This is an All Ears English podcast episode 2495.
Is being a trooper praised in your culture?
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How much insight about our culture can we get from one single word?
A ton.
Today.
Learn about the phrase that you're a trooper, how it's used, what it means and what American culture value it highlights.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Good.
How are you, Michelle?
How are you feeling?
Healthy?
Injured?
I'm good.
I'm good.
Knock on wood, knock on wood.
I'm scared to talk about that.
But when, what about you?
I mean, Lindsay, when's the last time you had maybe a little injury?
Oh, geez, a little hangnail here and there.
It happens sometimes.
But I've never actually in college tennis.
I did fall and break my wrist a little bit like a very hairline fracture.
Because we were doing sprints on the courts and I was trying to impress my coach.
And anytime you're trying to impress someone, that's when you fall.
And that's what happened.
And I was not really a trooper.
You weren't a trooper.
I just complained a lot and it was awful.
And I actually had to get my friends to brush my hair for me.
Because you realize that when you break your wrist, you lose a lot of abilities, actually.
You can't hold a hairbrush.
There's a lot you can't do.
Yeah.
Interesting.
Yeah.
So you were a trooper.
Well, you were not a trooper.
No.
But today we're going to talk about this word trooper.
And saying you're a trooper because this is a Lindsay, would you say.
This is a pretty common expression to say you're a trooper.
I really would.
I feel like probably our listeners maybe haven't heard it before.
It's on a dictionary.
But yeah, I think in everyday conversation, absolutely.
You would hear this all the time, especially when you talk to kids if they've just been injured.
I think that would be a focal point there.
But not just kids, I guess you could say it to another adult, I suppose.
Yeah, I think you could.
I think you could.
So we're going to be talking about this expression today.
This is going to be a fun episode.
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Yeah.
So we're going to talk a little bit about where this came from.
But first, how is this used?
And when is your trooper used, Michelle?
Mm hmm.
Well, so this idea actually did come up naturally, because my son hurt his toe and he was in a lot of pain.
Poor guy.
And the next day he was better.
And, you know, he was we were but he was still in pain.
And my friend said to him, wow, you're such a trooper.
And so that goes along with, Lindsay, what you said about. um, about, you know, it being for kids.
I think it is really common for people to say it for kids, but I do think it's also good for adults.
But in either way, this is a really great expression.
And guys, we also want you to stay tuned until the end of this episode because we are going to do a Spotify poll for you.
So guys, we do these really fun polls on, if you're, And we do a poll with every episode, but on certain key episodes we will then share the results of the poll in a future episode.
And this is just such a fun way to interact with our listeners.
So listen till the end to get to that poll.
Yes.
Good stuff.
I'm excited for that.
Hang out for the poll.
So Michelle, I mean, yeah.
And the reason we use this a lot for kids is because essentially we're saying to someone, you are brave, right?
Right?
Yep.
You're brave.
Yeah.
So, in the face of something difficult an injury, a hard day, a disappointment, you were brave, you pulled through.
You may have had a good attitude.
And I think this also says a lot about just our culture.
We talk about this a lot, Lindsay.
We were even just talking about on a recent episode about having that oh, power through.
Everything's okay.
I can do this and celebrating that.
Yeah, that's very cultural, very culture.
I think that comes back to the value that we have of individualism.
I mean, if you think about the things we probably say to kids, right, you did it all by yourself.
That is pure individualism, which is really baked into us culturally in the US.
I mean, and we don't even think about it.
They would step back and think about what they say and think yeah, this comes back to this cultural value or this one.
Super interesting.
Yeah.
And also, you know, this value of perseverance.
Yes.
You know, there's always this, oh, I'm a fighter.
I got this.
You know, and that's a good thing.
But there's also, I think, you know, in the past several years there's been kind of this – a lot of this – acknowledgement of that in our society and realizing that there's a lot of pressure to always overcome things, be better.
And there can be a lot of pressure about that as well.
Yeah, for sure.
For sure.
Yeah.
So individualism and then perseverance, and just the stiff upper lip is another expression.
We hear a lot that I think comes out of British culture.
Yes.
But obviously American culture comes out of British culture in some way. too originally.
And so the stiff upper lip is probably praised in the U.S. sometimes too.
So yeah, I think we have been post-pandemic.
We've been in a moment where we've been questioning a lot of these cultural values that have been just passed down generations.
The things our parents say to us, our teachers say to us, we're starting to question them.
But it's also interesting, Michelle, to think about where this comes from.
So I assumed that this came from the idea of a trooper, meaning like a member of a troop, like a soldier right.
Right.
But actually, apparently, originally, it comes from a the word T-R-O-U-P-E-R.
We're not going to worry about the spelling, but a member of a theatrical troupe, meaning a theater group.
