The Vocab Man - Fluent Vocabulary

This is the audio-only version of the episode. For the video version use this link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/48700225 or select the second file with the number 76.
What is YOUR favorite expression? Use the link below and send in your message (audio-only, video or text-only)
https://www.videoask.com/fwegskglw
Full Transcript:
"not my circus, not my monkeys"
Hello guys, this is Daniel. I am the Vocab Man. And this time we go over a very funny and cool expression. Not my circus, not my monkeys. And it actually came from Poland (originally). But. These days especially in the UK, people are using it in English too. So I had a conversation with Sadie and she is the host of an excellent podcast called Accentricity and it's all about accents and languages. So I recommend you to take a listen. But now let's see what Sadie tells us about her favorite expression.
https://www.accentricity-podcast.com/
Yeah, so my favorite expression, I mean, I've got, I've got loads. But I was thinking about this beforehand and there's a Polish expression that I really like, which is I've heard it being used in English a bit more recently.
So it's I hope I'm pronouncing it right. I'm probably not, but *in Polish* "Nie moj cyrk, nie moje malpy". And it means not my circus, not my monkey. And it came to mean something along the lines of, if there is a big fuss, a big mess, lots of chaos going on but it's nothing to do if you, you want to distance yourself from
it's not your problem. Not my problem, not my problem, not my circus, not my monkey. So in Polish, it's not my circus, not my monkey. And then when I've heard it in English, people usually say, not my circus, not my monkeys, so plural . But I quite like that, especially because I think there's often a lot of focus of the influence that English has on other languages and less so the influence of other languages coming in into English.
And I imagine the fact I've heard this expression a lot in English recently has to do with people from Poland moving to the UK quite a lot. And
kind of that being passed over. Yeah.
So I wanted to share it because of that reason I quite, I quite like it, and I think it's just a great expression as well.
Isn't it?
Yes.
It's very useful. I use it all the time.
Cool. Thank you so much, Sadie.
Thank you so much.
So this was all about the expression, not my circus, not my monkeys. And of course, if you want to listen to the whole interview, which lasts about one hour, so we had an excellent discussion
Then I encourage you to head over to my other podcast, which is called My Fluent Podcast. And why did I like this expression as well. It's because, yeah, it has a funny connotation in a way. And I think that even people. Who. hear it for the very first time will understand.
What it means. Because of the context.
Do you feel like you want to share your favorite expression with us? Then you can hand over to the show notes. Because there you will find a link. Which are going to .
Help you with the recording so that you can send me a voice only recording or video recording. In which you are going to tell us about your favorite expression. But of course you can drop me an email as well at [email protected].
So that's it for today. I am the Vocab Man and I just wanted to say that if this was too fast for you, of course, you can head over to the show notes because there, there will be the full transcript for you. So thanks for tuning in. And have a good one
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If you want to listen to the whole episode with Sadie Ryan you can head over to my other podcast called My Fluent Podcast
https://www.myfluentpodcast.com/104-accentricity-podcast-with-sadie-ryan/
https://open.spotify.com/show/4ZSpC6NaOOJhttlgpxQsDV?si=a55608aece1e4ce4
In the interview with Sadie we cover topics such as:
- How people react when they hear of Sadie's profession as a linguist/sociolinguist
- The term "Linguist" has more than one meaning
- How Sadie got involved into linguistics
- Speaking with a posh accent
- Remember: Everyone has an accent!
- Schools should teach more the listening skill!
- The best thing Sadie learned about language (Ep. mentioned)
- Sadie's PhD research
- Podcast recommendations (Linguistics)
- Language documentation (a specific branch in linguistics)
- The Podcast Accentricity - Every voice is valid
- Sadie's language journey (Polish/Gaelic)
- Is it easier to learn a lang...

