This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2608.
How to sound smart when you comment on art with the word cascade.
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Part of showing your personality in english is learning to discuss figurative and literal things, even when you go to a museum Today, learn about the word cascade and how to use it to speak at a high level.
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Hello michelle, how's it going?
Hey Lindsay, I'm good.
Lindsay, have you ever visited a waterfall?
I actually have been to Niagara Falls.
I went to Niagara Falls years ago on my cross country road trip.
And it was incredible.
It's just like so majestic.
The cascading water.
I mean, it's incredible, Michelle.
What about you?
Yeah, yeah, it definitely, waterfalls are amazing.
I went to Niagara Falls, but when I was like a little, little kid.
And then I've seen other, you know smaller.
I wouldn't call them waterfalls, but maybe baby waterfalls.
Yeah.
I mean, there's famous ones around the world.
I had a chance to go to Iguazu Falls in, I think.
Technically I don't know if it's in Argentina or Brazil.
I think it's in Argentina technically um, but that I missed that chance.
And then there's Victoria Falls, I think in South Africa is supposed to be.
These are the biggest waterfalls of the world right, and they're just amazing.
I mean.
Oh man, So many things we want to see in the world Michelle, right?
Oh my gosh, definitely.
So Lindsay, you mentioned this word cascade.
Yes.
Yeah, this is a really very high level word.
And we have a listener question about this word.
This listener question comes to us from Amelia VW3RF. from YouTube.
Would you like to read the question for us?
Yes, here we go.
So Amelia says, Hey there, thank you for your awesome episodes.
They're so educational and entertaining at the same time.
I've been a regular Allers English podcast listener for many years.
But this is my first question for you for a future episode, perhaps.
Well, thank you for being a longtime listener, Amelia.
We appreciate you so much.
Right, Michelle?
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much.
Yeah.
I'm an avid reader in English and I often encounter many new words.
I just came across the word cascade in a novel.
And the novel she was reading was Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.
She recommends it.
Good.
And she says the sentence was written like this.
What seems like a long stretch of time cascaded down in moments.
When i look up the word in the dictionary, it seems to have several definitions and can be used in different contexts.
Could you please explain different usages of the word and maybe go through related words and phrases, and how often is the word used in written and spoken english?
Thanks a lot for your effort.
You're amazing.
Best wishes, Amelia.
Oh, lovely.
Thank you, Amelia.
I can tell this is a very high level listener for sure.
But it's a great question for a lot of our B2C1 learners, listeners.
This may be a new word, but a word that they're ready for, right?
Because this word can be used for some amazing things in life.
Okay.
Absolutely.
So we're going to get into this in just a second.
But first, we want to thank our reviewers on our iOS app.
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All right.
Good.
Excellent.
Thank you so much.
So, yeah, so this word cascade usually describes water falling quickly.
So, for example, the water cascades down the rocks like a waterfall.
But in the book, it's more poetic.
It's comparing...
Time to falling water.
So it's kind of like saying the moments.
It's like saying the moments cascaded like water down a waterfall.
So this ultimately means it seems like a long time, but the moments pass quickly.
Does that make sense?
Yeah.
And I just love this.
We're going to show you guys how to use this word in a literal meaning today, but also in that more figurative meaning, because in the C1 course this is what we get into.
So I think at that C1 level you're ready to start using metaphors, figurative language, speaking kind of more poetically.
And that's when things get really interesting, Michelle.
Definitely.
Yeah, it's so true.
And you know what's interesting is.
You will see cascade used this way, like from the book, much more in writing than in casual conversation.
Overall, it's a pretty fancy word, but we're going to explain it.
And when to use it and how to use it today.
That's an important point, Michelle.
We're not going around just using cascade every day on our daily commute or something.
It's not a very commonplace word.
We might reserve this for when we're at a museum, right?
And we're observing the colors in a painting.
But these are cool moments in life.
So let's get into it, guys.
Don't forget to hit the follow button right now on the show, because we show you on this show how to express your actual personality in English.
And I know that's something a lot of our listeners might be struggling with.
But this is the way to do it.
First of all, connection is our highest goal.
Second of all, we show you how to be you in English, right?
That's right.
It's got a ring to it, Michelle, doesn't it?
How to be you in English.
We show you how to be you.
You be you.
So, yeah.
So, okay.
The literal meaning of cascade.
Yes.
Something that flows downward.
Hmm.
Water, fabric, vines, light, hair even, right?
I think of Rapunzel or a cascading hare or a mermaid, right?
Sure.
Again, not something for daily conversation, more poetic for artistic writing or maybe for dramatic effect.
So how might that sound, Lindsay?
The vines cascaded down the brick wall.
