Hello and welcome to
The English We Speak with you, Neil….
... and you, Jiaying.
And, as always, we’ll be teaching you a
useful and informal English phrase or word.
Obvs!
Excuse me?
Obvs! Isn’t that what we always do?
Err, yes Neil, I suppose we do.
So, what are we teaching today?
Isn’t that obvs?
Oh, I get it. You want to talk about the word ‘obvs’ - obvs!
‘Obvs’ is a short or slang way of saying ‘obviously’ –
which means ‘in a way that’s clear or easy to understand’.
So, Neil, shall we hear some examples of this word?
Obvs!
If you’re making tea, you’ll find the milk in the fridge – obvs!
Our football team is the best in the world – obvs!
It’s obvs that you’ve forgotten my birthday –
you didn’t buy me a present!
This is The English We Speak from
BBC Learning English, and we’re talking about
a short and slang form of the word ‘obviously’ which is, Neil?
Obvs – obviously!
As you can see, it can sound a bit rude
when you say it to someone –
so, be careful who you say it to.
Who would get offended by a small word like ‘obvs’?
Well, some things aren’t always obvious to everyone.
Like today is your turn to make the tea – obvs!
How rude!
Thanks, Neil.
OK, I’ll go and make the tea. Bye.
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
I'm Feifei… and, not for the first time,
it looks like Rob is late…
Here I am! Yes, really sorry. The bus
was really slow.
Hmmm… Bad on the roads today, huh?
Terrible traffic.
That’s funny, because I took the
train in this morning and I saw you at the
other end of the carriage.
Err, OK. Sorry. Yes. I took the train,
not the bus. Little fib there.
Why would you want to fib about
that? Well, not to worry, it gives us the
perfect opportunity to talk about fibs and
fibbing – something Rob is very good at.
Oh yes, to fib is to tell a small lie,
nothing too serious. Like giving a false
reason for being late. Come on Feifei, you do it too!
I’m always on time! Well, almost always.
You can use fib as a verb ‘to fib’ - and
it can also be a noun – ‘a little fib’,
or ‘to tell a fib’. Let’s listen to these examples:
Marty fibbed that he was going to study
at his friend Lucio’s house, when in fact
they went to see a movie.
While watching the horror scenes, Marty
was so scared he had to close his eyes.
But after the film he fibbed he was not
frightened at all.
Marty told Lucio that he knew the main
actor from the movie, but that was just
another fib. In fact, Marty had just met the
actor for five seconds and taken a quick
selfie together.
This is The English We Speak from
BBC Learning English. So anyway, I’m still
a bit confused about why you had to fib
about being late?
Well, I just had something to do before
coming in to the office.
Really? That sounds mysterious.
Not really. I wanted to go to a shop.
Do tell me why.
OK, OK – well it was going to be a
surprise, but I wanted to buy you a little
cake, because it’s your birthday today and
I can’t come to your party later.
Oh, that’s so sweet. Though you
know, it’s not really my birthday today.
What?
Yes. It’s on Saturday. Sorry, a little
fib there. I told everyone it was my
birthday today so they would be more
likely to come to my party.
Oh right, very sneaky! Enjoy the cake anyway. Bye.
Yum. Bye.
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
I'm Jiaying...
...and hello, it's me, Neil.
So, Jiaying, what do you think?
What do I think of what?
My outfit. I'm off to a party soon, so I thought
I'd dress up a bit.
Err, Neil, if you don't mind me saying, you need to
'zhuzh up' your outfit.
Excuse me? Did you just sneeze?
No, Neil. I said 'zhuzh'.
Bless you.
No! 'Zhuzh'. This verb is
an informal word to mean
'make something more
interesting or attractive by
changing it slightly'. It's often followed by the word 'up'.
So, I'm just saying your outfit needs a slight
improvement - if you really
want to make an impression!
Oh really! Shall we see if
we can zhuzh up these examples first?
I've tried to zhuzh up my
living room with some bright yellow cushions.
Try zhuzhing up your suit with a coloured tie.
She zhuzhed up her cooking by
adding a bit of chilli powder.
You're listening to The
English We Speak from BBC
Learning English, and I'm trying to explain the
word 'zhuzh' to Neil!
You sneezed again!
No, I didn't! When you 'zhuzh up'
something, you make something
more interesting or attractive
by changing it slightly. So, Neil,
how about a coloured shirt to zhuzh things up?
No, thanks - I prefer to wear black.
Come on, Neil, how about some fancy shoes?
Black ones are fine. To be
honest, I don't have anything fancy to wear.
