Storytelling Advanced English Listening And Vocabulary - Say It Like A Native

Our first word is prior. Prior. Prior is a more advanced way of saying before. So, I

did something before, or you can talk about before the meeting. You can say prior to the

meeting, or prior to this job, I was doing something else. So, this is something that

you can use in a conversation maybe that's casual and every day, or you can use it in

a more academic setting. When you're talking about maybe I have a prior commitment, meaning

if somebody asks you, “Hey, are you free to come to the meeting?” Or, can you come

to this business thing next week? You can say, “Oh, I'm sorry. I can't attend. I have

a prior engagement.” It just means I already made plans with somebody else, but it's in

a much more maybe elegant or advanced way. Prior. Prior.

Next, intellect. Intellect. Intellect. Now, I'm pronouncing it more clearly so you can

hear it, but often you will just hear this as inellect. Inellect. Inellect. We don't

put the ‘t’ in there because people understand what we're saying, and we don't need to over-pronounce

in that way. So, he has a good intellect. Intellect. Inellect. Inellect. So, intellect

just means your smarts or your brains or anything just being, you know, related to your mind.

So, if something, like, a conversation is more intellectual, it means you're thinking

about more interesting things or more academic or more difficult things rather than maybe

talking about sports or something like that. So, I guess you can get intellectual about

sports if you're talking about maybe specific numbers or statistics or something. You're

getting very detailed, maybe the way an academic might look at sports. But there's just the

average conversation about that as well. So, intellectual person can be intellectual, or

you can talk about the intellect of someone. Intellect. Intellect.

Next we've got two words that you'll hear in conversations very often. These are roughly

and basically. Now, when you're using these words, these are often just ways of maybe

instead of using a filler word, like, um, or uh. Uh, we’ll use basically as a way

of telling a story and then at the end of that saying, well, here's a more basic way

or a simpler way of explaining something like that.

So, if I'm giving an explanation, and then I say basically this and this. And you'll

often hear this with short stories or people are talking about something that happened

during their day. They will say, “Well, I did this and this. Basically, I was very

busy.“ So, you can use that, and again, this is a great way to practice your conversation.

Uh, you don't want to use more words or speak more than you have to. Uh, but this is a great

way to take something and then try to add just a few more words to the things that you're

saying because this gives you an opportunity to practice. So, anytime you speak with someone,

you can tell them a story. Basically, it was something like this. So, yesterday I went

shopping with my family, and then we went out to dinner. And then we had this other

thing, and then this and then that. Uh, basically, it was a very busy day. So, again, I'm using

that to just have a little bit more extra when I'm explaining something.

Now, roughly is a similar word where we're talking about something, maybe in general,

and basically, we want to explain something, but maybe we don't have specific details about

that. So, roughly 30 people came to the party yesterday. So, I don't know exactly maybe

it was 40 people or maybe it was 25. I don't know, but roughly something like that. So,

if you want to explain something and you don't have, uh, an exact number, roughly is a really

great conversational way of explaining that. So, roughly, or about something, but roughly

is even more conversational than saying about. Roughly. Roughly.

Next, to ambush someone. Ambush. Now, ambush, if you think about as just a way to remember

this, you're hiding in a bush or behind a bush, and then someone walks out and you jump

out and try to grab them or something like that. So, to ambush someone, this is the,

the physical idea of something where you're again trying to, trying to wait for someone

and to hide and to be careful. And then when someone comes for you, and this could be the

same thing, like, if you watch a lion trying to ambush, uh, an antelope in Africa or a

lion trying to catch some other animal. So, the, the lion is waiting to ambush that other

animal. So, an alligator might do the same thing. They wait in the water just with their

eyes out, looking and some animal comes to drink. And then the, the alligator or the

crocodile tries to grab that animal.

So, these are called ambush predators, and these are the physical uses of ambushing someone.

