This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2145.
Jump on this episode for a great action expression.
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With your American hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
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When you find an opportunity, concert tickets, a cheap flight, what do you do?
Do you tend to act immediately or do you wait?
Today, get the vocabulary you need to encourage someone to take action quickly in English.
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Expires at midnight on Friday. allersenglish.com slash b-l-a-c-k-f-r-i-d-a-y Lindsay, how are you?
Hey, Michelle.
I'm feeling excellent today.
What's going on with you?
Yeah, not too much.
Had a good weekend.
Excited to be recording.
Lindsay, do you like to go to a lot of shows or concerts or plays?
Oh, you know, I'm not a huge concert goer, but once in a while, like actually pretty much around this exact time, I'm going to be going to a very fun concert in Vegas to see Adele.
I'm super excited.
Yes, super excited.
Is she doing a residency there or?
Yeah, she's doing a residency in Vegas.
She did last year, too. but we couldn't go and now we're finally gonna get to go.
So I am ready.
Oh God, just really quick.
That'll be a bonus word for today.
What's a residency?
I guess I just learned that actually.
I just learned when we went and bought these tickets for Adele.
But I guess it's like a long-term stay where that particular performer performs for like months at a time, like six months at a time.
And they just set up shop there.
But Adele is just always sold out.
But I saw these tickets and I just jumped on them.
I said, hey, let's do something different.
She is just an incredible singer.
Yeah.
Oh, I can't wait to hear about that.
Yeah.
And guys yeah residency, think of the word residency.
Residence right to live somewhere.
So it's not just a quick stay and it's very common in Las Vegas for artists to have residencies right that they don't.
It's not, it's not very like for a longer period of time, that a that a artist stays in Vegas.
Oh, I didn't know that.
I guess that makes sense though, right?
That makes sense because Vegas is really a music and a food city.
I mean, people think of gambling, but I don't gamble.
I don't like to gamble.
I just, I don't see the point.
But I think people do go to Vegas for food, really good food, good famous chefs, and live music and just kind of partying with friends, I guess.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I went last year.
I had a great time.
Yeah, you did.
Yeah.
I went, yeah, like October of 22.
Oh, very nice.
We just did an episode that we recorded, guys, just this past week.
This past week.
But how to talk about things in the past, how to refer to dates that go far back, a year back, two years back,
So go check out that episode.
So Michelle, it sounds like anytime you find cheap flights, maybe from New York to Vegas, you jump on them.
Is that right?
Yeah, yeah, I jump on it.
Right.
If I can find a cheap flight. cheap tickets to something.
We recently talked about how I went to the Pink concert and I was trying to jump on the tickets.
Actually, I have to say I am going to see Pink again.
You are?
Oh, my God.
When is this happening?
Next August.
You're the number one fan.
Yeah.
So because she came out with like a presale and this time I wasn't going to wait.
So I jumped on the tickets because they're just going to get more and more expensive.
So I'm not going to fall for that. like I did last time.
Good thinking, Michelle.
I love it.
Wow.
Okay.
That's very cool.
You'll have to catch us up right before you go.
And we'll talk about.
You know, show our listeners how to talk about being excited about an event or anticipating an event.
That's great.
That's great.
So guys, before we get into today's episode a little more, make sure and go and get our app.
We have it on iOS and Android.
It's allearsenglish.com slash app to get in on that.
You got it.
Get those transcripts right on your phone, guys.
Good stuff.
So where do we go from here?
We're talking about this one very specific phrase, right, Michelle, and how to use it.
What is that phrase again, to jump on something.
Now here do i literally mean like i'm gonna jump on some tickets or no, you're not jumping.
You're not jumping on any couches.
I imagine celebrities and talk shows.
They always seem to jump on the couches for some reason.
I don't know why.
That's true.
That was tom cruise, i think i remember.
I've seen recently.
I've seen someone else did that.
Why do you feel that you need to do that?
I don't know, but that's not what you're talking about here right, maybe i'm gonna jump on my couch later just to see.
Maybe there's something i'm missing, maybe it's really fun um okay anyway yeah, so today we're talking about a more figurative use of to jump on something.
Right, we?
So you might have heard to jump at the opportunity.
So, for example, when i saw the job ad, i jumped at the opportunity and applied right away.
So this really means to jump on something is to jump on it.
It's to, to, to do something right away to grab it, to get going.
You don't want to wait.
Yeah.
You don't hesitate.
You don't say, Oh, let me wait and see what happens to the price tomorrow.
This makes me think of, do you ever use the hopper app when you book flights?
No.
Oh no.
I haven't told you about that before.
It's a good idea.
Last year we were stuck in new England trying to get back to Denver uh, around Christmas or right after Christmas and flights were getting canceled like crazy.
We'd go to the airport and the flight would get canceled while we're on our way because there was that whole mess with all the weather and the internal systems, with all the airports.
Everything was messed up.
But we were monitoring flights on Hopper and for some miracle a flight came open or everything was booked.
And then there's one seat on United Airlines going to Denver.
We jumped on it right away.
We booked it in the car, didn't even think about it.
Right that crazy, you know?
Yes wow, that is crazy.
