Heyeveryone, welcomebacktomychannelEnglishwithCatherine. OnthischannelyoucanexpecttofinddailynaturalEnglishusedbyBritishnatives. I'm Britishsothat's myexpertisesothat's all I canreallyteachand I hopeyou'vehad a reallygoodweekandyouhaven't beenworkingtoohardandyou'relookingforwardto a nicerelaxingweekend. I definitelyam,
I'm gonnabehonest, it's been a veryhecticweek. Sotoday's video, I can't waittosharethisonewithyou. EveryWednesday, I think I'vetoldyouthisbefore, buteveryWednesday
I goto a cafeand I journaland I planthevideosand I textmymumand I justcatchupwitheverythingthat I needtodo. I workreallywellincafes, I don't knowwhatitisaboutthem. Isthereanyonethatcanrelate? Tellmeinthecommentsbelow. I'm notsogoodinlibraries, I findthemtooquietandawkward. I feellike I'm justgonnamake a soundanddisrupteveryone. I dolovelibrariesjustforgoingthere, generallythough, if
I'm notdoingsomethingreallyserious, I lovelibraries. Anyway, recently I havediscovered a newcafeandit's kindof a bookshopand a cafeinone, likemydreamcafe. Thiscafehas a realbuzzaboutit, it's reallybusyandif I getdistracted I canjustputonmyheadphonesandlistentosomeclassicalmusic. Anditwasduringoneofthesecafevisitsthatgavemetheideaforthisvideo. I startedpickinguponconversationshappeningaroundme. Itwasjusteasybecausepeoplewerequiteloudand I wasthinking, oh, thatwouldbeperfectfor a video. I lovepeoplewatching, but I didn't realisethat I actuallylovepeoplelisteningaswell. It's actuallycalledeavesdroppingand I'llputthemeaningonthescreen. Buteavesdroppingiswhenyou'relisteningtootherpeople's conversations.
Sointhisvideo, you'regoingtohearlotsofdifferentpeopletalking, sodifferentconversationshappening. Andthereareover 15 languagepointsandculturepointsaswell, a mixoflanguageandculturetolearn. And I thinkthisisanexcellentwaytolearndailyEnglish, becausethisislanguageinreallife, realsituations, incafes, peoplehavingconversations. That's exactlywhatyouneedtobelearning.
Numberone, a motheror a mumandherchild. Shallwehavefishfingerstonight? Shallwehavefishfingerstonight? That's whatshesaid. I hearditand I made a noteofit. Now, thisismoreof a culturepoint. Fishfingersareanabsolutestapleforanymotherwhoisbusy, whoisworkingandjustwantssomethingeasyandnutritioustoputonthetablefortheirchildren. When I wasyounger, weusedtohavefishfingerswithalphabytes, whichwerepotatoletters. Theywerelikechips, buttheywerelikealphabetnumbers, numbers, letters. And I wouldbe a reallittledivaandmakemymumspellmynameoutwiththeseletters, potatoletters. Andiftherewas a lettermissing, I didn't eatit. Mynameisquitelong, sothatwasquite, quite a taskforher. Anyway, fishfingersaredelicious.
Sometimes I evenhavecravingsfortheminmyadultlife. AndnoBritishfreezeriscompletewithoutsomefishfingersintheresomewhereandsomeovenchips, ofcourse. Sonolanguagepointthere, butwehavegotshallwe? And I havetalkedaboutthisbefore. Whenwewanttomake a suggestionor a recommendationfor a planorsomethingtodo, weoftensay, shallwe? Numbertwo, anold, cutecouple. Theymusthavebeenintheir 80s. I mean, theywerereallyold, buttheywere, youknow, inthiscafehaving a nicetime. Thisiswhattheysaidtoeachother. Badgersarereallyvicious. I wishtheywouldn't keepcomingintoourgarden. Soonerorlater, they'regoingtogetatthechickens. Soobviously, thiscouplelivesinquite a rurallocation. Rural, that's oneofourfavouritewordstopronounce. Notoriouslyimpossibletosay. Rural. Andtheyhavechickens, whichissocute. I'vealwayshad a kindofdreamtohave a chicken. I feellike I justwanttwochickensand I wouldcallthemPeggyandOmelette. Anyway, someinterestinglanguagehere.
There's actuallynowayofstoppingthebadgers. Theyarerelentlesscreatures. Theywillfind a wayin. Andwehavethephrasalverbtogetat, whichmeanstoreachorgainaccesstosomething.
