This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2352.
Struggling with English idioms?
No pain, no gain. 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.
And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish .com forward slash subscribe.
In today's episode, a listener asks us about a common idiom to talk about overcoming obstacles and suffering through something to find success in the end.
Learn how to talk about this topic with three idioms today.
Do you struggle with phrasal verbs?
They can be confusing.
So coming up this week on All Ears English, we'll show you three new phrasal verbs to talk about making a mistake.
And then on Saturday, we'll answer the question, should we say I don't care in English?
To make sure that you don't miss any of these episodes, go ahead and hit the follow button right now on the All Ears English podcast.
And thank you for listening to our show.
Hello, Lindsay. How are you today?
Hey, Aubrey. I'm doing pretty well.
How are you? I am great.
I am wondering, do you ever lift weights?
Actually, I do. I've been lifting weights a lot more in the last year or two years.
Yeah. Awesome. No pain, no gain, right?
For sure. And sometimes it is painful, right?
Yeah, exactly. With pain comes gain.
You could also say, right?
Yeah. Are you a weightlifter, Aubrey?
I am not. I know I should.
I should do this. I know I need to build more muscle, but I'm really bad about it.
I don't have weights at my home and I don't have a gym membership.
So it makes it a little trickier.
You do it at a gym?
I do it at Orange Theory.
So I do Orange Theory kind of HIIT training and half of that or a third of that is weightlifting.
I was really bad at it a couple of years too.
And then I started reading that actually weightlifting is a way that you can burn calories.
So when you have more muscle mass, apparently you burn calories faster.
And I thought it was just, I need to run and do cardio, but apparently those calories need a place to go.
So they go to the muscles.
I read that too. So then you can like burn calories while you're just sitting there while you're sleeping.
I know I need to lift weights better.
But this came up because we had a listener ask about the idiom no pain no gain yes so we are going to answer that question but we want to make sure that you guys hit follow we have taught a lot of idioms here on the podcast and we want to make sure you're not missing any of these episodes yes listeners
hit that follow button right now to make sure that five episodes a week drop down into your queue they will be there waiting for you that's how we get into the habit and that's how we make sure we focus on connection when we're actually face -to -face with a native speaker or in a business context, then
we will know how to focus on the connection and build the relationships.
All right. Absolutely.
That's what's most important, right?
You are learning English to be able to connect with others in English.
And that's what we focus on here.
We always want to show you what's the connection point here, right?
How can you connect with others with the vocab and the idioms we're teaching or the strategies?
You got it. So shall I go ahead and read the question from the listener again?
yeah let's do it all right all right so this is on youtube and don't forget guys we do have a youtube channel hit subscribe over there if you prefer to see us on these episodes this is from shabnam sorishniya 759.
uh the listener says hi your favorite podcast you're my favorite podcast uh i have been listening for five years that's amazing obri so i'm great to hear a long turn long time listeners in on listening today i heard the phrase no pain no gain and didn't know what it meant?
Could you talk about it?
Great one. Yes, this is a great one.
So we are going to talk about this one and a couple of other related phrases.
But I saw another question on YouTube that we're also answering today.
This was H2GO190, who just said, what are the most useful idioms for daily use?
So all three that we're teaching today are useful for daily use.
They're very common.
You'll hear them a lot.
But we also want to share that a lot of our past episodes, you can find really easy if you search the word idiom on our app in the search bar.
And every time we teach idioms, we always share if they are a little outdated, if they are used commonly, because that is important to know.
It's one thing to learn a list of idioms, but you want to know, are these actually used in conversations?
Totally. And I think a lot of textbooks are notorious for listing old idioms that just aren't used anymore.
You don't want to sound like a textbook from the 90s.
You don't want to sound like that.
And so making sure that you're listening to Allers English, especially today and going back and finding those other episodes will keep you in the know.
All right. Good episode.
Yeah. Right. That phrase, keep in the know.
It's a good one. In the know for sure.
Be sure to hit follow.
We'll do a follow up on that and other ways that we say that, that you're in the know.
All right. Good. So let's go to the first one that we used at the top of the show.
No pain, no gain. What does this one mean, Ambri?
Yeah. So it means like suffering is necessary in order to achieve something.
I actually was Googling about this because I guess it's a myth that you must have muscle pain in order to have gains.
Like you can stay in, you know, when you're lifting weights, you can stay in that more chill zone where you're not actually going to be sore the next day and still have gains.
But this is, we use this sort of metaphorically for life, that like struggle doing something that's difficult is often going to give you worthwhile results.