Yeah, so to, you jumped on it right, that's I mean you could have said to me oh so we bought the tickets, but yeah, what is to say, you jumped on it.
What?
What did that do for the story?
It changes the story completely.
First of all, it makes it more interesting.
It shows me the urgency that was going on.
And that was a very urgent, desperate time.
There were tears.
It was bad.
This was like the fourth time we had driven to the airport trying to get on a flight, right?
Oh no.
Tears by you.
There were tears.
Yeah.
Get back.
We just, it was bad.
And so we jumped on it because that was our emotional state.
We just needed to get on a plane okay yeah exactly, exactly.
So yeah, i was thinking the same thing.
Urgency right, and it shows that urgency when you're telling the story.
Um, so it means to you that you're quickly doing something.
Make sure things go well, make sure you get it.
Not a lot of thinking, you gotta go.
Um, guys also uh, if you haven't listened yet, listen to episode 2134.
How to express your stress in english?
Right, so we're a little stressed in that story.
Well, the other thing I think I'm thinking about here Michelle, is it may also indicate competition.
Yes.
When people are vying, that's a bonus word for our listeners, vying for something.
Maybe there's only two tickets for something.
Maybe there's only two spaces.
I don't know.
There's competition and everyone wants it.
This would be another reason you would use the word jumped on it.
It makes me think of like, you know, when you're a kid and there's like the most popular toys and then the people, our parents always get into fights at the toy store.
Yes.
I've seen that on the news.
I've seen that on the news.
Yes.
Yes, exactly.
So let's do a few other examples of to say to jump on something.
All right, here we go.
Oh, people just got up from the table.
Let's jump on it.
Oh, that's another great example.
That's a great example.
Let's say you're touring some city or you're a tourist and it's really cold outside and you want to go in a cafe and just sit and get warm.
And all of a sudden you need a table, right?
Otherwise you have to go back outside into the cold.
Yeah.
It's always awkward.
What do you do if you see that somebody is about to get up?
I try not to hover.
Hover, hover.
What does that mean?
Hovering is a great word h-o-v-e-r.
Guys, get that app so that you can see how that's spelled.
But yeah, it means well, it just means you kind of hang out, but it's very obvious that you're waiting for that table.
Yeah, and it's kind of uncomfortable to be sitting at a seat and like you're trying to finish up your meal or your coffee, and then you just can feel these eyes yeah, like everybody's like get up, get up, and you can't really.
Then you feel this awkward pressure.
Oh, it's very awkward, the whole thing.
Yeah, try not to hover, but sometimes I can't avoid it.
Or I'll just step back, as long as I can stay in the warm right in the warmth and not have to go back out to a cold city, for example.
Oh, my gosh, so funny.
OK, what else, Michelle?
All right, let's do another example.
So here we go.
Oh, wow.
The tickets for the 7 a.m. flight are cheap.
OK, let's jump on them.
We don't want to miss out.
Yeah.
So this is a real human emotion, the feeling of being afraid of missing out, not in the way of you see your friends on Instagram.
They're having fun.
Not that FOMO, right.
More the FOMO of something is going to be happening.
And if I don't get this thing, this opportunity, I'm not going to be happy.
It's a very human thing, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm not going to be happy either.
I'll be sad that I missed something.
I was hoping to see a concert.
I won't get on the flight I need to.
I might not get the job opportunity.
They might close the window for it.
Right.
So just a sense of urgency here.
So Lindsay, I mean, would you say this has more of a formal or informal connotation, or really either
I think both.
I think either.
It goes across everything, the business world.
If you you, I could see using this in a business.
We could have done this as a business English episode on our business English podcast easily.
Right, we could have put this in a business context.
Oh, there are some opportunities in AI.
Right now, no one's doing it yet.
Let's jump on this.
Okay yeah easy right sure, we're coming up with new ideas with your teammates.
Like yeah, that you're trying.
Yeah, so lots of different opportunities.
Yeah, I just think that the human mind tends to kind of catastrophize what will happen if we don't get it.
But then there's also the phenomenon of once we get the thing, sometimes there's a buyer's remorse.
Right, you get that too.
Uh yes, like once, I think Dan said my middle name was buyer's remorse.
Oh no, that's not good, that's not.
I have a couple things that I already uh, I I went shopping and because I desperately needed jeans, I mean it was a desperate situation um, and I'm looking at some things that I really is.
I need to return.
So okay, that can happen right, so maybe another episode we'll talk a bit about buyers remorse, kind of the words and phrases that come up around that.
It's sort of the counter to this.
Right, we could do that as a second part to this episode.
Super interesting yes, okay.
So yeah, as we've said guys, as we said earlier, this totally uh, works in the business world too.
Right,
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So another way jump is used, just to throw out one more before we get going is to jump all over someone.
And that is different, right?
So that means that you're bothering someone.
Maybe you're complaining about them to their face, being critical.
It's not a good thing to jump all over someone.
Yeah, you're lashing out at someone, you're attacking them.
Maybe you have yeah, for the manager.
At a restaurant.
You feel like you haven't been treated well as a customer and you ask to speak to the manager and you jump all over them, right?
Don't do it.