Sothebadgersaregoingtogainaccesstothechickens, andthenit's gameoverforthechickens. Numberthree, romanticcoupleholdinghandsoverthetable. I'm afraidwe'llhavetoputoffdatenightbecauseofthecat. Now, thisisall I managedtocatchfromtheirconversationbecauseeverythinggot a littlebitlouderatthatpoint. Itwaslunchtimeandpeoplewerecomingintogettheirsandwichesandpaninisandwhatevertheywereordering. Herewehavethephrasalverbtoputoff. Now, toputoffistopostpone. Sothey'rehavingtopostponetheirdatenight, which, bytheway, is a newtrend. Youmusthaveseenthisonsocialmedia. Datenightiswhen a couplewhocouldhavebeenmarriedforyearsormaybethey'vebeentogetherfor a whileandtheyjustneedsomethingtokeeptheirrelationshipalive. Theygoondatenights, whichisjustmeansspendingsometimetogetherasiftheyweregoingon a date. Youknow, it's kindof a playonwordsinthatway. Anddon't evengetmestartedoncats. Weare a nationofpetloversandpethavers. I don't evenknowwhatthestatisticsare, butmostofushavepets, catsordogs.
Soaninterestingpointaswell. I knowthatinsomeothercountriesyouhavestraydogsandcats, likewildoneswalkingaround. YouwouldneverseethatintheUK. Ifthereis a dogwalkingaround, thenusuallysomeonecallstheRSPCA, whichis a charitythatprotectsanimals. OK, soifyousee a dogwanderingaroundwithoutanowner, normallyyoucalluptheRSPCAandtheywillcomeandrescuethedog. Wetakeouranimalsveryseriously. And I'm notsayingthatothercountriesdon't, butwejustsohappentobeobsessedwithpets. Soobviouslythecatwasveryimportantinthiscouple's lifeandhasevencomebetweenthemintheirdatenight. Soheavenknowswhathappenedtothecatorwhatthesituationwas. Numberfour, a groupofgirlstudentscatchingup. Now, thiswasdefinitelythemostinterestingconversationthat I overheard. And I hadtoverysortofsneakilysipmycappuccinowhilstlistening. I probablylookedcompletelyinsane. But, youknow, youjustgottodowhatyougottodowhenyou're a YouTuber. Theconversationwasreallyinterestingbecausetheyweretalkingaboutrelationships. OK, theyweretalkingaboutrecentdatesandhowthedatesweregoingandhowtherelationshipsweregoing. Andtheyusedthisfollowingexpression.
Yeah, theywenton a fewdates, butintheenditjustfizzledout. Yeah, theywenton a fewdates, butintheenditjustfizzledout. Sotofizzleoutisstrictlyspeaking a phrasalverb. Andthisisverycontextspecifictorelationshiplanguageordatinglanguage. Sotofizzleoutistograduallyend, oftenin a verydisappointingway, disappointingandweak. Soif a relationshipjustfizzlesout, itjuststops. Itjusttwopeoplejustdon't haveenoughchemistrytokeepthefirealiveortokeepthefireburning. Andthisjusthappens, doesn't it? Somerelationshipsjustfizzleoutbeforethey'veevenreallybegun. Andthatjustmeansit's nottherightperson. Numberfive, twowomen. Theylooklikebestfriendscatchingup. Thiswas a bitsadformebecauseitremindedmeofmybestfriend, Sarah, whosadlymovedawaytoDevon, milesawayfromme. So I seeheroncein a bluemoon, quitefrankly, andthat's reallysad. Hopefullyinthefuturewemightlivenearereachother. It's such a blusterydaytoday. I nearlylostmyhatoutsideTesco's. Tesco's is a verypopularsupermarkethere. Veryaffordable, veryreasonablypriced. Nowthewordsheused, asyoujustheard, wasblustery. Oneofmyfavouritewordsintheworld. I don't knowwhatitis. Formeit's slightlyonomatopoeic, whichmeansitsoundslikewhatitactuallyisdescribing. Anditjustmeansreallywindy. SoinEnglandwehavethesecrazywindydays. It's notstormy, sothere's nothunderandlightningandrain. It's justreallywindyandoftenquitemildintemperature. So a blusterydayisactuallyreallynicebecausethetreesarejustmovingandit's notthatcold, soyoucanstillgooutandenjoyit. I alsomanagedtocatchanotherthingthattheysaidandthatwas, it's allhandsondeckatthemomentformybrother's wedding. Allhandsondeck. Whatdoyouthinkthatmeans?