Oh, for sure. For sure.
And I think this goes along with our kind of our work ethic in the U .S.
Right. So if you're running a business or something, working hard for future returns, right, that sort of idea.
Absolutely. If a coworker is like complaining that things are really difficult, that you might just respond, well, no pain, no gain.
It's actually sounds like you've got a lot going on.
Right. And kind of spin it in a positive way.
Exactly. So here's some sample sentences.
I'm so sore from running this morning, but no pain, no gain.
Yeah. This is often what we'll do.
We're like find ourselves complaining about something and immediately realize like, but I know it's going to have good results.
So no pain, no gain.
Right. It is funny.
We do associate pain with progress or success later, but it doesn't always have to be that way, but often it does, right?
In life, you have to put in some kind of difficult work or struggle up the hill to get to the summit of the mountain, right?
Exactly. There's usually at least some kind of struggle, something that's difficult in order to have good results for sure.
Yes, for sure. What's another sample?
You might say, I've applied to hundreds of companies.
It's such a grind, but no pain, no gain.
This is a really good example, right?
If you're having to apply to a lot of different places, it's a ton of work, a lot of effort, but you know that eventually you'll find the right fit.
no pain, no gain. Love it.
All right. So that's a good one.
That was, that one definitely is relevant.
Wouldn't you say, Aubrey?
Fully relevant for a listener who asked what are the common ones now?
Yeah. Yeah. I hear this one.
I use it. And I think this is such a great connection skill.
If you are chatting with someone and they're maybe whining or venting, they're sharing something difficult they're going through.
This is a great way to spin it and kind of remind them like, but think about the results at the end of the journey.
Yeah. It's so true.
I love it. All right.
what would be our second one?
We have another one here.
What is that? Yes, this has a similar meaning.
It's what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and the same, right?
With something difficult.
If you take it literally, like obviously if it doesn't kill you, it's, you know, but that means there's going to be a positive result.
Right. And this could also be interpreted as what doesn't kill you makes you smarter or quicker or faster or better at something.
Right. That's true.
You could say any of those.
Yeah. So for example, had to replace my car's transmission.
And it was so expensive.
I had to replace my car's transmission.
Oh, transmissions can be very expensive.
And then we said, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, I guess.
I don't know if that one applies.
I think I would use it this way if I'm like frustrated that something costs a lot of money.
Yeah. I'm like, okay, I'm frustrated about this.
This is super expensive, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
I'm sort of trying to like re -free in my mind instead of just being upset about how much I've had to pay.
Like, but did you die?
You know, I didn't die.
I'm stronger for it.
Right. I think it's the idea that raw life experience makes you better.
So every experience, whether it's good or bad is still raw life experience, right?
Yes. Or I might say I got food poisoning yesterday and was so sick, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, I guess.
Oh God. These are bad bad scenarios, Aubrey.
Bad scenarios. But did you die?
Did you die? That's what you always have to say.
Did you die? You're still alive.
You're okay. Kind of trendy for someone to be like, but did you die?
Is that trendy now?
Yeah, I think so. I hear it a lot.
Interesting. Okay. You're complaining about something negative or something hard instead of like, no pain, no gain.
That's another one of like, but did you die?
I love that. I love that.
Okay. I'm going to start using that in that case.
Yes, do. All right.
All right. What about number three?
Fortune favors the bold.
So those who take risks reap the benefits.
Absolutely. There's no risk, no reward is another phrase that my dad used to always tell me actually, because he was a small business owner.
And no risk, no reward, 100%.
Yeah. And this one, both of those are a little bit different.
They're not just about something that's happening to you that you might be frustrated.
This isn't going to be about replacing a transmission.
This is more like you're taking risks you're proactively doing something difficult and good results will follow yeah and i think especially taking risks uh when it doesn't feel it feels counterintuitive or it feels like you're scared doing the scary thing when you're already scared is often the right
move you know what i mean that's often the right thing to do and you don't figure it out until much later but if you have a gut feeling then you're on the right track for sure right you might say like with buying lottery tickets right i'm buying some lottery tickets this week fortune favors the bold
it's like you're taking a risk a big risk a couple dollars yeah exactly exactly and then we could say fortune favors the bold so our company is acquiring a competitor yeah you're being aggressive you're not caving in on yourself as a company and hoping to win instead you're going after your competitors
acquiring them and being aggressive so being aggressive when you think you should be defensive.
What is that expression that Warren Buffett has?
He always says, you know, when others are being fearful, you, or what is it?
What is it that he says?