So we're describing a beautiful villa in Italy, right?
Yeah, right.
Or tears cascaded down his cheeks.
Yes, we're describing a very dramatic moment in a movie, right?
Her long, beautiful hair cascaded down her back.
Maybe you're describing a painting of a woman, for example, or just a scene in a movie.
It's very poetic, very dramatic, okay?
Yes.
Exactly.
And Amelia also asked if we could go through related words and phrases.
So we're going to give you some similar, similar words that are more casual, that you can use more in everyday conversation.
And they're not going to sound too poetic, not going to sound too formal.
Yeah, a little more down to earth, right, Michelle?
We don't want to always be that person that's breaking out this super poetic language.
It's a little different, right?
So we want to be a little more practical here.
Exactly.
So what's the first one, Lindsay?
It is flow down.
So this is really just descriptive.
So we'll do a little role play to show our listeners.
All right.
Is the waterfall always so strong?
Yeah, it flows down really fast here at this point.
Right.
And then there's pour down.
Right.
So this might be to me, pour down sounds a little bit more forceful than flow.
Do you agree?
Well, unless you're crying.
Right.
You can't control.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's come out.
True.
That's true.
So pour down is another one.
So Lindsay, let's do a little role play.
Yeah.
What happened when he fell off his bike?
Tears immediately poured down his cheeks.
It was so sad.
Michelle, are you a crier?
Are you someone that cries a lot?
Oh, me too.
Not as much as I used to.
I think I've just kind of roll with things a little more, but it definitely comes out.
Uh, what about you?
I cry when i get scared actually, like if i, if just something really scares me, like i was almost in an accident in a little shuttle bus.
I was in an accident once in a parking lot of a mall down in texas during a plane layover, flight layover, and our shuttle bus got hit and i definitely started bawling, Oh wow.
Interesting.
It's a weird thing.
Like fear triggers tears for me.
Yeah, it's strange.
I don't know.
That is interesting.
I'm glad you were okay.
I don't know.
Yeah, yeah.
It's happening.
All right.
So we'll take a quick break now and we'll come back to talk about the figurative meaning, which is really the interesting part of this word, Michelle.
Yes.
All right.
So we've talked about the literal meaning of cascade.
Pretty straightforward.
But now we can use cascade figuratively.
And this is where at the C1 level we get into really interesting stuff, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So in this way, it means it causes a chain reaction, right?
So that means that one thing triggers another.
Yeah.
I would say that this is used more in business and writing, so maybe reports or news articles.
Yeah, interesting.
So we have some business skills coming out of today's episode as well, right?
So for example, one small mistake cascaded into bigger problems.
Ooh, not good.
Not good.
Or when the power went out, it caused a cascade of events around town.
So yeah, it triggered something else.
Well, you know what this makes me think of, Michelle, is the 2008 housing crash.
Because I think we didn't quite know or I'll speak for myself, I didn't quite know how interconnected the global economy was until I saw the results of what happened.
You know these mortgage companies that were lending subprime mortgages.
The ripple effects cascaded out across the world.
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's true.
There's so many things in the news that happen that you don't realize can affect so many other things.
Kaska, I like what you said, the ripple effect.
Yeah.
I think now we're a little more wise about this and we know that everything is kind of interconnected globally with the economy.
But I think then it was still sort of for me at least.
I just didn't quite realize that That would trigger so many things around the world in terms of an economic crash.
Crazy, right?
True.
Yeah, absolutely.
What else?
So let's do some similar words.
So the first one is to snowball or spiral.
OK.
Yes.
So let's.
So.
Oh, OK.
I told two people about the party and it just snowballed from there.
So meaning.
Yeah.
You imagine a snowball and you're making a snowball and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.
Yes.
Right?
It picks up additional snow, right, as it goes down the hill.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
So I told two people, but then maybe each of them told two people and each of them told two people.
Exactly.
And I could respond to you and I could say, yeah, I heard we have about 50 people coming.
That spiraled fast.
Now, spiral is the same idea.
Just it spiraled.
It just became it gathered steam, I guess, is what we could say, meaning energy.
Right.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So that's I really like both of those.
And then there's one thing led to another.
OK.
Want to give an example?
Actually, I can do that.
I can say so we missed the bus.
Then we couldn't find the tickets.
Basically, one thing led to another and we missed the entire concert.
Oh, man.
And one thing led to another can be a positive thing or can be a negative thing.
Right.
And all of these snowball spiral could also be kind of positive or negative.
Right.
Um, yeah.
Right.
Exactly.
It's kind of neutral.
Right.
It just depends what it is.
I mean, also snowball.
I mean, I got what I mean, it reminds me of when it rains, it pours.