The idioms "Elbow Grease" explained. You'll also hear some exmapled from movies/series.
On the Vocab Man, we cover interesting idioms, expressions, phrases and sayings to make you a better English speaker.
Interview Links

• WORLD NEWS QUIZ on Luke's English Podcast
• Learning English WIth The News (also on Luke's English Podacst)
• What is the idea of Simple English News Daily Podacst? (short clip)
• My interview with Stephen (How to learn English with a news podcast)

Links

• Stephen Devincenzi on Linkedin
• Send7.org (where the learning with news happens)

Definition of Elbow Grease
The idiom "elbow grease" refers to physical effort or hard work, especially manual labor that requires physical exertion. When someone suggests using "elbow grease," they are typically emphasizing the need for diligent and strenuous effort to accomplish a task, often involving activities like cleaning, scrubbing, or any manual work that requires energy and perseverance.
Send in your voice message and be part of The Vocab Man!
Send a voice message to myfluentpodcast (myfluentpodcast_VOCAB_MAN) (speakpipe.com)
Some example phrases

1. "To get the stain out of the carpet, you'll need to apply some elbow grease and scrub it vigorously." 2. "Cleaning the garage will take some serious elbow grease, but it'll be worth it in the end."

1. "If you want those shoes to shine, put in some elbow grease while polishing them."
2. "The garden won't look its best unless you put some elbow grease into weeding and pruning."
3. "Fixing up an old bicycle requires more than just spare parts; it needs some elbow grease to make it ride smoothly again."

In this episode, I explain the meaning of "If you will" and show you a few real life examples.
Youtube Version:
https://youtu.be/HvqAHRns6o0
Transcript with Audio version:
https://youtu.be/HvqAHRns6o0
Transcript:
If you will, if you will.
Hello guys. This is the Vocab Man. Welcome back.
So today we are gonna talk about the expression "if you will". And this is going to be a very interesting one. And unfortunately Stephanie is not going to give us some great examples as she did on the previous episode, I must say this was so brilliant. And the expression she was explaining was "up in the air".
Picture the coin at the top before it starts to come down. So you flicked for the coin, it's up in the air just before it comes down.
That!
That moment. That's what this phrase is focusing on. When something, when an idea or an experience or a decision or a situation is up in the air, it's that uncomfortable, uncertain moment in time. That snapshot in time before we know what's happening, the discomfort in the uncertainty is absolutely the heart of this phrase.
And she explained it with examples from her real life. So that, well, at least in my case, it will just stick and I will remember. "Up in the air" forever. The Vocab Man. It's about learning expressions together. So that we can get more fluent in English. Thanks for tuning in
So the expression "if you will" apparently is a short form for if you will allow this analogy. At least I could read it on a website called English stack Exchange. So this was a difficult one for me to figure out what it means. But I must say that it is very common. It is used a lot. And
I could see it on YouTube that people are speaking all the time by using this, if you will.
is it simply your last connection to that vanished world, his world, if you will.
According to the Cambridge dictionary if your will is used to say that the particular expression is one way of saying something especially to suggest that some people might not choose to say it that way.
So I figured that oftentimes when you are explaining something, it is appropriate to give some examples. So you could just mention one or two things.
And then by saying if you will, you indicate your conversation partner that maybe another person would use other examples so it's not something very fixed.
I mean, the examples that you were mentioning. Are not per se sacrosanct. I mean, Other people would
Probably use order examples. And so, as I mentioned it at the very beginning,
You are using like an analogy. To explain something. But it's just for the sake of explaining something to make it clear.
So what government gives you is not your rights. It provides a wall, if you will, a security so that you can exercise that, which you already possess simply by being human. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This is what you have simply by virtue of being a human.
So maybe this example that you just listened to showcases the expression if you will. Because it said. "So what government gives you is not your rights it provides a wall, if you will." So this is. Again, Like an analogy because government doesn't give you. Literally a wall. It's just a way of the speaker to explain to you what he means. So. What the government is giving you.
So, instead of saying, if you will. You could also just say, if you like. So i'm going to give you another example here:
What, even though that's the scariest thing that people think of when they're going on stage, it's what the audience actually wants most. The fourth Secret to being on stage is to remember that you're really building a tribe. You're really building a community. Anytime you appear on stage, you're inviting those people that are in front of you to enroll in your ideas.
You're really building this kind of different empire, if you will. And anytime you appear on stage, every word that comes outta your mouth matters. All right.
And here again. The empire is just an analogy. So. I don't know. Maybe you could grasp the meaning of if you will. But I know this was a heavy one. And I will try to focus on that specific expression when I come across it the next time, and I will think of the meaning in the specific context.
By doing so I'm sure that we will remember it and we will be able to use it in our own speech. So. I quickly want to mention that this episode is also available on YouTube. Just type in the Vocab Man. And it will help you because you can read along while you are listening. This will help you to become a better English speaker. And of course, if you want me to cover an expression. You can drop me an email at: [email protected]. I am the Vocab Man. I'm Daniel from Switzerland. Thanks for tuning in. And...