And it was used to refer to someone who, you know, would persist because the show must go on.
Right.
Michelle, the show must go on.
So that's a famous expression.
So someone who persists through difficulties, illness, hardship without complaining.
That's very interesting.
Yeah.
In live theater, you got to keep on going.
And so yeah, that idea of calling someone a trooper you got to keep going, even when something happens, when something throws you off a little bit, you forget a line or something.
Right.
I always wondered how that works with the big plays.
I mean, I know, I know there are understudies, but how does that really work for an understudy to just take the place of the main character, of the character?
I don't know how well it works.
Well, it's funny because, you know, i was on the cruise.
Recently i went on a cruise and we, the one of the last nights they had a show and it was supposed to be a big dance and musical show.
And um, the cruise director, they said oh, we're starting 15 minutes late.
And like oh, we thought it was because the ship was rocking a lot or something.
So we're like, what?
Oh, my gosh.
What was it?
So at the end, they said that one of the dancers fell and injured themselves.
Oh, no.
Right.
Between they had an earlier show and the dancer fell.
And so they had to reblock, reposition how everything would run with missing a dancer.
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah, that's a huge deal.
Those were troopers there, right?
Exactly.
I love it.
So this is the vibe we're getting at someone who perseveres. in the face of adversity.
They're brave.
They keep moving forward.
So, Michelle, let's give some examples.
Yes, finally, we got to the... I know.
I was so excited to talk about this, but it's really good stuff here.
So, one example is, you broke your leg and you're still at work?
Wow, you're a trooper.
Yeah.
And there definitely is a positive connotation when you say trooper.
It's a very positive... It's positive feedback.
And again, I think, you know, kids especially take cues from that, right?
Like, it's good to... push through pain or push through suffering on some level, right?
Like we take cues, we take cues.
Or I can't believe you finished that hike even after your shoe broke.
You're a trooper.
Or one more all nighter.
I know you can do it.
You're a trooper.
So it could be just used to cut.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So it could just be used to encourage someone to say, Oh, keep going.
We got it.
You know exactly, michelle.
Have you ever been a trooper?
Any particular stories you want to share?
Yeah um, i i'm trying to think.
I i think being a parent is just being a constant trooper.
Oh, i'm sure the show must go on.
You're, you're tired, you're exhausted.
There are days where i'm so tired and then i'm realizing oh my god, it's bath night, oh my gosh, i just want to go to sleep.
And you just I think yeah, becoming a parent has just made me a permanent trooper.
I can imagine.
I can imagine.
That's amazing.
Yeah, 100%.
Oh, my gosh.
Also, yeah, I'm a trooper when I'm out in the heat.
Actually, you know what?
I'm not a trooper when I'm hot.
I'm a total baby about it.
Yeah.
What's the opposite of trooper?
Someone that just does like maybe complains, right?
Yeah.
Complainer.
Yeah.
No, I'm not a trooper when it's hot outside.
I'm just like, I got this look on my face.
I I'm wearing the hat.
I'm wearing the sunglasses at the sun tan lotion and I'm looking like I hate everything.
So that's fine.
But Lindsay, what about you?
Any trooper stories?
Oh, Nothing comes to mind.
I guess I've done some long hikes where I had injuries and I kind of tried to push through, but I also took days off.
So I'm not sure if I'm always a trooper.
I do my best.
I do my best.
Right.
We all do our best, right?
We do our best.
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All right, Michelle.
So there are other things we might say that get at the same idea, like you're a rock star.
This is used for achievements, though.
Not so much if you get injured.
Right.
And you're just pushing through.
I guess you could, you know, you could you could say, oh, yeah, you're a rock star.
Right.
You you.
But it could also be used for an achievement.
Right.
You wouldn't say you're a trooper about someone achieving someone like I got a straight A.
Oh, you're a trooper.
Right.
No, no, no.
Because that's overcoming adversity.
Right.
But you could say, oh, you're a rock star.
Yeah, you could say that.
Or you're so resilient.
You're so strong.
This one's a little bit more serious.
Right.
Or I think this word came up earlier.
You're a fighter.
Right.
So, wow.
Look at those stitches.
You're a fighter.
Yeah.
And we also know that.
Yeah, go ahead.
Yeah no, you go ahead, that's okay.
Oh, i was just going to mention, like we talked about trauma a couple of episodes ago earlier in the week and i think we also this ties into a little bit of a pathology in our culture, maybe around this idea of like you're so strong, like when you go through some kind of um, like there's a death in the family and you're not crying, you're so strong.
We praise that and i think that's kind of pathological, Because humans need to cry.
Like, humans are human, right?
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So this could definitely go off the rails in American culture.
For sure.