Right.
Yes.
I got one call for an interview and then it snowballed and I got 10 call, you know.
So there.
So I don't think that that's.
There's necessarily like a feeling of positivity or negativity with these.
Yeah, I love it.
And then another meaning of of the word cascade, causing an overwhelming flow or a volume of something.
Right.
So, for example, after I broke the news that I was engaged, emails cascaded into my inbox.
Right.
So do you ever have that, that scenario where all of a sudden something happens and all of a sudden you see all these texts gathering?
Yes, definitely.
And then I and then I have to sort through and yeah, then I forget to respond.
It's not nice.
You need a personal secretary, I think.
Just for my text messages.
It's not that I get so many.
It's just that I always respond in my head.
And then I don't actually, you know, I'm doing something.
I respond in my head.
And then it's like... I just mark mine as unread when I haven't responded.
Just to make sure I have that little dot next to it.
So it's, you know...
That's a good idea.
Yeah.
Maybe I'll try that one.
And then you could say also flood or pour in.
Right.
So my all those text messages flooded in when there was news of an accident and people were checking to see if I was OK.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Applications immediately started flooding in.
That's good.
That's what we want to see, right?
Yeah.
Pouring in or flooding in.
So this concept, you know, this is a figurative word and it's also a literal word, right?
And there's so many ways to use it.
So let's put it all together, Michelle.
We are at Niagara Falls.
Cool.
In this role play.
And we're talking about what we're seeing.
Okay.
Exactly.
All right.
Wow.
This view is like something out of a postcard.
Seriously.
I know.
The way the water cascades over the edge like that, it's stunning.
Yeah, but it pours down so quickly.
It's almost scary.
Well, I definitely wouldn't swim in it, but I could stare at it forever.
Same.
It feels like we've been here five minutes, but we've actually been here an hour.
Wow.
If one thing leads to another, we'll be here all day.
Yeah, it is kind of amazing standing next to Niagara Falls and I know some people do.
The maiden of the mist is what it's called, where they take a boat and they wear raincoats and they go below the falls.
And like you're in the water.
It's a tourist thing that you can do.
Um, kind of crazy, right?
Yeah.
That sounds really interesting.
I never heard of that.
Yeah.
I've never done it.
I think I'd be terrified.
But yeah, I don't think I would be the first thing on my list, but that's cool for people who do it.
Yeah.
So going through this again through the role play.
So I, you said, I said, Oh, something out of a It's like something out of a postcard.
It's very beautiful.
It's like a painting.
And you said, I know the way the water cascades over the edge like that.
It's stunning.
Yeah. and then you said yeah but it pours down so quickly it's almost scary so maybe a little more forceful loud yeah like cascading to me sounds a little more peaceful than right right right right right yeah there's some nuanced differences for sure from these alternative phrases but guys we're expanding your vocabulary here on the show Right?
And then I said, same.
It feels like we've been here five minutes, but we've actually been here an hour.
And you said...
I said, wow, if one thing leads to another, we'll be here all day.
Yeah.
So meaning if good things are just continue to happen, if we continue to enjoy ourselves.
We're having a good time.
We're not in a rush.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's really an expression in itself that could have another episode.
You know, one thing leads to another.
But Michelle, there's a great episode our listeners should check out.
It is 2561, How to Blow Open Your English Vocabulary.
All right.
Yes.
Nice.
Check that out.
So, yeah, I mean, takeaway, you know.
This was such a great question, Amelia.
Thank you again for it, because it leads to so much.
Not only you know this poet, this poetic effect and use of the word, but it's it shows us that it can be used in so many other ways and in other vocabulary that we can use which, as Lindsay talked about, at your level, this is huge.
So, you know, adding words, though, that don't come up every day.
Yes.
This can give you variety, substance or culture.
And, you know, Lindsay, you talked a lot about going to a museum and paintings.
I think part of fluency is being able to you know if you're living in New York as an expat, being able to go to the Met and make a comment about a painting.
Maybe you're with your native speaking friend that is articulate, right?
It's not just about staying in our wheelhouse of conversational topics that we're used to.
It's about commenting on the artist's work.
Maybe you see a waterfall in a painting or something.
And so this gives you the skill to do it.
And also on IELTS.
Guys, if you're taking IELTS and you use a word like cascade, that will increase your vocabulary score, because other students won't use it.
Right?
Right.
Yes.
Yeah.
This is definitely this is.
Definitely a standout word.
For sure.
So we fully endorse it.
And I think that's probably good for today.
Michelle, what do you think?
Anything else?
I think so.
All right, Lindsay, have a great day.
All right.
You have a good one.
Talk soon.
Bye.
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