Do you know that? He says something like when others are being fearful, you should be aggressive and vice versa.
And then the opposite of that vice versa.
So our listeners can look it up.
Yes. Look up that phrase, but that it's such a good, it's so true, right?
That if you see your competitors kind of hedging their bets, that's the time to be aggressive, maybe take advantage of the situation.
That's often how you're going to get ahead.
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All right, Aubrey, let's roll into a role play, shall we?
So here, what's our scenario?
You and I are neighbors that run into each other on the sidewalk, both going for a walk.
Okay, here we go. Hey there, going for a run?
Yep, no pain, no gain.
I heard you're training for a marathon.
Oh, yes, I am. It's in June.
Ooh, better you than me.
They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but I think a marathon would kill me.
It'd kill me if I tried to run one day, one today.
It'd kill me if I tried to run one today.
Definitely takes a lot of training.
Well, I'm impressed you're going for it.
Fortune favors the bold.
Yeah, yeah. For sure.
For a marathon, we can't just walk out our door and start running.
Imagine. Unless you're Forrest Gump or something, you know, he did that, I guess.
Takes a lot of training for the average person.
For sure. Oh, my gosh.
All right. Let's break this down.
So you said, hey, they're going for a run.
Yeah. And you said, no, yep.
No pain, no gain. So this is a fun way to respond, right?
It's it's playful. It's like, yep.
You know, it's because when someone says like going for a run and when you run into a neighbor like this on a sidewalk, it can be awkward.
It's like, what do I say?
I want to say hello.
But they're clearly going for a run.
We're not going to have a long conversation.
This is a great way to connect.
Just be like, oh, going for a run.
yeah no pain no gain.
Exactly you don't want to show any signs that you're trying to engage them in too much conversation because they might be busy they might want to not break their rhythm of the run so there's a there's a privacy aspect here right it's a real value in American culture we don't want to kind of like insert
ourselves too much if someone already has a routine going.
Yeah for sure and this is interesting because this role play would branch depending on how the person responds.
If they say, yep, no pain, no gain and keep running, you'd be like, bye, have fun.
That's it. The conversation would end.
But if they've stopped and they clearly are like, oh, I kind of want to catch up for a second.
Or maybe they're running in place.
You could be like, I heard you're training for a marathon.
It's still going to be a pretty brief conversation, but you can have a little bit of a back and forth.
Yeah, for sure. So just kind of keeping in mind what's going on in the context.
I love it. And then you said, better you than me.
They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but I think a marathon would kill me.
And what's the intonation there for our listeners, Aubrey?
But I think a marathon would definitely emphasize would kill me, right?
Yes. Yeah. And this is a fun way to use this, right?
To kind of say that you don't believe this is true.
They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but, and then whatever it is that you don't want to participate, skydiving, scuba diving, something and be like, but I'm actually worried that I would die.
Yes. I love it. And then you said, Aubrey, what's the last thing you said?
I said, well, I'm impressed you're going for it.
Fortune favors the bold.
And this is great. If you find out someone's running a marathon or doing something that is a huge challenge or taking on a risk, what a great thing to say.
What a good way to connect to compliment them this way.
Fortune favors the bold.
Exactly. And then the next time you see them, the way to build that connection is check in on that marathon training.
How's it going. I see the marathon's coming up.
How have your training sessions been?
That is the way to really strengthen those relationships through English.
Yes. Follow up. Absolutely.
We want to share a recent episode 2319.
If you missed it, scroll up.
It was, where's that from?
How to ask about an idiom's origin.
So not only can you use idioms in your conversations, you can also ask if someone knows where they're from, information about them.
That's a fun conversation too.
yeah and for a takeaway today abria i love this topic you know this topic that success requires a little bit of suffering uh i think it's true you know and this could be a great conversation starter for our listeners to go into you know their choice of a career path their visions for the future lots
of conversation starters here right yeah with the start of the new year you might be deciding to take more risks to do something exciting and challenging and it's a great thing to ask others about, right?
What are you doing this year that scares you that, you know, you feel like is going to be challenging.
What a fun conversation.
And we all should have an answer for that, right?
Uh, even if we're not going through major life changes, it's always good to be doing, and I should take my own advice.
It's always good to be doing something that scares us a little bit, right?
Yeah. Push ourselves a little bit.
Exactly. Exactly. I love it.
All right, Aubrey, good stuff, guys.
Hit the follow button, uh, on this episode to make sure you get future episodes of All Ears English dropping right into your queue.
And Aubrey, I'll see you next time.
Awesome. See you next time.
Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
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