Oh dear... it looks like you
need to zhuzh up your wardrobe, Neil.
No need - this is a horror-themed party, so
just black will be fine.
If you say so, Neil. Bye.
Bye.
Welcome to The English We
Speak with me, Jiaying...
... and me, Neil.
Neil! What are you wearing?
Is that a tuxedo? Have you got a top hat on?
Well, you said that I should
dress smartly for our online meeting!
Yes, but a tie and shirt would
have been sufficient.
You're so extra!
Extra what? Extra-cool?
Extra-amazing? All true!
Some call me a fashion icon!
Your mum calling you a
fashion icon doesn't count!
No, Neil, we say someone is
'extra' to mean they are
excessive, over the top or too much.
Wait - so you think this tuxedo
is excessive? That I'm a bit
extra? I'll go and change into
something more comfortable.
Yes, while you go and change,
let's listen to these examples.
Aunty Joan is so extra.
She keeps asking when we're
going to have a second child.
Lei always sings karaoke and
feels the need to say hello to
everyone in the club.
He's really extra.
She's always using such formal language and
over-stressing syllables.
She's a bit extra.
You're listening to The English
We Speak from BBC Learning
English, and we're talking
about the word 'extra'.
If something or someone is
'extra', it means that thing or
person is a bit excessive or exaggerated.
Yes! For example, Rob is a
bit extra when it comes to
his obsession with biscuits.
Exactly - but, Neil, what are
you wearing now?!
Well - I said I'd put something
more comfortable on - so I
thought I'd put on my famous
flamingo outfit! Do you like it?
I do, but you're so extra!
You know we have a meeting
with our boss, right?
Yes - our boss has a
matching flamingo costume too!
Well, in that case - it sounds like
it's going to be OK.
I've also decided I'm going
to sing some opera to make
the meeting more fun!
That sounds really extra!
Bye, Neil.
Bye.
Hello, I'm Jiaying. This is
The English We Speak. And hello, I'm Roy.
Hey Jiaying, I've just bought this new animal
jumper! What do you think? It's got a
sparkly unicorn on it! Well, it certainly is
colourful! And you clearly love it.
I'm not sure I'd wear it,
but it is nice... ish. Nice fish? What are you talking about?
It's a stunning unicorn,
not a nice fish! No, Roy. I said niceish.
We add the suffix 'ish'
to some adjectives to
mean 'not exactly' or
'less than'. Sometimes we can use 'ish' as a word
on its own - usually
as an answer. So, when I said 'niceish' - I
meant to say that your jumper is OK, but
not exactly nice. Wait - so you don't
like my jumper? Do you think it looks a
bit unprofessional? Ish!
Oh no! I think I need to go and change.
I have a big meeting later on and... I'm
going to buy a new jumper. Let's listen to some
examples of 'ish' while you buy a jumper.
I didn't love the film, but it was
goodish. It was OK. When she asked me
if I was OK, I just said 'ish'. I think
she knows I'm not happy. I might be a little
late to the meeting, but I should arrive by about 5ish.
This is The English We Speak
from BBC Learning English. We're talking
about the expression or suffix 'ish'. We
can add it to some adjectives to mean
'not precisely' or use it as a word on its
own - usually to answer questions. We can also
add it to a number to mean it's not
precisely that number.
For example, time or age. So, I bought a new
jumper. This one has a beaver playing a
ukulele on it! Do you think this
one is better? Ish. At the end of the
day, it doesn't matter whether I like your
jumper or not. What's important is that
you like it. Well, I love it.
But I think I might change into my suit for
that meeting. I want to make a good
impression with the new boss.
That's a good idea! Yes - I'll get changed now.
Can you tell everyone I'll be
lateish - but I should get to the meeting by 1ish?
I sure will!
Bye, Roy.
Bye.
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
I'm Feifei…
…and I'm Rob.
And today, we’re going to use a common word
in a slightly different way.
It’s a preposition you’ve no doubt
known for a long time.
Yes, our word is 'across'.
Of course, you can say things like:
Rob is sitting across from me.
Or: This food is popular across China.
But what about this:
Rob, are you across the plan for tonight’s event?
You’re not asking me if I’m sitting across
or on the other side from a plan, are you?
No, when we use 'across' in this way,
it actually means 'to be familiar with'.
If you’re across a plan, you’re familiar with it.
You know what you need to know about it.
We often talk about being across a subject.
Especially a subject that is complex or changing.
It indicates you know all the important things
about the subject.
Let’s listen to some examples to help clarify
how we use it.
