This is an All Ears English podcast episode 2053.
Were you today years old when you learned this English slang?
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200 million times.
Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android.
Start your seven-day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slash app.
Have you not kept up with new English slang?
That's a choice.
Today we share three new English slang phrases that will add color and playfulness to your conversations, so you can connect with people of any generation.
This Black Friday, stop piecing together random TikToks and YouTube videos that don't lead anywhere.
Join our 2026 English Mastery Bundle, a complete 9-12 month curriculum designed for goal-oriented learners like you.
You'll follow a clear, structured path from intermediate to high intermediate and even to advanced fluency, with every course flowing naturally into the next.
No gaps, no guesswork.
No searching for extra resources.
Plus, you'll get live speaking practice, community, and teacher support.
It's a done-for-you plan.
Everything you need in one place.
All unlocked with a single one-time investment.
This Black Friday only.
Build your English for the long term.
Start today.
Go to allersenglish.com slash blackfriday to save 50% off the normal price.
Expires at midnight on Friday. allersenglish.com slash B-L-A-C-K-F-R-I-D-A-Y.
Hey, Aubrey, how's it going?
I'm great, Lindsay.
How are you?
I'm doing pretty well today.
It's a hot summer day.
So yeah, What's up in your world?
What are we getting into today?
I have a really fun question for you.
Okay.
What is something that you learned recently that surprised you, that maybe you should have known before and you were surprised.
Oh my gosh.
Our listeners probably know if they are dedicated listeners of All Ears English.
A few episodes ago, I think it was episode, what, 2027, we were talking about the term three-peat.
And because I was so immersed in tennis as a kid growing up.
I watched so much US Open tennis.
Pete Sampras.
They always use the word three-peat when they talked about him winning three Grand Slams or three something I don't know three of the tournaments.
And I figured, oh, it's about Pete Sampras.
That whole expression is all about Pete Sampras.
A lot of people don't even know who Pete Sampras is, right?
Who is Pete Sampras, by the way?
Yes, he's a famous tennis player.
And yeah, he won these.
It's very rare for that to happen.
Yes.
With the Women's World Cup, they were thinking, oh, maybe the U.S. would get a three-peat, right?
It actually is like a version of repeat, three-peat.
So it's not just about Pete Sampras.
I would still say it's cooler, though, because Sampras, it's a double meaning there.
But anyways, yes, I should have known that.
Yeah, I should have known.
I thought that might be your answer.
And this came up because I was going over the transcripts to pull keywords for our app.
And I saw this.
And right after you found out about that I said, you were today years old when you learned that 3P is not about Pete Sampras.
And then we didn't talk about it more.
I said oh, that should be an episode, because this is really interesting, fun new slang that I hear all the time.
And I started Googling and looking into some other fun slang expressions that I'm hearing a lot on TV, on podcasts.
Lots of people are starting to say them.
And so we want to teach these today so you guys can use them and you'll understand them when you hear them.
Yeah, we want to make sure you guys stay up to date with the most recent English, right?
This is something.
Textbooks can't update you on things like this, because these are new expressions coming up every month, right?
And we are tuned into different generations here on our team, right?
Brady, talk to your kids, teenagers, all sorts of different ages.
So we're coming to you with real English.
Yes, and we're not just teaching you slang that like only teenagers use and you shouldn't use.
No, there is a lot of slang that my teenagers use that if I say it, they're like oh mom no, don't.
You can't say that if you're over like 16, right?
We're not going to teach you that slang.
We're teaching you slang, that we use that.
We hear a lot on podcasts.
That's being adopted into the vernacular.
Yes.
And if there is something you know, we'll let you know the difference between.
If something does come up, we'll let you know.
But first guys, in order to get all these awesome updates on current slang, what do our listeners have to do Aubrey, to make sure they get it?
Follow, yes, on All Ears English here.
We have so many great episodes, four episodes every week, which is unheard of.
I find that very impressive that we're able to do that every week.
We're amazing.
We're amazing.
So hit follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, Amazon Music, wherever you listen.
There's going to be a follow button somewhere.
So find it right now, guys, and hit that button.
Okay.
I'm excited, Aubrey, here to get into our first slang that is as modern as it gets.
What is it?
It's so true.
Yeah.
So this is to say you're today years old.
And this indicates that something happens later than expected, right?
It's usually a discovery or a realization.
It means the same as I should have known this for years, but I'm just realizing it today.
And this is actually a fun conversation that you could have.
It's a great conversation opener when you're getting getting close to someone.
Right, you talk about how you were a little naive as a kid.
Maybe right, or even up until now, rather right, you've been naive about something because it it's a little bit of vulnerability you're giving away, but just enough to kind of make you endearing to the other person.