But you'll also find this mentally where even if you have a group conversation where, a,

like, a couple of people, like, in interviews specifically. A interviewer might be talking

with someone, asking them some very gentle questions. And then they ambushed them by

saying, “Well, like, what happened to this other thing?” And they're going to embarrass

that person. Or, try to use some example where, you know, maybe that person wasn't expecting

that conversation topic. But they're in an interview, and now they have to say something,

or they will look stupid. So, they're being ambushed, and we call this an ambush interview.

Anyway, that's what ambush means. It just means to wait for someone to come. Usually,

you have some kind of trap, or you're just waiting for that person, so you can capture

them or do something that makes them look silly. To ambush. Ambush.

Next, a similar kind of related to military and war and things like that. This is the

word recon, short for reconnaissance. But most people, even in the military, will just

talk about recon rather than reconnaissance because again, we're trying to express the

same thing in a shorter, faster way.

Now, recon just means you're looking usually in a physical area about, maybe where the

enemy is, and you're trying to send a few people out. Okay, we found the enemy is over

there. And how are we going to create some strategy? What is our plan to fight them or

to run away or do something like that?

So, it's kind of a form of spying, but usually, it just means if you think about, uh, traditional

military where you have two armies that are fighting against each other. You have to figure

out what the army, uh, the other army is doing and, and what your strategy is for that. So,

when you're doing reconnaissance, or you're on a recon mission, you're trying to figure

out that information. Recon.

Next, to be in charge. In charge. This is another fantastic conversational way of saying

that you have some kind of authority in a situation or you are the top person or you

are responsible for taking care of other people. So, if the police come and there's a problem

at a party, they will say, “Okay, who's in charge here?” Or, at a company, you might

say, “Who's in charge of this division?” And this is a more casual and conversational

way, even in a more academic or professional setting, where you're talking about who is

the top person or who is the, the person who's leading this or has responsibility.

So, to have, uh, take charge of something or to be in charge of something, to have that

charge. Uh, you can think about charging also, like, charging a battery, but this is a different

meaning of that same word. Uh, so you are in charge of something when it's your responsibility

for it. To be in charge of something. In charge.

Next, an interesting word, peculiar. Peculiar, and I'm saying it in a slightly funny way

or a different way, uh, to get it into your memory more. So, practicing that with me now,

peculiar. Peculiar. So, peculiar actually is a word that means strange or odd or weird

in some way. And it's a more advanced way of saying strange or weird. So, you can say,

“Wow, I have a very peculiar feeling about, about this, this maybe haunted house,” or

something that I’m in. I don't know why. Something is a bit peculiar about this. So,

you can say something is strange, like, uh, a young child may say, that's strange or that's

weird or that's odd. But a more, maybe, intellectual way, using that intellect way of expressing

this, is to say something is peculiar. Peculiar. Peculiar.

Next, specialty and speciality. Now, because we do help, uh, lots of people around the

world, some people are living in the United Kingdom, some people are living in America

or, you know, uh, Australia, wherever else they happen to be. There will often be words

where it will be the same word and the same meaning, but maybe it's pronounced in a slightly

different way or even spelled differently. And there's no other reason than it's just

because of the country.

So, in America, we would talk about a doctor's specialty where you have a particular focus.

And more often you will hear in the UK or other places like Australia, you would hear

speciality. Speciality. So, in America, we would say specialty. My specialty is heart

surgery, or I'm a heart doctor or an eye doctor or something. But in the UK, you would say,

okay, my speciality is something like that. Now, maybe everyone doesn't do this. You might

hear speciality in America. But typically it's just specialty. Specialty. And again,

it's because we want to express it faster and easier to say. Specialty. Speciality.

Next, to hack something. To hack something. Now, this is a word that's become very popular,

especially, uh, with the, the dawn of or the creation of the rise of technology. And you

have a lot of people who’re trying to either take something and break it down to use it

in a different way or a way that maybe they should not be using it. Uh, or they are trying

to build something where maybe they don't have the best pieces, but they want to make

something that does some kind of job. So, you can talk about, uh, hacking something

together. Or, to hack something means to break into it. Um, hopefully, you can, you know,

or I guess if you want to do something bad, like, hacking into somebody else's computer,

where you steal their information.

