This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1190.
Are you living the dream?
Sarcasm in American English.
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What does it mean when someone says living the dream?
What exactly are they saying?
Is it sarcastic or serious?
Find out today.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Excellent, Michelle.
How's it going with you?
Good, good, good.
I have a question.
Lots of questions on this show, I know.
What can I tell you?
Are you a sarcastic person?
Well, I mean, I'm American, so American English is a little sarcastic by nature, right?
So I would say kind of, but I'm not like the most sarcastic person.
Some people are super sarcastic.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
I can be a little bit at times, but I don't know.
Probably around, I don't know.
Do you think I'm sarcastic?
I don't know.
Yeah, you can have a little bit of a sarcastic like sometimes, sometimes I can hear that in you.
And our listeners have probably heard that before, too.
Oh, yeah, I would think so.
Okay, I gotta have to pay attention to my sarcasm on the show.
Definitely.
No, but that's not a bad thing, guys.
It's how people it's, it's, it's fun.
It's fun to be sarcastic at times, as long as you're not being mean about it.
Right?
Yeah, for sure.
For sure.
That's what it's all about.
That's right.
You know what?
I realized we have a listener question.
And I realized that there are sometimes just phrases that are said mostly in a sarcastic way.
And we're going to get into that in just a second, because we have a question from our listener, Masood from Iran.
And he asked about one of these phrases.
And I just love this episode.
So I'm excited to get into it, Lindsay.
Yeah, that's awesome.
So I think this question must have come through an app review.
So guys, remember you can always ask your questions when you let us know what you think about the show on the iOS app.
You can go ahead and also ask your question right inside your review.
That's a good way to get our attention.
Yeah, so should I go ahead and read the question?
Yeah, yeah, read it.
I love it.
All right.
So, hello, Lindsay.
I'm not able to express my gratitude for what you've done for my English.
It's been close to two years since I've been listening to the show every morning when I commute to work.
Quite honestly, I love that, quite honestly.
You have been a part of my daily life and I assume there are two friends who we hang out with and we have fun.
Oh, that's awesome.
It's been a game changer.
Oh, good vocabulary.
I know.
Masood, you're awesome.
So I've recently changed my job.
There's a colleague that most of the time when asking him, how are you doing?
He goes, live in the dream.
And people around us smile or make some jokes in following.
What does that mean?
When do you use it?
And what should I say in return?
Again, I appreciate what you're doing for us.
Warm regards, Masoud from Iran.
Oh, so cool.
Wow.
Wow.
Yeah, that's, that's a good question.
I had a lot of fun reading this one and planning this episode.
Yeah, really, really great question.
And I'm so glad that you have been a listener for a long time.
And we're really happy to have you listening.
And since you said that you listen to this while you commute to work, I just wanted to say I hope you have a wonderful day at work.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
We're happy.
We are honored to be a part of your daily commute.
That is amazing.
Actually, amazing.
Yeah, thank you.
And so okay, this was a great question.
So Lindsay, we were talking a little bit about this before we got started.
But would you do use this phrase live in the dream?
I personally don't because, yeah, I don't.
But I know people do in some circles for sure.
So I'm not surprised that Masood ran into this.
And I'm not surprised that he didn't quite know how to respond because it can be a little confusing.
Are we being sarcastic?
Are we being serious?
What are we trying to say when we say live in the dream?
Sometimes it's just like live in instead of living, right?
Sometimes we cut off.
Yeah, I wouldn't say live in the dream.
Yeah, live in the dream.
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, what dream are we talking about here exactly?
Yeah.
Well, okay, let's get into it.
So, Lindsay, let's talk about why are people – because he notices, and this is great.
This is so good what Masuda is doing because he's realizing that –
People around them.
When this guy says, live in the dream, other people are having an interesting reaction.
They're kind of laughing and smiling, right?
That's so key for an English learner to be observing the reactions of other people.
Right.
I think that that's really important.
So that's really good that you're doing that, Masoud.
And so why are people laughing?
Okay.
So this is what I think about the phrase.
I think, especially because you see people kind of smiling or laughing a little bit with living the dream, I think that it's being used in a sarcastic way.
That's what I'm going to guess, right?
Because no one would laugh if they were being – I don't know.
It just wouldn't make sense.
It makes more sense that it would be sarcastic, don't you think, Lindsay?
Yeah.
Well, yeah, I mean, so my view on this is I'm quickly trying to decide what I think here.
I think it's about it.
So sometimes it's used sarcastically and other times it's used completely genuinely, in a literal way, depending on the person scenario.
Right.
Like, is this guy at work?
Is he is he happy in his job?
If he is, he's probably actually serious and not being sarcastic.
If he hates his job and it's awful and it's drudgery, he's probably being sarcastic, right?
I mean, it could be used in either way.
Right.
But I'm gonna go disagree with you a little bit because I mean, not well, not really disagree.
I do believe that it could be used genuinely.
If you're like, Oh, yeah, Michelle.
Oh, this is great.
I'm doing all yours English.
I'm really living the dream here.
You know, it could be used in a genuine way.
But I think that the fact that people around him are kind of laughing, unless they're laughing at him,
Right.
