This is an All Ears English podcast episode 1,609.
Don't talk my ear off.
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In today's episode, we answer a listener question about how to use the phrase head off.
Learn about the many ways we use this expression and other head and ear expressions today.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
I'm doing good, Michelle.
We are in the middle of the summer.
Actually, today is my parents' wedding anniversary, so that's kind of fun.
Yeah, I always remember July 15th.
Yeah, it's so crazy.
I have to send them a card.
Oh, wow.
Happy anniversary to them.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I will tell them you said that.
Yeah.
All right, Lindsay, I'm going to head off now.
I'll see you later.
Well, Michelle, we just started the episode.
Where are you going?
Oh, my gosh.
I am so sorry.
Is that it?
Is that it for today?
Yeah, that's it.
Oh, bye, guys.
I hope you enjoyed.
No, don't worry.
No, no, no.
Guys, today we're going to be talking about head off because we had a great listener question for today.
Right, Lindsay?
Yeah, we did.
Okay, I'm going to read the question.
We're going to get right into it today.
Okay, the student says, Hi, dear Lindsay, I'm Shadi from Iran, Tehran.
Thanks for your nice podcast.
I always listen on my way to work.
Would you please explain head off?
I can't understand the meaning.
Thanks to you and your colleagues.
Great.
Thank you to this listener for listening to our show.
I know that we have a lot of listeners in Iran.
That's awesome.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Thank you for that question.
Great question.
I mean, so there are a couple of ways that head off is used.
So we'll talk about a couple today.
And then we're going to give you some kind of fun, funny expressions as well.
So Lindsay, I mean, I think that the most common way is when you say it when you're leaving, like how I just said oh, I'm gonna head off, right.
But you might also say head out.
Yeah, yeah.
Right?
But would you say head off more or head out?
What do you think?
I say head out more.
I'm going to head out.
I'm going to leave.
We could do another episode, Michelle, on just head alone, right?
Like I'm going to head to the bathroom.
I'm going to head to your house in 10 minutes.
But another day, another day.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, that that is a good one.
Okay.
So, I mean, but guys, listen to episode 709, which is don't bail on this episode.
Listen to get native phrases to say that you're going to leave.
Yeah.
Okay, so that is another good one that you can listen to to hear more about.
I think we do head out on that one.
I'm one of the two.
So listen to episode 709.
So for example, you could say, oh, what time are you heading off?
Or what else could you say?
Or you could say, I guess I'll head off for now unless there's anything else you wanted to add.
Right.
So maybe you're having a conversation and then you're just going to leave the conversation.
Right.
Exactly.
Just to make sure we're clear does this mean that we're physically leaving the space or just that we're ending the conversation?
I think it's more about physically leaving the space.
What do you think?
Yeah, I think so too.
But I just want to make sure that's clear, because I'm not sure if that's totally clear for our listeners.
It really means you are going somewhere else, okay?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
Like maybe on your vacation.
Even you could say like oh, when are you guys heading off on your trips?
So common, right?
So common.
Yeah.
When are you heading off on vacation?
Maybe the end of a work week, right?
It's a Friday.
I'm going to head off early today, three o'clock, something like that.
Exactly.
So another way to use this is, you know, talking about making sure that something doesn't happen.
So I don't hear this one as much, but I have heard it a little bit.
So, for example, if you want to head off a problem with your friend, it's important to openly communicate if there's an issue.
Mm hmm.
For sure.
Yeah.
This way as well.
Yeah, I do.
That's why I asked you at the beginning, before we hit record, whether we're going to talk about it in that sense.
Oh, right.
Right.
Yeah.
Because, yeah, this is like a secondary way, guys.
Totally different meaning.
OK, so shift gears in your mind.
Very different meaning, but also really functional.
I mean, natives use it for sure.
OK.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So let's talk about some other expressions with head off.
So these are kind of different.
OK.
OK.
That's fine.
They're going to be funny.
So the first one is laugh someone's head off.
Right.
Or laugh your head off.
What does that mean to laugh your head off?
That sounds pretty scary.
Isn't.
Yeah.
So laugh.
Oh, well, when you go to a comedian, I feel like Santa comedians just always make me laugh.
The good ones do.
They just have this amazing way of finding what's funny.
You know what I mean?
I wish I had that skill, really.
But yeah, laughing my head off.
Isn't there like an acronym?
I think people use it in text messages to signal this, I'm pretty sure.