Uh, but again, hack means in this way we're talking about, just specifically for this

meaning, where you're trying to break into something, uh, either for a good purpose or

a bad person or bad purpose. Or, you're trying to figure out a way to connect a few things

in a way that maybe they weren't intended to do.

So, maybe, uh, if you have, uh, a, like a website and you have to use a couple of different

programs to do something, you have to hack together, uh, a solution for something like

that. Or, maybe you have a business where we're trying to produce a certain product,

but we don't really have the right equipment for that. So, we had to hack something together.

So, it just means you’re having to, to build something or make something that might not

be perfect. But it's able to solve your problem. Hack.

Next, another great word, hypothetical. Hypothetical. Hypothetical just means you're guessing about

something, or you just want to say maybe something is not real, but let's talk about it anyway.

So, if I'm asking someone, maybe they have given me some rules about a certain thing.

I'm working at a new job. I'm going to be working at a hotel for instance. And I'm talking

to my boss, and I say, “Hypothetically, if, uh, a person with a gun comes in here

and tries to steal our money, what should we do?” So, I'm guessing that will probably

not happen. But I'm saying hypothetically, uh, what will happen or what should we do

in that instance? So, when you talk about something being hypothetical or a hypothetical

situation, it's probably not going to happen, but it's a great exercise for thinking about

things.

And so, when I often speak with learners about how they should be thinking or practicing,

you can imagine a lot of hypothetical situations where you might practice saying something

or using something in your mind in a lot of that mental practice comes. Uh, and you can

really develop, especially, that's one of the great things about, uh, improving your

speaking confidence and fluency. Uh, of the, the mental practice that you can do in imagining

yourself having, uh, like, stories, telling stories. We'll talk more about that in the

Special Mission Homework Assignment this month. Uh, but again, this idea of thinking about

something that's not real, uh, but maybe there's a possibility that could happen is hypothetical.

Hypothetical. Hypothetically speaking, what happens if something, something.

Next, shady and mysterious. Now, you've probably heard the word mysterious before. You might

have even heard shady, but shady just means something that, like, it doesn't look right

or maybe somebody is doing something that they should not be doing. We talk about shady

characters, meaning people that are doing, maybe they’re, you see some people doing

something. Maybe somebody is buying or selling some drugs or trying to steal something. So,

when you look at shady behavior or you notice people doing things they should not be doing,

uh, you can talk about, again, that maybe being some kind of, uh, evil or maybe just

something slightly bad, something wrong that they should not be doing.

Now, mysterious doesn't necessarily mean it's evil. It just means you don't know what's

happening. So, there's a mysterious situation, just a mystery. You don't know if something

is good or bad or helpful or it will hurt you, something like that. But often you will

hear, uh, these things, you know, spoken about together in conversations or stories when

you will say, well, there was a mystery about something. And if it's a negative kind of

thing, you can say, “Well, uh, like, that guy was behaving in a shady way.” So, he

was doing something. He was looking around like this. Yeah, he looked like he was causing

trouble. We don't really know, so there's a mystery about that. Shady and mysterious.

Next, to lure someone or to have allure. Allure just means to, to pull something. When you

have a lure, this is a, like, a, like, a, uh, the physical idea or the physical thing.

Like, you have a fishing hook, uh, with some kind of bait at the end. That bait is the

lure. So, it's trying to attract someone. So, the word lure is both a noun and a verb.

You can lure someone if you're trying to attract them. Like, uh, maybe some young woman might

try to lure, uh, some men to do something by putting on a very sexy dress or something.

So, that's, uh, the, uh, trying to lure them. Or, the lure itself is we want to do something,

and so we're going to, maybe, try to, I don’t, catch some, catch some criminals by putting

some free money out on a table or something like that. So, the lure of the thing is also

used to lure people. Lure.