Transcript:
Don't get me wrong. I love it! Don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to get you or anything.
In this episode, you will get familiar with the expression "don't get me wrong". And as usual here on the Vocab Man you'll listen to several examples of the expression that we are going to cover so that you can memorize it in a very easy way.
0:32 Example 1
Surely recycling can fix the plastic problem. Don't get me wrong. Recycling is vital for dealing with waste. I'm not saying you should just start checking everything in the bin for landfill, but unfortunately our recycling systems just can't cope with the amount of plastic we currently produce.
Plastics can only be recycled a certain number of times, so we can't keep recycling the same thing forever and making new recycled goods out of the plastic we recycle also uses up a lot of energy and resources. Doesn't plastic packaging, prevent food waste. This might seem like a question with a simple answer, but the links between food waste and plastic packaging are complex.
Don't forget to follow and to read the transcript. Of course.
Don't get me wrong. It's a very practical and useful expression. I think it's only used in speech. So you probably won't find it in written form and you might use it to avoid a misunderstanding. What I want to say is. Maybe you believe that the things you are going to say is a bit delicate or could be easily misunderstood by someone else.
So then you just begin with "don't get me wrong"
But it also works the other way around because according to the Wiktionary "don't get me wrong" is used to clarify that something previously said did not have a meaning that could be misinterpreted.
2:09 example 2
Now don't get me wrong. I do think it's important to know what's going on in the world, but I just don't think following the day to day developments of the news cycle is the way to do that.
So instead, I'm going to get one newspaper delivered to my house every week. And that is how I am going to stay informed.
2:29 Outro with Daniel Goodson
Don't get me wrong. What the man said just before. I mean, he made a good point, right? But on the other hand, one cool idea is to keep informed on a daily basis, maybe on the internet, but in English or in your target language, then it's a win-win situation. You keep informed. And at the same time you will learn a new language.
Thank you for listening. Daniel Goodson
www.myfluentpodcast.com

Transcript:
Thank you Wayne. And thank you again for your service. Let's turn to the audience now. Uh, Oh, a lot of hands going up, mr. President, what? I'm pixeling.
Oh, well, uh, you know, you put, you kind of put me on the spot here that, that, uh, the guy in the glasses right back at me in the back end. Why not?
Okay here. We have to put someone on the spot to put someone on the spot, which means the embarrass someone by asking them a difficult question. I love this one because it is easy to remember for me.
This was Ahmad from Senegal. You might have listened to an episode in which he appeared, actually it was episode number 32 in which we covered the expression "to come to terms with".
And right at the beginning, you could listen to Obama the ex president of the USA. So someone tries to put him on the spot. And well, now we are wondering which question was meant to put him on the spot.
My question is, would you please raise my taxes?
Oh. And by the way, the man was unemployed by choice because he has gathered a lot of money and Obama rambled on. So he's not giving a short answer. His answer was about six minutes or so. So I didn't cover it.
Examples: My brightest student asked me a difficult question today. He always puts me on the spot.
My brightest student asked me a difficult question today. He always puts me on the spot.
Another example, my friend's wife puts him on the spot when she asked him what he had been up to the previous night in front of people.
My friend's wife put him on the spot. When she asked him what he had been up to the previous night in front of people.
So the expression is informal and according to the Oxford languages definitions, it means to force someone into a situation in which they must make a difficult decision or answer a difficult question.
What's your question? Are you going to make a film together ??????well, you put me on the spot there?
I think I need to treat my body with more respect...
To put someone on the spot. That was an episode again with Ahmad I want to thank you for your help. My name is Daniel Goodson. I am the vocab man. Thanks for tuning in. And I hope I'll... I hope you're back for the next episode I would be very glad about that. Bye.
Obama: Oh, well, uh, you kind of put me on the spot here.
www.myfluentpodcast.com