Yeah, I think it's definitely deep in our culture.
And, you know, especially with... like kids, like little boys.
Men, yeah.
And men, right?
As they grow older.
Because the kids, you know, I think especially boys, unfortunately, are taught, oh, don't cry.
Oh, come on, be a big boy, you know.
And I don't know if girls get that treatment as much.
And so that kind of feeds into how, you know, they grow up.
And as adult men, they might have a really hard time.
Um, so I think that I I actually do think that our current generation of parents is trying to change that.
So yeah, we'll see.
Interesting.
Yeah.
So true.
We could talk about it another day, but that's a really important point that ties in with this right.
I love that.
So we're going to use some of these in a role play now.
So here we are friends and you show up to lunch with a sling with your arm in a sling.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
Something happened.
Let's see what happened.
Okay.
Here we go.
Oh no, Lindsay, what happened?
Oh, sprained my wrist.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Yeah, I worked through the pain.
I had a meeting when it happened.
Wow, you're a trooper.
Thanks.
So how are you?
Oh, just exhausted.
I had two back-to-back night shifts, but I'm okay.
You're a rock star, Michelle.
I don't know about that.
All right.
So it sounds like, all right, so this goes to the vibe of using Trooper.
So I said I sprained my wrist, but I worked through it.
I had a meeting.
Maybe did I sprain it in the meeting or something?
I don't know, but it sounds like maybe this.
I would say this is an example of um maybe, when we try too hard to be resilient yeah yeah, you actually sprain your wrist like i feel.
I hope that your boss would say okay go, you know, go to the doctor, figure it out yeah, yeah.
Yeah, don't grit your teeth and, you know, sit through the pain, right.
Yeah yeah, i worked through the pain like it's a badge of honor, right.
That's what that's the thing is when you, when you do that, it's looked at as, Oh look, I was able to keep working.
Right.
And again, so incredibly cultural.
I'm really interested to hear if our listeners feel their culture has this same vibe of what we value.
Is this toughness in a way, especially in men and boys?
But but I think broadly, just culturally in everyone, we value that that perseverance.
So really interesting.
So I said, wow, you're a trooper.
Mm hmm.
Exactly.
And then and then you said I said, what are you doing?
How are you?
You said, I'm exhausted.
I had two back to back night shifts, but you're OK.
And I said, you're a rock star, Michelle.
Right.
So kind of a kind of a modern phrase now that people use sometimes.
Right.
Yeah, definitely.
Lindsay, so what do we want to ask our listeners for the key poll?
Yeah.
I think we'll go with the more tangible one here, Michelle.
So the question is, have you ever broken a bone?
And I like this one because, believe it or not, this actually comes up a fair amount in my conversations.
I don't know what it is.
Like people will ask this sometimes.
So I want to make sure our listeners are prepared um and are ready for this as a conversation starter.
Cause a lot of people haven't.
A lot of people have broken multiple bones, depending on what kind of life you live, right?
Do you go rock climbing?
Do you, you know, right.
Are you a daredevil or are you pretty conservative physically?
Are you careful?
Well, it's funny though, because my friend it's so funny cause I planned this way before.
But my friend um just broke her foot in two places and And but it was.
She was just getting into a car.
Okay.
That can happen too.
Those, those, you know, just fluke things.
Yeah.
So guys, it's another episode for another day to have a story to make fun of ourselves.
Right.
Oh yeah.
I got tons of those.
Yeah.
So go ahead and participate.
Make sure you're listening over in Spotify.
Cause that's the only way you'll be able to actually participate in this poll and make your voice heard.
Michelle, what's another episode our listeners could go to?
Yeah, guys, check out episode 2482.
That was agreeable ways to agree in English.
Nice.
Any final takeaway?
I think that it's just so.
This is really fascinating because we were teaching, you know really one expression and it brought us to so much conversation and realizing things about our culture and positive, both positive and negative.
And so there's really a lot to it here.
But the But the main thing is this is used frequently.
You will hear it.
Feel free to use it as well.
Yep.
And yeah, it's very it's a it's I think you'll impress people using this one.
Yeah.
I mean, it's so cool having insight into who we are, and culture is a huge part of who we become, of who we are.
We can't deny it.
It's like baked into us.
And so this could be a connection opportunity to talk about things maybe you've never thought about before, things you were taught as a kid or learned in school the messages that we're just bombarded with as we exist in our culture.
How did that influence our ideas about getting injured and persevering, or like taking care of the injury and all this interesting stuff?
So start a conversation on this deeper level with someone.
It will definitely lead to connection, Michelle.
Yeah, I love it.
All right.
I'm glad we talked about this today and guys have a great day.
All right.
Take care, Michelle.
Bye.
Bye.
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