So it's a great setup for connection.
Aubrey, here I agree so much.
And every now and then I'm in a conversation with someone where they'll sort of like pretend that they did it, that they knew and you know, and I'm like I wish they would have instead just embraced it.
It swallowed their pride a little and we could have made a joke about it.
That's I always upped for that.
I'm like I'm happy to admit, like I'm just realizing something.
Yes well, this is true.
Actually we could do another episode on this is true, for a lot of this would make a really funny episode, song so, where we thought something was being said, even up until song lyrics.
That happens to me all the time.
It's so funny.
We're not legally allowed to sing the song.
So what we could do is we could probably finesse that a little bit and bring in some of the lyrics and say what we thought it was.
I have to share a very quick story.
When I was an exchange student in southern France.
I won't sing the song, but the other kids were listening to a song by the Cranberries.
And they were like, what does it mean when she says the letters E-O-A?
And I was like, what do you mean?
And they're like, E-O-A.
I was like, oh, she's saying in your head.
And they were like, what?
They were sure it was the letters E-O-A.
I'm like, it's just so funny.
This happens to all of us with song lyrics.
You just mishear.
Not sure what the words are.
Oh, it's hilarious.
We could figure out how to make an episode on that, I think, if we try.
So guys, hit follow.
You'll get some really cool stuff here.
But let's get some examples for our listeners here of today years old.
So you might say he was today years old when he realized Noel is spelled with a silent K And this just happened to be two days ago.
I was playing a game called Boggle, where you shake up these letter dice and make all these words.
And my cousin wrote, and he's older than I even, and he wrote Noel, N-O-L-L.
I was like, oh, that has a K. That has a silent K. And he didn't believe me.
We had to look in the dictionary.
It happens.
Yeah, it happens, or I imagine that could happen with the word gnome too.
It's with a G right, a silent, absolutely.
Those silent letters are so tricky on the front of it that makes no sense.
No sense, we don't know.
Anyways guys okay, so that's a perfect example.
Right, when he was today years old, he just figured that out.
Here's another example I was today years old when I discovered how easily you can die hiking in the desert.
Oh gosh, oh gosh, Aubrey.
So you're saying you just had an experience.
Yes, I did.
I just had an experience where I just didn't have enough water in the desert.
So I could have said this after the hike.
I was today years old when I realized I should have brought a gallon of water on this hike.
Oh, my God.
All right.
So, guys, you'll keep listening.
We're going to share our number two example of the slang.
And then you're going to hear these again in a mini role play today.
We're baking the role plays right into the middle of the episode today.
Good stuff.
So, Aubrey, what's next for number two?
All right.
So number two is that's a choice, and this is a very fun, lighthearted way to indicate that you disapprove of something.
I hear this all the time now, so let's do a mini role play.
So, because this is very much in response to what someone else says yeah, we need some precision on the tone of voice here, so we'll let you chime in.
Here we go.
So I'm putting ketchup on my eggs.
I love it that way.
That's a choice.
So what it means is like ew Or like I disagree.
I think it's gross.
It's a more fun, lighthearted way to be like, you do you.
I wouldn't do that for myself, right?
You can make that choice.
I kind of feel like this message, right?
Like you're weird, right?
Essentially, you're saying you're weird, right?
There's always new slang coming up in English to say you're weird.
Like you do you is one of them.
Like every year I feel like there's a new way to say it.
We could build out a whole other episode just on how to say you're weird over the years.
A lot of it's the new generation coming up that wants to call older people weird, but they want to do it in a fun new way.
Right.
They don't want to use the way the boomers say that someone's weird.
So they change it and come up with new stuff.
Oh, my gosh.
That's so funny.
Okay.
So what is it again?
One more time.
It's what's the intonation we need to hear?
Yeah.
So you're emphasizing that.
It's like if I said... that's a choice or something, it would be strange.
It's always, that's a choice, right?
So the emphasis is on that first word.
Your eyes come up maybe a little bit or something.
That's a choice.
That's a choice.
Okay.
Interesting.
Well, I will admit that I am today years old, as I'm learning these expressions, because these are new for me too.
You were today years old when you learned the slang.
All right.
I'm excited for number three and I bet our listeners are too.
What is it?
Okay.
It is, I said what I said, and I hear this all the time too.
It just means I stand by what I said.
I'm not going to change my statement or take it back.
So we often use it to emphasize our competence in a statement and just to declare that we're unwilling to retract it.
Even if we know we're wrong.
Right.
I kind of wonder if this is a riff on it is what it is also very similar.
It is what it is, but it's more about a statement I made, right?
Someone's going to disagree with me and I'm going to say, I said what I said.
I'm saying like, this is what I think and I'm not backing down.
