This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2506.
Explain it to me like I'm five, how to ask for a simple breakdown in English.
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Are there certain sports or careers that you simply don't understand?
If someone in your life participates in these, you may need a clear explanation.
Today, find out how to ask for this, for better connection.
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Your grammar is solid, your ideas are sharp, but somehow people still ask you to repeat yourself.
You know what you want to say, but your message doesn't always land.
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Hello, Michelle.
How's everything going today?
Just I'm good.
Lindsay, how are you?
Good.
Doing great.
What are we getting into on the show today?
Well, Lindsay, I don't know.
I'm kind of interested in meditation and I know that you are a meditation pro, but can you kind of explain meditation to me, like I'm five years old?
Yeah.
Basically, meditation is the simple art of sitting down and watching your mind, though a five-year-old might not get that.
The way I just explained that.
I'd have to think about how to explain it to you like you're a five-year-old.
But good challenge, Michelle.
Good challenge.
Good challenge, yes.
Today we are going to talk about an interesting and kind of funny way that people ask others to simplify things, something for them.
Lindsay and I just used it.
So I said, explain it to me like I'm five years old.
Do you ever hear people saying this?
Oh, yeah.
This is a fun one.
I mean, I've heard this in real life.
I've heard it in the movies, on TV shows.
It's an emphatic way of for you to tell someone just break this down, make it very simple for me.
Yes.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I hear it pretty frequently.
Yeah.
And again, it's not literally.
You don't need to really but it, but it it.
It's just saying explain something in a way that assumes I know absolutely nothing about it.
I have no prior knowledge.
I don't know.
Right.
You have to really break it down, make it simple.
Um kind of I don't know um a little bit of an insult to five-year-olds, but like Right right, right right.
It's a good practice.
I mean sometimes, when we know so much about something, we sort of assume that certain things are known by other people that aren't.
So we skip steps in our explanations.
Yes, exactly.
So we're going to talk more about this today.
But before we get into it, guys.
We have results from one of our Spotify polls.
Guys, we do Spotify polls on every episode pretty much.
I think there's a poll.
Maybe not the... Yeah, everyone.
Yeah, everyone.
Yes.
But there are certain special ones where we announce them over the air and then we do read the results once we get them.
So this one... was from the episode 2481.
And the question was, Lindsay, could you read the question?
Yeah, the question was this is a very interesting one because I feel like culture plays in here too.
Is it ever okay to lie?
Yes.
Yes.
To what extent is the truth flexible?
Right.
Really interesting and different around the world.
I think yes um, so the it was.
Is it ever okay to lie?
And yeah, the.
The two options were yes, to spare someone's feeling or no um.
So what were the answers?
Yeah, so 57 percent of our audience believes yes, it is okay to lie to spare someone's feelings.
So do I look okay in this dress?
Yes, it looks great, right?
Maybe not the best, but you don't want to hurt someone, right?
Especially if they can't change what's going on about them, right?
And then 42% of us thought, no, it's not okay.
Really interesting.
Yeah, it is interesting.
So again, this was from episode 2481 and that was called Truth Be Told.
These Idioms Will Improve Your English.
So if you haven't listened to to that episode uh go ahead and check it out yes so coming back again so michelle coming back to explain this to me like i'm a five-year-old or i've heard seven-year-old too i don't know if i don't know if that is that number like a hard part probably not i i think i hear five the most but i mean i okay choose your i mean i think it's pretty like explain it to me like i'm a 32 year old right As long as you're below 10, you're probably good to go.
I have heard seven and then I've heard five.
But yeah, so it's a little flexible, the number you want to throw in there.
The point is the phrase, okay?
Right.
And it's not something that you're going to use all the time, right?
It would be a little odd if you were just saying that all the time.
It comes out every once in a while.
It's kind of a little bit cheeky or funny, right?
And I've also seen it written.
I've seen people on Facebook, right?
Oh, explain this to me like I'm five years old.