Next, assailant. Assailant. To assail just means you're going to attack someone in some

kind of way. And you can do this mentally when you're talking, maybe you're yelling

at someone. Someone's assailing me with lots of angry comments or something. Or, you can

be physically hurting someone if you're attacking them, trying to steal their wallet or their

watch or something like that. Uh, so an assailant is a person who's doing this. So, a person

who is assailing someone, the assailant. Typically, this is a more educated way of describing

this. You won't often hear robber or, like, violent person or something as a word on the

news. So, on news programs, they will typically say the assailant did something. And again,

this just means someone who is hurting someone, uh, or causing some kind of trouble, usually

physically. Assailant.

And our last of our short words is obsessed. Obsessed. And this is a very common word you

will hear in lots of movies, TV shows, and conversations. To be obsessed about something

means you really are focusing on it. You're thinking about that thing all the time, even

more than you should be. So, maybe you have a regular job, and you're supposed to be working

from 9:00 to 5:00, and then you can go home and relax and play some video game or whatever,

some comic book or other thing you want to be doing. But if you're obsessed about something,

even while you're working, uh, you're trying to play your game or do something else or

whatever. Uh, so this is to be obsessed about something. Really thinking about it typically

more than you should be, uh, and often, uh, something that can hurt you. So, maybe I'm

obsessed about eating chocolate, or I'm obsessed about doing whatever. Uh, again it just means

you're focusing on that.

Now, you can use it, and you will hear it used in the conversation, uh, when Alex is

talking about being obsessed with a certain thing. So, I'm obsessed with, you know, Dungeons

and Dragons. Or, I'm obsessed with this particular sporting event, uh, like, my particular, uh,

soccer team or baseball team or whatever. Uh, and you will hear this when people are

talking about something in a good way. So, they say well, I'm, like, I really liked my

team a lot. But a more casual and conversational way to describe this is to say you're obsessed.

Obsessed.

Now, let's move into the longer phrases and expressions for this month. The first one

is to be doing something, or as an example, I have been doing something for many years

now. Now, this might sound like maybe a weird way of explaining this. But it's a more casual,

conversational way of saying up until now. So, you've been doing something. You started

doing something in the past and you were doing it up until this point. Like, for my example,

uh, I have been teaching for over 10 years now.

Now, we put the now at the end of that just to make it more casual and conversational.

It’s… So, nothing really changes. I have been teaching for over 10 years, or I've been

teaching for over 10 years now. It's really the exact same thing, but we're making it

a bit more casual and conversational and saying almost that we're continuing to do it. Like,

right now, I'm actually physically doing that thing.

So, if I'm in a conversation, like, right now, I'm actually teaching someone. So, you

can say, “I've been teaching for 10 years now.” So, even right now, I'm continuing

to do that thing. But if I just meet someone and they ask me, “Oh, what is your job?”

Or, “What do you do?” Say, “Oh, I've been a teacher for 10 years,” or something

like that. So, it really doesn't matter. But if you want to add that now, you can, and

it will help you sound more native and conversational. Now.

Next, another fantastic phrase, in one form or another. In one form or another. Now, listen

carefully to how this blends. And also, remember when you're practicing phrases with me or

you learn them with anybody else, you're learning all the words that come together, and then

you practice saying it as one thing. And as you master the phrases and you blend the sounds

of the words together, it becomes much easier to put them into conversations and use them,

you know, correctly and automatically without thinking about them.

So, in one form or another, in one for mur another, for mur another, for mur ranother.

It's, like, ya nother. For mur, ra, ranother, ranother. In one for mur ranother. In one

form or another. Now, you can hear people, sometimes they will say in one form or another,

and they are trying to explain this and enunciate to pronounce clearly. But you don't have to

do that. In one form or another. In one form or another. In one form or another.