Yeah.
Is this common that you would use this with your kids or as a mother of teenagers?
Or when would this be used?
Is it about politics or what?
No, it's more informal and fun than that.
I hear it a lot on podcasts.
I've heard people my age start saying it just because it's so fun.
My kids say it a lot.
So it's really if you ever...
Let's do the mini role play.
And I think that's going to help where you can see what types of statements you would say it to.
Okay.
Yeah.
Let's do that right now.
And then we will take a quick break after that role play.
So here we go.
All right, Aubrey, go for it.
All right.
The movie knives out is overrated.
What?
I love that movie.
I said what I said, right?
So it's usually this way you make a statement and if someone disagrees with you especially, it will often happen to where, like Sometimes, people would retract on something.
They'd be like, okay, you're right.
Maybe it wasn't so bad.
Instead, you know, you'd be like, I said what I said.
I'm not backing down.
I did not like it.
There's something refreshing about it, right?
I mean sometimes we, always we can get tongue twisted at, feeling like we have to walk back everything, but there is something nice about just having an opinion and saying it.
As long as we're being respectful, you know you have an opinion, you say it.
You don't need to kind of bend backwards based on what other people think.
That's not an attractive quality for a friend or a partner, right?
Absolutely.
I absolutely agree.
And this expression is so useful because we also use it to really joke around and really be funny, because you'll also use it if someone corrects you or if someone contradicts you and you realize you were wrong.
You'll just say it to be funny and be like I said what I said.
Right.
So, for example, if let's say, let's say, just as a silly example, you're playing football, you're playing soccer with someone, someone from Europe, and they come and they're like Oh no, this is called football.
And you might be like, I said what I said.
I said what I said to be like.
Then you're just sort of being funny about like.
I know it's football in Europe, but I'm not owning it.
I said, I love it.
So good.
This is so modern, Aubrey.
It's so good.
So good.
Okay, Aubrey.
So we are going to finish up today's episode here in just a minute.
But first, what do we want to do?
Who do we need to say thank you to?
Yes, we want to thank our reviewers.
We have had so many great reviews left recently.
These really make our day.
I love seeing those five-star reviews.
Sometimes questions are left in reviews, but just always really great messages.
So thank you, everyone who's left reviews.
Let's give some shout outs.
We have Mustafa Hussain from Chad and Emad Bagheri from Iran.
Yeah, and we had a really specific review from ahmad toti.
Uh, this might actually be the ahmed that i met in egypt i'm not sure it sounds like the same name, but i don't know.
We'll find out.
So this listener said one of the best podcasts ever.
You made learning english more fun and beneficial for me.
I learned a lot from you.
Thanks, that is beautiful.
I love it, aubrey.
So we want to request reviews from you guys and we do try to read our reviewers names aloud on the show.
So go ahead and write your review in apple podcast or spotify or youtube wherever you want to listen write your review and we'll try to announce your name on the show.
Yeah, absolutely awesome.
What a fun episode.
These new slang expressions use them, guys.
Right, slang is always evolving and it really helps you connect with speakers, whether it's speakers who are learning a language or native English speakers, because it just brings us to a more fun, playful level.
Yeah, and it's kind of funny.
As I get older right now I'm in my early 40s I've seen over the years like I'll see Gen Xers still using old slang from the like early 90s and I kind of roll my eyes, but it's kind of endearing.
At the same time, it's kind of silly, right.
So each of us right, if someone says rad, Like rad.
No one really says it much anymore, but every now and then Jessica will say rad.
That's rad.
And I love it.
I think it is endearing.
So yeah, you can use old slang, new slang.
It's just so fun to add it to conversation.
Yeah, you kind of just have to sort of put together your personal recipe of how much old slang you want to bring in like your legacy slang, so you can connect with your similar generational friends, versus how new you want to be.
You guys can each decide.
That's the cool thing about learning a new language.
You can create your own recipe of slang across the decades.
Yeah.
Yes, absolutely.
And I have a feeling you guys are going to start hearing these three expressions everywhere, like on podcasts on TV, on the radio.
I hear them a lot.
And I think they're the type where, if you haven't had them highlighted and really understand what they mean, then maybe you wouldn't notice them.
But now that you've learned them, you're going to start noticing them, I think.
And I would love for you to come to YouTube and leave a comment.
Let us know where you heard it and what the context was.
It's just so fun.
And then we all learn together.
I love it.
Let's learn together.
Well, I've learned three new slangs today, so that's so good for me.
All right, Aubrey, I will talk to you very soon on the next episode.
You have a good day, okay?
You too.
See you next time.
Bye.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
Would you like to know your English level?
Take our two-minute quiz.
Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash all.
And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything.
See you next time.