So it's an interesting one.
So let's do some examples.
Okay, here we go.
I want to understand your job, but i know nothing about engineering.
Explain it to me like i'm five years old, okay.
Yeah, do you have friends where you have no idea what they do?
Yeah,
Yes, absolutely.
Most of them.
I mean, and they probably have no idea what I do, but some jobs in particular, right?
Right.
Right.
Complicated sometimes.
Right.
And then you ask your friend what they do, and they start going into it, and you didn't, you know you, just your eyes glaze over.
It's like, wait, I don't know.
All right.
I shouldn't have asked this.
Yeah.
Because I don't understand it.
So um, but here's another, another example.
Okay, I agree that my car needs to be fixed, but I'm confused by your quote.
Explain it to me like I'm five years old.
Nice.
Nice.
Yeah.
And so what, what are the things that we would need explained to us as if you're five years old?
Honestly, a lot of things regarding like, investing in the stock market, the bond market.
I find I just don't really always get it, to be honest,
Shamefully, I just don't get it.
Yeah.
I mean, for me, I'd also say anything about cars, uh, Okay, fair.
You know, I don't really know anything about cars.
Also, you know, football.
I mean, I get the very basics, but certain plays.
Sometimes when I'm trying to watch football with people, I can't even find where the ball is.
Oh, I have the same problem, and football's a huge part of my family that I married into.
I'm staring down at Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of weeks with a lot of football.
I'm sure you are too, Michelle.
Yeah yep yep, uh it's a good expression, by the way.
Bonus for today staring down, staring down yeah, we should do that another day.
Yeah yep well, or anything about outer space.
I don't really get it.
I don't really get the space shuttle and how it gets up there, how it leaves the earth's atmosphere.
Yeah, there's a lot to not get in the world yeah, So again, remember that this is very casual and slangy and it's also kind of self-deprecating in a way.
So you don't want to use this.
I wouldn't say this to your boss.
I wouldn't say, I don't understand this.
Explain it to me like it's five years old.
You don't want that person to have a certain image of you.
Especially if it's your expertise, area of expertise, obviously.
No, no, no, no, no.
So this is more for your daily life, when the topic veers into something that's just not in your wheelhouse.
Yeah.
Yeah.
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All right, Michelle, what else do we need to know here?
All right.
So if you want to use this idea, but you're not really comfortable with this expression, right?
Because, yeah, we told you it's a little bit different, right?
And you want other ways to say a similar thing.
We're going to go over some ideas.
So one thing you could say is give me the blank version.
So you could say like, give me the kindergarten version or give me the little kid version.
Give me the simple version.
I really want to understand how this tech works.
Give me the kindergarten version.
Yeah, sure.
You could do that.
We're picking on kids today, but it's true.
Yeah, I know.
I know.
I feel if my son heard this episode, he'd be furious.
Or you could say break it down for me.
Now, Lindsay, you kind of touched on this one earlier in the episode.
Yes.
So break it down.
It's like, you know, put it into steps, put it into pieces, really explain it.
Sometimes you might hear someone say like, dumb it down for me.
Yeah.
Not sure if that's politically correct.
Yeah.
I would be careful with this one a little bit.
I think if you're, if you're asking someone to explain it to you, it's probably okay.
Right.
Because dumb it down for me, meaning I don't get it.
So I need you like, it's probably okay.
Okay.
But if you're saying that about what you have to do for someone else, it's probably not the kindest thing to say.
Yeah, I would say I did want to let you know about that one because you might hear it.
But I would say for saying things, I would say probably stick with the other ones.
But if you hear someone say that, you know it means explain it.
Right.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So you could say, I really don't understand the ins and outs of golf.
Can you break it down for me?
Yes.
Or really more clear, could you simplify this for me?
Or could you make this super simple for me?
Right.
The rules look pretty complicated.
Look here.
Can you simplify this for me?
Yeah.
Like we said, football rules are very complex.