Professor Zhang is a specialist in the European economy.
He’s across all the latest developments.
Did you come to last week’s meeting?
Afraid not, no.
OK, so you’re not across the new plan.
Let me give you a quick summary.
Pete, I want to make sure you’re across the
food for tomorrow.
Now, remember two of our guests are vegetarian.
Got it.
This is The English We Speak
from BBC Learning English.
There we are.
I hope you’re now across how we use this word 'across'.
Yes, you’re across 'across', so to speak!
Anyway, as I was asking earlier, Rob,
are you across the plan for tonight’s event?
That was just an example of
how to use this phrase, right?
No, you really don’t know about it?
What event?
This isn’t good.
I thought you had sent out all the invitations?
What are you talking about, Feifei?
Oh, just kidding! There’s no event tonight.
That’s not funny!
Now, getting back to the subject,
if you want to stay across
all the latest slang English expressions,
do remember to listen to The English We Speak.
Bye.
That really wasn't funny.
Welcome to The English We
Speak with me, Jiaying...
... and hello, it's Neil here.
Oh, yikes - what have you done to your hair?!
Don't you like my new hairstyle?
Well... err...
You said 'yikes!' - that normally
means you're shocked or worried about something -
is it my hair?
Well, 'yikes!' is also something we say when
we are surprised, and I
was just surprised by your
new hairstyle - but in a good way!
Hmm, if you say so. When
someone says 'yikes!' it is an
informal way to express surprise,
shock or concern about something. So, Neil, what
has 'surprised' you about my hair then?
Errr... Well, shall we hear some more examples first?
Yikes! It's only three weeks
until my exams and I haven't
done any revision yet.
Yikes! We're stuck in a traffic
jam and our flight leaves in
an hour - do you think we'll make it?
I've got a football match tomorrow,
and I haven't done any training. Yikes!
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning
English and we're finding out
about the word 'yikes!' it's an
exclamation to express surprise, shock or concern
about something. And yikes -
Neil actually likes my new hairstyle!
Why are you so surprised?
I didn't think you'd like red hair.
It matches your ... eyes. Only
kidding, but changing your hair
colour must have cost a lot of money.
Hmm eighty pounds.
Big yikes! How much!
Big yikes! That's a more intense version of yikes! -
but, Neil, it looks good, so
it's worth it, isn't it?
If you say so. Wasn't there a cheaper colour?
No, Neil, there wasn't!
Bye.
See ya.
Welcome to The English We
Speak with me, Jiaying...
...and me, Neil. Have you seen
that new film about a wizard who
makes friends with an ugly horse
that turns into a beautiful unicorn?
Oh yeah! The acting is the definition
of cringe! The whole film is so cringe!
Cringe? What do you mean cringe?
You don't like the film?
Don't like it?! That's an
understatement - it was awful.
The actor who played the
wizard was really terrible, and
the plot was stupid. We use the
word cringe when you want to
say something is really
embarrassing and makes us
feel uncomfortable. It can be
used as a verb or an adjective.
So you can say the film made
you cringe, or the film was cringe.
Why? It wasn t that bad!
Neil - it was so cliched. The
acting was over the top, and
the ugly horse becoming a
beautiful unicorn didn't make
any sense - it was so cringe!
But that s the point of the film -
it was designed to make you
cringe - it was that kind of
humour! It wasn't trying to be serious!
Oh, in that case, I didn't get it!
So, actually, if it was intentionally
cringe, it was quite funny. Let's
talk more about things that are
cringe after these examples.
Did you hear that terrible joke
he told! It was so cringe!
When my uncle starts dancing -
it's really cringe.
When she told me how she had
sat in the wrong meeting for
an hour before realising,
I cringed.
You're listening to The English
We Speak from BBC Learning
English, and we're talking about
the word 'cringe'. It can be
used to describe something
or someone that makes you
feel embarrassed. You can also say 'cringey',
as an adjective.
Yes, so you can describe
someone or something as cringe - so like an
embarrassing person or joke.
Yes! Or even an experience.
What's the most cringe thing
that's ever happened to you?
Well, you may be surprised,
but quite few cringey things have happened to me!
I can imagine! I think your
most cringey moment is when
you arrived at the party
dressed as a giant cucumber!
To be fair - I was dressed as a
courgette, and I thought it was
a fancy dress party because
you said dress fancily!
It was so cringe! I meant
to wear a fancy suit - it was a wedding.
Yeah - I cringed a lot. But at
least I ended up in lots of photos!
You certainly did!
Bye, Neil.
Bye.