My guess is that, especially if people are using it in work, the way that I have heard this phrase personally is that it's almost always sarcastic.
No, I mean, okay, so I think we're going to disagree a little bit on this one.
Because it's interesting.
So I think it depends on who you're around.
Because I've actually heard my friend Guy use this seriously.
And I should back up and find out.
But to me, it sounded serious because he has his restaurant...
He's happy.
Like, I think it really, I think I agree with Masood's situation.
His colleague, I think he was probably being sarcastic because other people laughed.
But I do think people definitely in some circles use it genuinely because they love what they do.
They love their setup in life and they're genuinely happy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I just don't hear it as frequently in that way.
Maybe I'm around more cynical people, but maybe, but I don't know.
To me this, to me this sounds like one of those more.
One of those more sarcastic, like tongue in cheek, phrases like live in the dream.
But again and you're right, like i'm imagining if you were talking to your friend and he said um yeah, i'm really living the dream that he could be genuine just to me.
I, maybe it's a new york thing.
Ah, it's probably a new york thing.
New yorkers man, they are cynical.
It is possible.
I mean maybe, maybe that's just the way that i hear it, guys.
So well obviously yeah, lindsey and i have heard different things here, and that's okay, because maybe it's used more frequently in one place, or just the.
Maybe i need to be around less sarcastic people.
Okay, i have people.
I have a good idea, Michelle.
I have the ultimate test.
So I'm going to be out in California in the next couple months checking things out and scoping out potential to live there, possibly towards the beginning of the fall.
Not sure yet if we're going to live there or not, but there may be a possibility that we'll be in California.
And I think if anything, the best way to know this is to compare California with New York.
Because definitely Californians often have a very different worldview, right?
A different take on life than New Yorkers.
So I'll let you know.
We should do a follow-up episode on this.
And I'll ask around about that phrase and see what people say.
Right, right.
I guess I just went in that direction because the way that this person said it and the fact that he said the reaction was so kind of like laughing it just made me think automatically of like And especially, I don't know.
It just sounded that way to me.
So we're going to kind of take this episode in more of a sarcastic direction.
However, guys, Lindsay, you'll have to report back to us on what you heard.
I have heard it not used sarcastically as well.
But today we're talking about the sarcastic route.
Yeah.
Yeah, fair enough.
That's good.
I think we should talk about sarcasm because it's a big part of our language.
So let's go in that direction today.
Okay.
All right.
So because it's sarcastic in this situation, in this context, what does it mean?
Does it mean that this guy is really happy, Lindsay?
As you were saying, not really, right?
No, it's probably the opposite.
He's probably hating his job, considering it boring.
Maybe he feels trapped in his life.
Things like that.
That's if you're talking about using this sarcastically, he probably doesn't like his life at all.
He's trying to make it funny.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
He's trying to be a little bit humorous.
Right.
And that's why I think the other people were laughing, because they probably know about his situation or maybe they don't like their jobs.
You know, we don't know um we, we really don't know.
Again, it's possible he was being genuine, but i i'm taking a guess in this way.
So it sounds like he has a sense of humor about it, but maybe he is kind of down um, and maybe other people laugh because maybe they feel a similar way.
Yeah, for sure, for sure, that's interesting.
I love it.
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Right.
So so let's try it out.
So, Lindsay, so can you ask me this question?
Yeah.
Okay.
So, hey, Michelle, how are you doing?
Oh, you know, living the dream.
Does that sound to you like I'm really living the dream?
I guess not.
I guess not.
I think we would also need a little more context about you, right?
Like a little more context to know what are you talking about to know that you're sarcastic.
For sure.
I think.
I think also my intonation though, shows you that I like, because I didn't say like, like.
I just can't imagine that I would say to you, Lindsay.
Oh, if you said, how are you?
I can't imagine that I would say like, yeah, living the dream.
Like, it sounds to me like a Disney movie, like a, you know, like, that's interesting.
I don't know.
I think it's very personal.
This is very personality based, because I don't use this phrase, but I've said similar things, like different things, like things are good.
Life is good.
I feel happy.
Right.
Like I'm satisfied with where things are.
But I think it's a very personality thing.
You know what I mean?
Depending on personalities.
Yeah, yeah.
I just I can't imagine that a question would just be answered like, oh, you know, living the dream.
It's so wonderful.
And roses.
I don't know.
I think like you said, there would be other things that you would say there.
But for some reason to me, again, it just seems like, oh, you know, live in the dream.
Like, I think that when people say live in the dream.
Either they're.
If in that way, with that intonation, either they're unhappy with life or they're just kind of routine.
You know, maybe they don't hate their life, but maybe it's just kind of like oh, you know, the day to day like oh, living the dream.
Whatever you know, go to work.
What?
You know, not big of a deal.
Like maybe things just aren't that interesting.
So that's that's, again, how I perceive this to be.
Yeah, kind of like a mundane, like life is kind of mundane, but you have to do it.
So that's it.
But I mean, yeah, I mean, that speaks to Yeah, for sure.
This is this is good.
I like this.
Let's keep going.
This is an interesting one.
So, okay.
So how should?