Now, I'm saying this, just going over it a few times because it's important that you

hear this. But often in one form, the ‘or’ becomes more of an ‘er’ sound. In one

form of, uh, in one former another. In one form er another. In one form or another.

Now, the meaning of this just means you might have something that's shown or expressed or

seen, uh, in multiple ways. So, you have, uh, uh, like, maybe the government could be

in one form or another. But it doesn't really matter to the individual people working on

some farm or something like that. Uh, so you might have, like, a company, uh, or you might

have, um… They're really lots of different examples that you could use for that. But

it's again, just talking about, uh, a relationship where you have one thing that could be in

many different, many different ways.

So, I, like, I've had, um, I've had jobs working with animals in one form or another for many

years. So, maybe I was a zookeeper and I worked at a circus and I worked as a veterinarian.

So, in one form or another, you're looking at the way these things are compared. So,

each one of these specific jobs that I've had is about animals or related to animals.

So, I've worked with animals in one form or another for many different years. Then you'll

sound much more native and conversational if you can express it in this way. So, in

one form or another.

Next, to be on the ball and to use your wits, or to have your wits about you. I believe

we talked about this recently, but again, you'll see how these conversational, uh, expressions,

they appear again and again. And when you hear them, and you remember them, ah. So,

we practiced that before. It's always good to get that review.

Uh, so to have your wits about you or to keep your wits. Remember your wits, uh, are just

being smart and in general also just being, uh, aware of your surroundings. So, maybe

if you're very tired or you’re not really, you're maybe thinking about something and

you don't notice your, like, the world around you. And it's maybe a dangerous situation.

You need to keep your wits about you. So, you need to focus and listen and pay attention

to where you are and not be thinking about sitting on a beach in your head. Something

like that. Uh, so to keep your wits about you, uh, just means you're again, being aware

of your surroundings.

And of course, on the ball just means in a similar way, uh, imagine yourself, like, standing

on a ball, like that. This is a good way to remember the phrase. Uh, but if you're not

focusing on that trying to balance, then you will fall down. So, it's also being on the

ball about something. It's also from baseball where you can talk about, uh, like, a baseball

reference of the ball being hit to you and you're on the ball. So, I'm going to, you

know, be the person to catch that and I'm focusing. So, if a ball is coming at you very

quickly and you're not paying attention, you're going to get hit in the head. So, keeping

your, your wits about you or being on the ball means that you're focusing on something

and you're ready for it.

Next, to talk about something being capable or you can explain what something is capable

of. So, maybe, uh, my friend can do something. I can say that, so my friend can do something.

But if you want to express this in a more educated way, you can say someone is capable

of doing something.

Often you will hear this maybe at a parent-teacher meeting. So, some, usually, a couple of times

a year, uh, parents will come to a school and maybe this is happening in your country

or wherever you live. Uh, but the parents will come to the school, and they will have

a talk with the teacher about the student. So, the, the teacher will say, “Well, uh,

the student is very good, but maybe he should work on this,” or something like that. And

often, uh, the teacher will say that the student is capable of doing something like this. And

they're talking about the potential of the student, usually as a way to tell the parents,

“Hey, you know, encourage your child to do something or read with them more. They

are capable of being, uh, very smart and very active in class. But, right now they don't

really do that very much.”

So, to be capable of doing something, like, they could do that, maybe they can do that.

Uh, but you're trying to talk about the potential of something. So, this company we are building

is capable of becoming a multi-billion dollar company, something like that. So, we don't

know if it can, but it could. So, that's the, the potential of it. Uh, and a great way to

talk about that is saying it's capable. So, what it's capable of. Capable of.

Next, another fantastic phrase, it's up to you. It's up to you. When something is up

to you or up to him or up to them or to someone else, it just means it's their choice or their

responsibility. They can decide what something is they want to do. As an example, I'm talking

with a group of my friends or even if it's just my wife and I, we are thinking, “Okay,

let's go out to dinner tonight. Where should we go?” And I, maybe I don't have a good

idea. So, I say, “Well, it's up to you.” It's up to you. It's up to you.