I think it's with a different word.
A different word, which we can't say on the show.
But this would be a clean way to say that you could make up your own acronym, right?
And you could do that too.
But yeah, natives use this.
Absolutely.
Michelle, what would be an example?
Well, you could say, oh, I was laughing my – I wrote head out.
I was laughing my head off during that whole movie.
Lindsay, what's a movie or show that makes you laugh your head off, right?
Laugh really hard.
Oh my gosh.
Well, National Lampoon is always good.
We've talked about this one.
I'm trying to think of what we have in common.
National Lampoon, Christmas Vacation, all those.
But I'm trying to think of something else immediately that's really funny.
Oh my gosh, Michelle, I'm drawing a blank.
Do you have an idea?
Oh, well, I mean, you know, do you ever listen to Jim Gaffigan?
No, I don't know him.
He's actually pretty funny.
Like, I... Oh, also, Conan O'Brien makes me laugh.
Oh, Conan's good.
You know who I just thought of?
Wanda Sykes.
She's fantastic, she is great.
Oh, larry david makes me laugh my head off.
There's some great.
Uh, there are actually some podcasts that we like to listen to, sometimes that are just comedians, like clips from stand-up comedy that we'll put on sometimes in the car just to mix it up between podcasts and music.
You put on a little stand-up comedy.
But i love her, she's fantastic.
Wanda sykes she's Yeah yeah yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
So laugh your head off.
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OK, Lindsay, this next one is also scary.
I mean, not also scary.
That one wasn't scary, but it sounds a little funny.
This one.
What is this?
OK, so it's not literally.
Guys, don't worry.
But it's metaphorically to bite someone's head off.
This basically just means to kind of attack someone to yell at them.
Yeah, it's terrible.
Don't bite someone's head off.
Yeah, I'm thinking of like siblings biting each other's heads off because of what they said to each other.
Right.
Or here's an example, guys.
He bit my head off when I came late to class.
Oh, that's a teacher.
Right.
Angry at you.
But I think of it more, a little bit more as like yeah, siblings are kind of equals that might attack each other in a way.
Yeah, but I could hear like if like it was the teacher, if like...
Like OK, I'm imagining students in class and then he goes to see his friend at lunchtime and then he's like yeah, I bit my head off.
Oh, I see.
I see.
So it wouldn't be that you would necessarily say that to your teacher.
Don't bite my head off.
Right.
Right.
It's more you're reporting that to your friends.
So that's something you would say to an equal, like someone at your same level in a way.
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
I mean, Lindsay, what do you do if someone bites your head off?
Oh, my God.
I usually curl up into a ball and protect myself.
I don't really defend myself.
I never know what to say in the moment.
I'm not good at coming up with comebacks.
Or even if they're wrong.
I'm not good at thinking quick like that and saying hey, pointing out what's wrong with what they're doing.
I'll just curl up and protect myself or run away.
Aww.
What do you do?
Well, I guess it depends who like.
If it's like someone I'm like close with, like if it's like I don't really get in fights with I don't get in fights with my brother, but like if somebody I was really close with bit my head off, I'd probably bite theirs off right back.
Would you?
Oh, that's pretty good.
Yeah.
If somebody was, you know, you just give it right back to them.
If it's somebody you're close with, I mean, sometimes you can do that and get away with it.
Just as long as things don't get even more intense.
But sometimes you just kind of put them back in their place and say, oh, that's good.
Michelle, I think that's the New York City in you.
Other people, no, no, no.
Like there are other, you know, if it's not someone I'm comfortable with, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it.
I'm a very, like, nice person.
Like, play nice.
But, you know, it would really depend.
Yeah.
I mean, I just remember in New York, I don't know, just feeling, wow, people are amazing.
They're so genuine.
It's so refreshing.
But man, they can bite your head off real quick.
If you do something in public, like public spaces on the train, in department stores, if you do something wrong, like if you cut someone off.
I don't know, they can really.
They can be brutal New Yorkers.
They can be brutal yeah, if you walk too slowly what I said but they're also some of the greatest people.
They absolutely are.
That's what I'm trying to say.
They're fantastic.
They're fantastic.
All right.
Okay.
So do we have time for any bonus ones that I thought of?
I think we do, Michelle.
I think we have a couple of minutes.
Let's throw it out there for our listeners today.
All right.
So this one is with the ear.
Okay.
So this is actually, I guess it's just one bonus.
So here it is.