So Masood wants to know what to say in this situation, because it can kind of be awkward.
Maybe he's all excited about his new job and this other guy is like, eh, you know?
And then you're like, oh, God, you feel awkward.
So, I mean...
Personally, I think he might want to say something just like oh okay gotcha, or sounds good, or something kind of general.
Lindsay, what do you think?
Yeah.
I mean, sometimes when we get sarcasm, it's nice to mirror with more sarcasm.
If you feel the same way, like come back with another sarcastic comment.
That's a common way to respond to sarcasm, right?
I hear that a lot out on the street or out in the world.
But yeah, if you want to just acknowledge what you heard and maybe change the subject, maybe change the subject.
Yeah.
Just say something like, oh, okay.
Yeah, I agree.
I think, okay, gotcha.
Sounds good.
Or, okay.
Yeah.
Or just kind of laugh it off or something like that.
Because, I mean...
There are some important points here.
You're new to this job, right?
And you want to connect with your coworkers.
So in that way, you want to connect with him, with these people.
But number one, you don't want to end up – if they're being sarcastic, again, if –
You don't want to end up with a negative attitude about a negative attitude about this new job.
Right.
You don't want to like, you don't want it to be toxic, where you feel like oh, maybe they have a bad attitude, but you have a good attitude and you don't want to lose that attitude.
Yeah, I think that's why it kind of rubs me the wrong way.
Using this sarcastically is like being in a toxic work environment.
Awful, right?
We want to try to get out of that if we can.
Don't be in that place.
Get away from it.
Find something different, you know?
Right, right.
And the other thing for Masood, I think, is that you wouldn't really want to use this phrase in the same way at work.
Because I mean, let's say, your boss or someone else hears you using it sarcastically, it may show that you don't like what you're doing, right.
And so I just, I don't think...
I think the key is to not respond too much.
I like what Lindsay said change the subject, because if your boss is – if your response is kind of minimal, it'll be good, because if somebody hears you, if you say oh yeah oh, I know, you know, and like your boss is around, and they're like wait, this guy is new.
Yeah.
Yeah, you know, like a nice attitude.
So I don't know.
I think that I think you're gonna hear this phrase a lot.
But I think as far as using it, you got to be careful with it.
Because number one, we don't know, like, I'm not in the situation with my suit, right?
I don't know exactly how it was used.
I can't hear it.
But I'm making a guess.
And I think that the best thing is to kind of use it sparingly if you're going to be sarcastic, and to use it with close friends.
Like, I just don't think using it at work is a good idea.
Oh, and there's nothing worse than like showing up to a new job that you're excited about.
And you get there and you realize everyone is negative and jaded and it's a toxic environment.
I would quit right away.
Get out of there because that's where you're headed in two years, right?
I mean, no, we don't have to do these things, right?
Oh, God.
But that's another topic for another day, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
So guys wow, this has been an interesting episode because Lindsay and I have been kind of debating each other about this phrase and talking about different possibilities.
So this goes to show you that yeah, I think it's a really rich episode when we kind of have these discussions, because it shows you that even for native speakers, not everything is just one answer.
I hear it in one way.
Lindsay hears it in another way.
We talk about it.
And it can show you how dynamic English is in all language, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, it's true.
It's like we are coming from two different worlds, right?
I mean we, you know, what informs my opinion on that is kind of talking to other like online entrepreneurs, maybe at a podcasting conference.
They love podcasting.
They're happy, right?
So they're more likely to use that in a positive way.
I mean, so there are different like, I don't know, slices of society that we get exposed to.
And that informs how we actually use these phrases for sure.
Interesting.
Yeah.
So I need to get out of New York.
No, just kidding.
I love New Yorkers.
New York's cool.
I love it.
I love it, too.
So I think that you know overall, this phrase is depending on the tone of voice and reading the context.
I think it's I think it's commonly sarcastic.
So if you hear it in a sarcastic way, be careful how you respond.
You don't know who's going to hear you.
And you know, but in ways that can be good, because it can lead you to connection, but you don't want it to be a negative connection.
Yeah, that's true.
That's a good point.
We don't necessarily want to build connections with people who are just complainers, like people who just complain.
You know what I mean?
I'm sure our listeners have experience of that at work.
Like their entire relationship with their coworkers is based on complaining.
And that's bad.
Yeah, you know what i mean.
Yeah yeah that's yeah, that's definitely bad.
So not to uh criticize your co-worker, maybe i'm, maybe i'm totally wrong about this person, but uh uh, let me know, let us know how it goes.
But this has been a very interesting episode and i hope you are actually living your dream, not in a sarcastic way.
Yeah guys, live the dream.
Live the dream, whatever that means for you.
It's so broad.
It just depends on what you want in your life, but definitely take steps to move towards it, right?
We know that there are always limitations, there are situations, there are obligations we have, but I think we should always be moving towards what we actually want in life and having that conversation with ourselves for sure.
Yeah.
Very good, Lindsay.
Thank you for motivating us all.
And this has been a lot of fun, guys.
Have a great day.
And thanks again for that interesting and thought provoking question.
All right, Michelle, take care.
Talk to you soon.
All right, bye.
Bye.
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