Right. a lot of sports have very complex rules, Michelle.
Yes.
Which one?
I mean, there, there are so many more things you could say.
Um, I, what do you think?
Which are you most likely to, I like, can you make this super simple for me or super clear?
Yeah.
Um, or can you break this down for me?
I like, yeah.
Yeah.
Those are, those are the, those are the very neutral ones.
Like you can't go wrong with these.
Right.
Even the five-year-old one.
That's a little you know, you have to think about.
Do you want to say something like that?
It's a little bit different.
Yeah, it kind of depends on who's around, I guess, right?
If there is a five-year-old around, they might say, what do you mean?
Right, right.
Watch out for five-year-olds.
Right, right, right.
Make sure it's just adults in the room.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
So let's put this together in a role play.
We're not going to use all of these, but we're going to use a lot.
So here we are watching a basketball game together.
Mm hmm.
Perfect.
OK, so I've never been into basketball.
Oh, it's easy to understand, Lindsay.
OK, but can you explain it to me like I'm five years old?
OK, so look at the two baskets.
There's five players out at once on each team and they're the center, a point guard.
All that good stuff.
OK, wait, give me the kindergarten version.
What do the positions do?
OK, well, the center is usually the big player.
Okay, break it down for me.
Sorry, my voice is off today.
Yes, podcasters need their voice.
Yeah, so this is a good example.
So you're explaining, I see you chose not to explain football, but basketball, right?
It makes sense.
That's funny.
Yeah, i couldn't have written the football nope nope nope nope um, so yeah.
So i'm saying i don't, i've never been into basketball.
Maybe we're at a basketball, we are at a basketball game.
And and then you said okay, but can you explain it to me like i'm five years old?
Or can you explain it to me like i'm a five-year-old?
Five-year-old yeah, you could say that too.
Um, And also you could use that like, let's say, somebody explains something in a fast way and you're like wait wait wait, wait.
This was not slow it down.
It's now, right?
So it's kind of also a good thing to say when somebody has already given you an explanation and it's still and they kind of maybe use some words that were confusing, that dealt like some jargon, and you say wait.
You're kind of saying, start over.
Yeah.
But then you said, OK, wait, give me the kindergarten version.
And this one, I kind of just I don't know that I hear this that that much.
But yeah, I would say I would say it.
People would know what I mean.
Yep.
And then you said, well, the center is usually the big player.
And then I'm asking for further explanation of, like other positions probably, and so i said okay, break it down for me yeah, and maybe that would follow up with a question what about this guy over here in the corner?
What's he doing?
Right right yeah exactly so um yeah, but these are just all really great ways to ask someone to explain something in a in a clear way that you know, takes into account that you don't have a prior knowledge about something.
Yeah,
So guys, check out 2481.
Is that the episode that we just mentioned earlier?
Yeah.
That's the one about the truth.
Truth be told.
So remember to check out that one.
And any other takeaways for today, Lindsay?
Yeah.
I think this is about relationships and connection, because many times people in our lives either work in a job or they follow a sport that frankly, it's not easy to understand on the surface, on on the, on its face.
Like we can't just understand it right away.
Yeah.
So you have a choice.
Do you just ignore it and kind of never share that thing with them maybe?
Um, or do you actually ask them to explain it to you?
Like you're five years old so you can actually share.
You know like I feel.
Like one of these days I need to sit down and ask my in-laws to really explain football to me.
Like I'm five years old, so I can actually like enjoy these, these Thanksgivings.
And like know what's going on instead of staring at the wall while the TV's on.
How much is this?
How important are these people to you in your life?
And how frequent is this thing, this game or this career they're talking about?
They're coming home, talking about their career.
At some point, we might want to ask the questions.
Right.
Yeah.
Love it.
All right.
Great takeaway.
And yeah, everyone, thank you so much for listening.
And Lindsay, I'll see you next time.
All right.
See you next time, Michelle.
Take care.
Bye.
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