To talk someone's ear off.
Yeah.
So when you talk too much, to the point where it's irritating to them and they just want you to stop talking.
Yeah, i hate it.
That's hard to be around, people who just keep talking and talking, especially when they're nervous, right?
Yeah, that's yeah.
Sometimes i wonder if i do that.
I'm not sure, i don't know.
Now, look at me, i'm doing it now.
Okay well, you're a podcaster, so that's probably a good thing.
I mean, that's true, that's true.
So, for example, he was talking my ear off all about his perfect grades.
It was annoying, yeah.
Yeah, Am I guilty of talking anyone's ear off?
Sometimes I think when I go home and I visit my parents, I talk too much, like I share everything that's going on.
I wonder if they're bored sometimes, you know.
So I don't think.
I don't think parents get like that about their children.
They don't get bored.
They want to know everything.
I don't think so.
I mean, I have my child is only two and a half.
And I mean, I, I like can imagine that I will never get bored of anything he has to say.
Yeah, I have been accused of talking at people sometimes, which is really bad.
And we could do another episode on this one, Michelle.
The difference between talking to someone and talking at them.
Good one.
Good one.
Let's write that down for another day.
Sometimes when I have to write things down, then I'm like, oh.
And I think this one will be a fantastic episode because our listeners are like, wait, talk at?
That's not correct.
Actually, guys, it is correct, but it means something different.
So we'll go back into that another day.
How about we save that, Michelle?
Yes.
I just texted it to myself.
Okay, good stuff.
All right.
So let's we're gonna there are more guys, but we're gonna stop here for today.
Let's do a role play and add in as many as we can.
Okay, so here we are friends.
And I'm telling you about a party that I just went to.
Cool.
So I've been to a party in a while.
So let's do it.
Here we go.
So I told her I was going to head off and she bit my head off.
Wow, that's upsetting.
Why?
Well, she wanted the party to last longer and felt I didn't stay for long enough.
I just had to go.
Her cousin was talking my ear off about politics and I just wasn't in the mood.
Oh, well, that's understandable.
Yeah, but I did laugh my head off when her brother told a hilarious story.
So that was good.
Sounds like it wasn't all bad.
Next time, maybe we head off your friend's anger by telling her ahead of time when you have to leave.
Yeah, maybe I'll give that a try.
Oh, wow.
This is good.
This is a good dialogue.
Very natural and native, guys.
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So go to allersenglish.com slash app to get the app.
All right.
Cool, cool.
Michelle, what do we do here?
All right.
So this was funny.
So I told her I was going to head off.
Right.
So to leave.
And she bit my head off.
So that might have been confusing for our listeners.
Right.
So again, to head off, to leave and then to attack.
Right.
She bit my head off.
Just sounds weird when you're using the same phrase in one sentence.
I know.
Yeah.
Let's see.
So I just had to go.
Her cousin was talking my ear off.
That means our cousin wouldn't stop talking about politics.
And I was getting bored yes yes yes, yes.
And then you said but I did laugh my head off when her brother told a hilarious story.
So you laughed really hard.
Yeah, exactly.
And then you said sounds like it wasn't all that bad.
Next time maybe, head off your friend's anger by telling her ahead of time and And this could be another episode too
You're making a suggestion by starting by saying, maybe do this, maybe do that, right?
Very common and native and natural.
I say that all the time.
Maybe try this.
Why not do that?
Yeah.
I'm writing it down.
We get so many ideas, Michelle.
We're going to be podcasting for a long time.
Yeah, exactly.
Okay, yeah.
Well, oh my gosh.
Well, this is such a good... question.
And you know, very useful.
So thank you for that very specific question.
We gave you answers we gave you, you know, we had conversation topics, new vocab.
So guys, try this all out today.
Yeah, guys.
And if you have a question, imagine like a great episode could come out of a very simple question.
Just make it very specific, as specific as possible.
Send it to lindsay at allearsenglish.com and we will do our best to make a episode about it.
All right, Michelle.
Good stuff.
I'll talk to you very soon.
All right.
And guys, remember to listen to the IELTS Energy podcast.
Yeah.
I mean, these are really strategic vocabulary words that could get you above a band seven.
So if you're taking IELTS, go and subscribe to that podcast with Aubrey and Jessica the IELTS Energy Podcast and listen in three days a week.
Cool.
Awesome.
All right.
Okay.
See you soon.
All right, Michelle.
Bye.
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