Well, thisisverypopularslang. I usethis a lot. A particularsituationthatrequireseveryonetoputinmaximumeffortinordertoachieve a goal. Sosomethinglike a wedding, itrequires a lotofteameffort. Soit's allhandsondeckforherbrother's wedding. Onemorething I managedtooverhearwas, mylipsaresealed. Mylipsaresealed. Soobviouslyoneofthemhadjusttoldtheotherone a secretandsaid, don't tellanyone. Andshesaid, mylipsaresealed. Thismeans, don't worry, I won't tellanyone. Yoursecretissafewithme. Numbersix, sorry, it's reallyhotinhereandit's stillquitemildweatherbecauseit's SeptemberandSeptembersintheUKarenowquitemild. Sohere's thedressthat I'm wearing. Numbersix, a businessmanveryloudlyonthephone.
Nowjusttotellyou, thisgoesagainstBritishetiquetteinthatusuallytheetiquetteistonotbeonyourphonereallyloudlyin a cafebecauseotherpeoplemightliketoconcentrateor, youknow, hearthemselvesthink. Butthere's alwaysone, isn't there? Andthisguywas a verygoodexampleofthat.
Sohewastypingawayonhislaptop, really, I swearhewasliketheloudesttyper I'veeverheard.
Sothat's what I heard, followup. OK, followupiskindofbusinessEnglish. Soit's notjustusedforbusinessEnglish, butyouwillhearthis a lotinbusinessEnglish. Sotofollowupistopursueorinvestigatesomethingfurther. Sonormally, ifyou'vehadanemailexchangewithsomeone, anotherbusinessmanorwoman, andyouwanttoget a responseandyouwanttokindoflikeremindthemthatyouneed a response, yousend a followupemailoryoufollowitup.
Couldyoujustwait? Givemesometime. I willdeliver. Numberseven, a coffeeorder.
So I justsohappenedtooverhear a coffeeorderand I wasquitesortofimpressedwithitbecauseitwasverysimple. Sothewomanwalkeduptothetillandjustsaid, can I have a coffee, please?
Andthebaristawaslike, whatkindofcoffee? Becauseinthisdayandage, nowthatthecappuccinohascometotheUKandthelatteandtheflatwhite, youknow, justtoorder a coffeeisnolongerveryclear. Youhavetosortofelaborateonwhatkindofcoffeeyouwant. Andshejustsaid, justasitcomes, justasitcomes. Thatjustmeansgivemesomecoffee, justsomebasiccoffeein a cupand I'llpayforitand I'lldrinkit. Andthat's theendofit. I foundthisquiterefreshingbecause I usedtobe a waitressin a cafeand I usedtohavetotakethecoffeeorders.
Butthiswoman, no, justasitcomes. Numbereight, twocolleaguescatchingup. Now, I knewtheywerecolleaguesbecausetheywerebothwearing a lanyard, whichislike a kindofthingthattheygiveyouwhenyoujoin a newjob. Andit's like a kindofnecklacewith a laminatedpieceofcardonwithsomeinformation. Oneofthemsaid, oh, mybrainisscrambled. Theywereobviouslyquitestressed. Maybethingswere a bitstressfulatworkandtheywerejusthavingsometimeouttohave a coffeeandkindofrelatetoeachother. Sotosaythatyourbrainisscrambled.
Yes, youguessedit. Itissomethingtodowitheggs. Imagine, I mean, it's a horriblethought, butimagine a scrambledeggbrain. Yourbrainisnotingoodshapeifyou'resayingthatyourbrainisscrambled. Sothisreallyjustmeansthatyou'vehadenough. You'rereallyoverworked.
You'retired. Youprobablyneed a holiday. Yourbrainisscrambled, notpoachedorfried. Ithastobescrambled. Andthenthecafegotreallybusyagain. Therewasanothertearush, allthepeoplecominginfortheirfour o'clocktea, whichseemstobe a thinghere. But I justaboutmadeoutwhatoneofthemsaid, anditwas, it's notsetinstoneyet. It's notsetinstoneyet. Now, thisis a reallygoodexpression. Weusethis a lot. Sowhensomethingisnotsetinstone, itmeansithasn't beenproperlyorganizedyet. It's notcompletelydefinite. There's a degreeofuncertaintyaboutsomethinghappening. Okay. Soifsomeoneasksyou, whenareyougoingtohaveyourpartythatyou'vebeentalkingabout? Youcansay, ah, well, it's justnotsetinstoneyet. Youcouldsay, well, it's probablygoingtobethe 12thofApril, butit's notsetinstoneyet. Thatmeansit's notcompletelycertainyet. Numbernine, a motheror a mumandherdaughter.