Don't do it.
Don't do it.
Don't do it.
So that's different, guys.
So if you hear this one, you'll know what it means, right?
So to jump on something is different than to jump all over someone.
Right.
So that's important to know there.
So here we go.
So for example, you could say, I was five minutes late, but she jumped all over me.
Yeah, it's interesting how it's just a matter of changing a few little prepositions for our listeners here that it totally changes the expression.
So be careful there, guys.
And again, it doesn't mean physically here to jump, right?
Like, unless I'm talking about my dog.
I was five minutes late, but the dog jumped all over me, right?
Like does Kiefer jump all over you when you come in the house, which is more the literal definition of that.
Physically, and the dog's happy.
Yes.
He, he, um, he's not a big jumper, but yeah, when we come in, he does jump up.
He gets really excited.
His tail goes like, and he does.
Oh, he gets the zoomies.
I remember that zoomies.
He's just the sweetest dog ever.
Oh my gosh.
Don't get me started on my dog.
Um, But yeah, I just want to make sure that it's clear.
So when your dog gets home, your dog jumps all over you.
That's the physical, literal definition of jumping all over someone, covering them.
But, as we're saying, if you want to talk to the manager, you're upset in a restaurant.
You might jump all over that.
It means like it's more about the words you're saying are kind of negative.
So it becomes negative when it's used figuratively.
It's more like attacking someone.
Yeah, it's attacking someone.
Attacking someone, usually verbally.
Yes.
So, yeah, I mean, another example, Lindsay, what's another example of that?
So you could say, don't jump all over me.
I didn't do it on purpose.
So maybe something went wrong and you're getting mad at me, Michelle.
And I'm saying, wait, back off, you know, just pushing you back a little bit.
Exactly.
So, I mean, Lindsay, it doesn't feel good if someone jumps all over you for something.
Yeah.
No, of course not.
Of course not.
And that's not a good environment for a work environment either, right?
Oh, no way.
Not good.
No, not a good vibe.
So guys, we just wanted to clarify this for you because you might hear to jump all over someone and that's much different than to jump on something.
So important to get a little bit of clarification.
I just wanted to throw that out there because it's good to learn a couple of different things to use with this.
But also learn okay, if you hear a one different word, it completely changes the meaning.
I mean, these are nuances that, if we're going to go after these phrases, we want we want to make sure we use them correctly.
Guys, right for connection.
So you know, listen to this episode.
Again, we're going to do a quick role play for our listeners because we know our listeners love them.
Uh here Michelle, we are friends and we're talking about getting tickets to a Broadway show.
Another thing you might want to jump uh, jump on right, if you see an availability.
So here we go.
Okay okay, i see the sign.
It says 50 off.
Oh wow, let's jump on it.
Okay go go, come on.
Jeez michelle, don't jump all over me sorry, i'm just excited.
Yeah, things can get crazy like this for broadway shows too.
They used to have where you could line up for tickets in times square to get the cheaper ones.
Do they still have that now?
Yeah yeah, they still have that.
Okay yeah, for sure.
And so we used both expressions here and again they mean something different.
They're used in the same scenario here they do mean something different.
So you said okay, i see the sign.
It says 50 off.
And you said oh wow, let's jump on it.
So do i want to get the tickets or not?
Yeah, you want the tickets and you're telling me to go after the tickets right, Right.
Because sometimes on these sites, you know, or if you're using a website, sometimes it's like we can only hold your ticket for you know, 10 minutes and then the time ticks down.
Oh, that's.
Oh, of course.
I've seen that.
Yes.
Yes.
It's a real tactic.
Right.
And that that invokes like the fear of loss.
Right.
Yeah. some real tactics going on there for sure.
And then you said, go, go, come on, come on.
And then I said, geez, Michelle, don't jump all over me.
Maybe I'm, I'm trying to buy the tickets on my phone and you're kind of pressuring me.
And so it's feeling like, yeah, I'm telling you to back off.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, um, Lindsay, this, this is a fun one.
I mean Lindsay, would you?
I mean, would you say that you tend to jump on things, or are you a little bit more relaxed?
So I'm generally a little, I hang back a little more sometimes.
I might like lose an opportunity because I'm thinking about it.
But if I know I really want to do something, I'll go for it.
But it's rare.
It just, I have to be queued up already to get it.
You know what I mean?
It won't be like, oh my gosh, you know, like this famous singer is 50% off.
Just do it.
I would think, oh, do I really want to see them?
I'm not sure.
You know, I have to be prepared for it and then wait for the deal.
So that's how it goes for me.
What about you?
Um yeah, I would say that I'm kind of similar like with the pink concert.
I kept on thinking no, but it's too expensive, I shouldn't do it, and then at the end I realized no, I'm like I'll be really upset if I miss an opportunity.
So yes yeah yes, the fear of missing out.
For sure, that's right, all right.
So guys, take away here.
You understand the difference.
Go back, listen again, understand the two phrases and then start to implement them.
Right, when you talk about exciting events, Right?
Yeah, exactly.
All right.
Well, this was a lot of fun, Lindsay.
And guys, we will talk to you on the next episode.
Take care, Michelle.
Bye.
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