used  alongside the following five words

the words are... spray do net loss peace

i will give you the answer at the end of today's  video lesson so get your thinking caps on

can you see what i'm holding in my hand

this is a flower pot it can also be called a pot

it is something that is used for growing plants in

sometimes it is used for growing a plant from seed

you might have a house plant in a pot

a pot will help the plant to stay fed and nurtured

the word pot can be used in other ways too

a cooking pot is a container  for heating or boiling food in

as a verb you can put something in a pot

you might pot a plant

you are putting a plant in a pot

if you are doing this to many plants  then we can say that you are potting

i spent the whole morning in the shed  potting busy lizzies for next spring

there are other uses of the word pot as well

the phrase potluck can be used to show that

a bet or gamble is being made or  done with the hope of it winning

you must gamble on what is  available and assume it will win

you take potluck there is not much  choice so you must take pot luck

to win a large sum of money or the  highest available prize in a competition

is the jackpot

you might win the jackpot in a lottery

you win the highest amount

then there is the phrase go to pot  which means to fall into rack and ruin

something good becomes terrible

the attractiveness of something fades away

it goes to pot it has gone to pot

the local high street has gone to part  since the big department store closed

things have really gone to part  since this new manager arrived

then there is pot shot to take random aim at  something in the hope of getting it is a pot shot

you take a pot shot at something

you try to get or do something  using non-precise skill

a hunter might take a pot shot at an animal

the hunter is not aiming precisely

they are taking a pot shot

a random insult or criticism  directed towards someone

might be described as taking a pot shot

he stood there mercilessly taking pot  shots at my career and my personality

then there is the slang term for  a certain type of illegal drug

the word pot can be the street name for cannabis

so whether you are growing a plant

or trying to catch your dinner in the wild

the word pot can be used in many ways.

it's time to take a look at another buzzword

a buzzword is a word or phrase that  is popular during a certain period

or is generally popular in everyday use

today's buzzword is

gaslight

the word gaslight is a verb that names the  action of using psychological manipulation

to make a person doubt their  own sanity and sense of judgment

that is to say one person overpowers another

by getting them to distrust their  own view of the world around them

the thing a person has experienced  or seen might be distorted

by instilling self-doubt upon someone

they are being manipulated into  doubting their own ability to think

that person is being gaslighted

i know what i saw really happened  there is no use trying to gaslight me

gaslighting is seen as a negative action

and might even be described as a form of bullying

a politician might gaslight their constituents

by twisting the truth of a recent event

to persuade a person to change their opinion or  doubt their own grasp of reality is gaslighting

synonyms of gaslight include

manipulate control influence twist

to make a person doubt their  own sanity by correcting them

so as to force an alternative or  false point of view is gaslight

we live in a world where we expect things to work

by things i mean technology

modern devices might seem more reliable

but even now it is possible for things to go wrong

for example your smartphone might develop a glitch

your device is not working as well as it should be

it has developed a fault it has gone wrong

it has become unreliable

the word glitch can mean malfunction or problem

something is not working  or going ahead as it should

there is a glitch

computer software might  contain bugs or inconsistencies

which will lead to glitches  occurring when the program is used

you can have a glitch in a plan

something that is stopping you from  proceeding with your idea or plan  

might be described as a glitch

the new supermarket development  plans have hit a glitch

we might also use the word hitch

there is a hitch in the plan

the plan has hit a hitch

something has happened to hold up  and delay the thing in question

back to your devices

if something electronic develops a  fault or stops working completely

we can say that it is faulty

the thing no longer works properly

it keeps playing up it no longer functions well

it has developed a glitch

well sadly it's time to say goodbye

yes we have come to the end of  yet another full english lesson

can you believe it

they seem to go by so quickly

you know what they say time  flies when you're having fun

before i let you go here is the answer  to the brain teaser i set for you earlier

i asked you to name the word that can  go alongside the following five words

the words were

spray do net loss peace

the answer is

hair

first there is hairspray which is a cosmetic  treatment for holding a person's hair in place

so it doesn't blow around and become messy

then there is hairdo which names the  styling or rearranging of someone's hair

your hair style is a hairdo

then there is hairnet which is a mesh-like  covering for holding a person's hair in place

then there is hair loss which describes the  slow thinning of the hair on a person's head

finally there is hairpiece

which is another word for toupee or wig

for example fake hair that covers a bald spot  on a man's head can be called a hairpiece

that is it it is time for me to  definitely sign off and say goodbye

i hope you've enjoyed today's full english lesson

and i really do hope that you will  join me again for another one very soon

this is mr duncan in the  birthplace of english saying

thanks for watching see you again soon

take care of yourselves

and of course until the next  time we meet here on youtube

you know what's coming next

yes you do

ta ta for now.