Thistimethedaughterisgrownupandnot a child. Likeinthefirstexample, I justremembershewasreallycool. Shehad a reallyniceoutfitonand I waskindofdistractedbythat. Andthen
I triedtolistentotheirconversation. Nowthemum, I thinkaskedheraboutsomethingthatshewas a bittouchyon. Shewas a bitsensitive. Shedidn't reallywanttodiscussit. Soshejustsaid, mum, I'llcrossthatbridgewhen I gettoit. Andthat's a lovelyexpressiontocrossthatbridgewhenyougettoit. Thatmeans I'lldealwiththatwhenitcomesup. Sothere's nopointinworryingaboutitnow. I'lljustdealwithitwhenthesituationarises, wheneveritdoes. Usuallymumsasklike, what's yourplan? Whenareyougettingmarried? Youknow, allthesethings. Andyouknow, sometimestheseare, youknow, sensitivesubjects. Wedon't reallyfeelliketalkingaboutthem. Soweneedexpressionslike, I'llcrossthatbridgewhen I gettoit. Anotheronethat I reallylikeis, I'm justplayingitbyear. Sohere's, here's oneofmypersonalfavourites. Andthat's kindofgot a similarmeaning. Itjustmeans I'm justgoingtoseewhathappens. I'm notgoingtoplantoofarahead. I'm justgoingtorollwithit. Gowiththeflowandseewherelifetakesme.
A subjectthatthedaughterwasmorecomfortableaboutdiscussing, though, wasflathunting. Sowesayhuntingwhenwetalkaboutlookingfor a property. Sowecanbehousehunting, jobhunting, orflathunting. You'llnoticethatwithEnglish, itcanbereallycreative. Andoftenthisis a directresultoftheyouthofsociety. Sotheyoungpeoplecreatingdifferentwaystotalkaboutsomething, andthenitjustbecomesgenerallyacceptedas a waytotalkaboutit. Becauseofsocialmediaisactuallyeasiernowforlanguagechangetohappen. Sopeopleareusingallkindsofthingsnow. Number 10, twoguyscatchingup. Sothesetwowereobviouslyreallygoodfriends.
I thinktheyworkedatthesamecharitytogether. Liketheymetwhiletheywerevolunteeringatthechurchorsomething. I couldn't quitecatchit. Bytheway, theseobservationswereover a periodoftime. Theyweren't allinoneday. I thinkthatwouldhavebeenquitetiring. I think I wouldhavehadtoorderaboutfourorfivecoffeestodoallofthatinoneday. Anyway, I managedtocatchfromthatconversation, oneofthemaskedtheother, sowhenareyoutyingtheknot? Now, doyouknowwhattyingtheknotortotietheknotmeans? Thatmeanstogetmarried. Soobviously, oneofthemhadjustgotengagedandhewasaskingwhen's theweddinggoingtobe? Isitgoingtobesoonornotsoon? Sothat's a reallyniceexpressionthat I reallylike. Butthat's all I'vegotfortoday. I willbemakingmorelikethis. Itwas a really, reallyfunthingtodo. I hadmyjournaloutandwasjustmakingnotes. And I thinkteachingyouguyseverydayEnglishisprobablythemostusefulthingtodo, right? Ifyouhaveanycreativeideasforvideosthatyou'd liketoseememake, byallmeans, feelfreetoputthoseinthecomments. I'm allearsforsuggestions. Asusual, thankyousomuchforbeinghere. Thankyousomuchforturningupandwatchingmyclassesevery
Friday. I justamsogratefulforallofyou. Soasusual, again, I'm wishingyou a lovelyweekend.
I hopeit's fulloffunandmagicand I'llseeyounextFridayforanothervideo. Bye!
Heyeveryone, welcomebacktomychannelEnglishwithCatherine. OnthischannelyoucanexpecttofinddailynaturalEnglishusedbyBritishnatives. I'm Britishsothat's myexpertisesothat's all I canreallyteachand I hopeyou'vehad a reallygoodweekandyouhaven't beenworkingtoohardandyou'relookingforwardto a nicerelaxingweekend. I definitelyam,
Subtitles and vocabulary
Click the word to look it upClick the word to find further inforamtion about it