Now, you will often hear this as up ta you, up ta you. Up ta you, up ta you, up ta you.

And again, I'm pronouncing it quickly because when native speakers say this, they say it

as one thing. Upta you, upta you. It's almost like a, like a ‘d’ sound. Upda you, upda

you. But the ‘d’ is very quiet. Now, people understand this phrase when they hear it and

they know in this situation people will be using that. So, this is why you don't have

to pronounce things so clearly. But if you sound more like a native, when you do pronounce

things like this, uh, again, trying to say the whole phrase like it's one word. Up to

you, up to you. So, where should we go for dinner tonight? I don't know. It's up to you.

It's up to you.

Now, let's talk about, for example. And in a native conversation, people often say the

word, say, as an example of this. So, if I want to give an example, “Say I'm out at

the park, and it starts raining. What do I do?” So, I, I begin that sentence with say.

Say it's 2:00 and I'm looking for something to eat in your town. Where would you go? So,

as an example… I could use the phrase as an example or for example. But it's much faster,

uh, if I just say, say. So, say I'm in the middle of a forest at night and there's a

bear coming at me. What should I do? Or, I'm, so I'm giving an example or asking for some

kind of help. I'm giving a hypothetical situation when I'm using the word say. So, something,

something say or, uh, a let's say that something, something. So, let's say that I'm in the middle

of, uh, the forest and a bear tries to attack me. What should I do? So, let's say. So, let's

say meaning us. Like, let's, let's make this hypothetical situation. Uh, but asking for

an example or giving a, a guess or saying here's a potential situation. We often just

use say, or let's say.

Next, to keep an eye out or to be on the lookout. The lookout. The lookout. Often you will get,

uh, phrasal verbs and these are things like pick up, put down, turn over where we're taking,

uh, two or more words and putting them together to make a more interesting expression. Like

hanging up the phone, and we use the word hang up, or the phrasal verb to hang up because

in the past phones would be up on the wall or they would be maybe kind of sitting on

a table like this and you would hang something. You would put the receiver up on the phone

and you would hang up the phone. Now, we just push a button on the phone, but we call that

hanging up.

Anyway, uh, when we take something like this, we have a phrasal verb which is two different

words. They come, uh, together to make one phrase called a phrasal verb. So, something

like hanging up the phone. Again, I gave that example before. Uh, but when we put those

together, we can make a phrasal noun. We can make a whole new word out of something. And

that's kind of the history of how these things often work. You have, uh, an idea. What is

this? You're hanging something but moving your hand up and so, ah, okay. We’ll, we'll

call that to hang up, like, you hang up your jacket. We could say hang my jacket over there,

but it just sounds more conversational to say hang it up. So, we're trying to be more

specific. Like, put the jacket over there. Hang it up over there. Uh, but then we get

things, like, to look out for someone. So, the phrasal verb would be, I'm looking out

for someone.

But then you get a phrasal noun, or we just get a whole new word like lookout. So, we're

combining these things like look and out. So, I'm not just looking, I'm looking out

for people. I'm being more specific with my language, and this is why people use phrasal

verbs and why you can create your own phrasal verbs as you learn more about them.

So, this is what we teach in our visual guide to phrasal verbs as well. If you do not have

that program, it's fantastic. You should get it. But anyway, this is the kind of thing

that we teach.

So, you understand how a phrasal verb works, and it's typically just taking some ideas,

like, look and then the specific, like, am I looking up or am I looking out? And usually,

if I'm looking for trouble, I am looking out for trouble. Or, when you yell to someone,

“Hey, there's a rock falling on you, look out! Look out!” It means trouble, warning,

caution. Look out. But again, we can take these words and put them together to make

lookout. So, I am on the lookout for a particular person or looking out for any trouble. Look

out.

Next, another way of explaining some kind of casual conversational phrase or something

that's typically used like the word how but in a, in a more casual and conversational

way is what makes. So, what makes something good? So, you could say, here's sentence one.

How is, uh, this thing better than that thing? So, how is this television better than that

television? Uh, and then I could say that. That's a perfectly fine, correct English sentence.

But if I want to sound more native and conversational I can say, “What makes this TV better than

that TV?” So, how is this TV better than that TV? Or, what makes this TV better than

that TV?

So, what is the reason for something? It's the exact same idea as how, but you sound

much more native and conversational if you use it this way. So, what makes this a better

choice than that one? Or, what makes, what makes him a good speaker? What makes you this?

Or, what makes you qualified to come to this position? So, often you will see this as a

job interview question. They will say, “Oh, what makes you suited for this position?”

Or, if you're asking someone else about a particular applicant for a job, you can say,

“Well, I don't know if that person would be good for the job.” What makes them appropriate

for this position? So, it sounds much more native and conversational, and you can use

it in many different situations. What makes. What makes.

Next, to manage to do something. To manage to do something. This is a fantastic phrase.

I believe I have covered it before. Again, listen for these. When you hear something,

and you notice it again, you should be excited about that and use this as an opportunity

to review something. So, again, I'm talking about, uh, like, managing to do something.

It typically just means, like, I could do something but maybe not perfectly. Uh, or

it was difficult or I almost didn't do it. So, I managed to get here on time. Maybe my

airplane was late and then, uh, I missed my train. And, I had all these other problems,

but I managed to get here.

So, to manage to do something, this is a fantastic phrase you can use when you're talking about

just being able to do something just barely. Or, maybe there was a problem or something.

Uh, like, maybe you're sleeping, and I was, uh, very sick, and I wanted to go to work,

and I was really tired. So, I managed to get out of bed. I got up and it was very difficult

and my body hurt. But I, I went back to sleep. So, I managed to get up, but I couldn't go

to work. Or, I maybe got to work. I managed to get to work. So, I, I did it. I, it’s

like I was able to do it, but I didn't really do it well or perfectly. Uh, but then I had

to come back home because it was just too difficult for me. To manage to do something.

Next, another fantastic phrase, to let something go, or to let something slide. Now, when you

let something go or let something slide, this is a more conversational way of saying you

forgive someone or maybe you just ignore something. Like, uh, maybe a student of mine, I'm speaking

with them, and they maybe say something that, uh, they don't think it sounds rude but maybe

in English it does. And I understand what they're trying to say. And I say, “Oh, like,

I'm not going to get angry at that person because I understand what they're trying to

say.” Uh, so I let it slide. I let it go. Like, I, maybe something is coming, coming

at me, like, a phrase or something, and I just let it slide. I let it go. So, I let

it go past me, and I don't stop. And maybe, uh, you can think about catching that phrase

and getting angry about it. I just let it go.

So, often, maybe sometime, sometimes people just get angry at you or something happens.

Uh, and you could stop and think about that for a long time and get very angry about it.

And okay, I'm going to think about this for a long time, or you just let it go.

Like that song Frozen, like, Let it Go. I'm not a very good singer, but anyway, uh, that's

a different kind of meaning of let go. Like, when you're, uh, like, I don't want to confuse

you too much. But in that way, you're letting it go, like, you don't, you don't worry about,

uh, how other people think about you. Or, you're not going to worry about, you know,

something other related like that. But that's just, uh, to let it go. But if someone is

thinking about it, you want to forgive or forget about something. That's also to let

it go or to let it slide.

Next, to get your dukes up or put your dukes up. This just means to get in a fighting position

where you're about to box someone. So, the best way to do this is just to show you how

it works. Put up your dukes. So, these are my fists. I'm going to fight someone, uh,

and get in a position maybe to defend myself or to attack someone. Put up your dukes.

I’m Drew Badger, the founder of EnglishAnyone.com, and thanks so much for learning with me today!

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