This is an All Ears English podcast episode 951.
It's a no-brainer.
Find out why Lindsay and Michelle love dogs.
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Today, we show you how to say that a decision is easy or not so easy.
Listen to expand your vocabulary today.
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Hey, Lindsay, how's it going?
Hey, Michelle, not bad.
How are you?
I'm good.
I'm good.
Have you had to make any tough decisions lately?
Ooh, tough decisions.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm always making tough decisions every day.
But that's okay.
I think I've made good decisions.
Yeah.
Are you good at making decisions or is it like stressful for you?
It can be stressful, but I try to not make any decisions without sleeping on it.
And then, you know, I try to give it time to like roll around in my mind and really think about it.
Oh, I like that.
But then I don't like to overanalyze.
Like usually I know when I've thought about it enough.
And then at that point, you can't go into too much over analysis, you know?
That's true.
So when you decided, you just were looking for a new apartment.
So when you decided on your new apartment, was it a no brainer or was it a tough choice?
For me, it was kind of a no-brainer.
There was a couple of sacrifices that we'll have to make.
Some things are missing from the apartment, but the price was so good that it was a no-brainer.
Ah, okay.
Okay.
Interesting.
So this phrase, no-brainer, is that natural sounding to you?
Oh, yeah.
I love this phrase.
I love it.
Yeah, yeah, I love it, too.
I think it's just like, really dynamic.
It's kind of fun and lighthearted.
And it's fun.
It's really fun.
Yeah.
So we got a listener question.
And it's just really just a one sentence.
I'm not sure if we have the correct listener here.
So Lindsay, could you just read the quick question?
Oh, yeah.
So we think this might be Sergio, our listener Sergio, but we're not sure.
So here's the question.
He says, a no-brainer.
Is it usually talking about something easy like a choice?
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
No, no.
Where it says, listener question, do an episode.
Okay.
All right.
My mistake was.
Yeah, here we go.
Okay, there we go.
He says, please do an episode on the term no brainer and give us situations that are no brainers.
Okay, very direct question from our listener Sergio here.
Exactly.
So I'm not sure if that's you, Sergio.
If it is, thank you for the question.
If not, I'm sorry to the person who we did not thank.
But either way, this was so good.
I didn't want to lose it.
It's a great phrase, right?
So yeah, no brainer.
No brainer.
Gosh, I feel like, do you use it a lot, Lindsay?
Oh, yeah.
I use it all.
I wish I used it more because it sounds cool, but it's obvious what it is, right?
It's pretty easy, guys.
It's something that is clear.
It's a clear choice, like something you have to do or it's clear that you should do it.
Right.
It's like you don't even have to think about making that decision because it's so obvious or easy, right?
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
Right.
So, so we're going to do an, so like, okay, here's an example.
So there was a huge sale on cell phones.
So I got a new one.
It was a no brainer.
I just went with the cheapest one.
Right.
I didn't even have to think about it.
Right.
Or, uh, Hey Lindsay, do you want to go to the beach this weekend?
Yeah.
Wow, that's a no-brainer.
It's the best weather we've had all year.
So, yeah, I want to go.
Okay, good.
So, that's another situation.
Oh, it's so nice.
You want to go to the beach?
Of course.
It's like, obviously, right?
Right, exactly.
And what's another one, Lindsay?
Let's see.
So she didn't know if she should stay with him, but after he cheated on her, it was a no-brainer.
Yeah, that's kind of, that's a make-or-break situation, right?
I mean, if someone cheats on you, it's kind of a no-brainer, hopefully, that you don't want to be with them anymore.
Yeah, probably not the best choice.
But, you know, people do it all the time and whatever.
Yeah. um so yeah so it's like oh that would you know it's like kind of she was not sure but then this happened and then it became so obvious it was a no-brainer right oh yeah okay so here are a couple other ways to say something similar right or just to say that something's easy right yeah um so what's the first one lindsay We could say like it's an easy choice, right?
Deciding to take a vacation is always an easy choice, right?
It's not.
Yeah.
Good, good, good.
Exactly.
And then we're not going to do too, too many.
But the next one is a cakewalk.
So this is a little bit different.
Yeah.
It's more about like events or experiences, but it's just another way to say that something's easy.
So like, for example, this event is a cakewalk.
It practically runs itself.
Yeah.
And I wonder if we've done an episode on this.
I feel like we may have actually done.
I'm just typing into the search bar cakewalk event.
Yeah, yeah.
If you go to 485, we did.
Yeah, guys, we did cover this idiom.
It's a piece of cake.
We talked about a cakewalk.
Yeah, you can go back to that episode and learn more about that idiom.
It's a good one.
That's a fun one to use.
Yeah, that is a fun one.
Yeah, so definitely go listen to that episode to get more examples and to hear more.
So that's a way to say – those are a couple of ways to say that something's easy or an easy choice, easy decision, something like that.
So let's just go over how to say something is not easy.
Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
We could say something like, that's a tough one, right?
Ooh, I don't know the answer, right?
That's a tough one.
Right.
A tough one.
I like that.
I feel like I say that a lot.
Yeah, you do say that a lot, actually.
Wait, really?
Yeah, I think so.
I've heard you say that before.
That's funny.
Yeah, I don't know.
I have this feeling like I might say that sometimes.
The next one is, that's a tricky decision.
Like, so, hmm, that's a tricky decision.
What should we do?
Yeah, okay, good.
Okay.
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And the last one is what, Lindsay?
Well, a tough call.
And we talked about an episode with to make a call, make the call or good call, right?
And we did that a few weeks ago.
Exactly.
We just did that one.
So I just wanted to bring it back for you.
So definitely, you know, look in, look for.
I'm not sure if we did tough call, but it basically means tough decision.
But I have a feeling that we did do that.
So go on ahead and, you know, search for call.
Yeah, it's episode 931.
You guys can go to 931.
938.
Sorry, not 931.
938.
What am I saying?
Sometimes it's like you think something and different words come out of your head, out of your mouth.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my God.
It must be time for a coffee break, Michelle.
I'm going crazy here.
That's too funny.
Okay, so guys go ahead and listen to that episode, because we go over lots of different ways to use the word call right.
But yeah, tough decision.
So, ooh, tough call.
I like the blue one, right?
Yeah, I like that.
And the last one we're going to do is, when you're having trouble deciding okay good, so we could say can't decide right right, yeah.
So like i can't decide if i like him or not oh, and i like this next one.
I'm torn, me too.
Right, i know, i like this one too.
I'm torn.
I feel like this is a pretty common one and it's also like very um gives me a lot of images in my head.
Yeah, I love that.
I love that.
I'm torn.
Should I go to Italy or should I go to France?
I'm torn.
I can't decide.
Good, good, good.
Yeah, I can't decide.
It's like.
It's like imagine like your body, like kind of like like one one part of your head is on one side and one is on the other.
So you're, you're torn.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then this one, I feel like our listeners may have heard, but we'll say it anyway.
So because you can't say you can't have talk about this without using the phrase on the fence.
Right, right, right, right.
Okay, so on the fence.
Yeah, that's perfect.
I love that.
You know, so should I wear the pink or the red dress?
I'm on the fence.
Right, right.
So these are phrases for when you have trouble deciding.
So guys, so so far we've gone over ways to say something is an easy decision or something is just easy in general, when something is not easy, and what to say when you're having trouble deciding.
Right.
Yeah, and guys, yeah, sorry, Michelle, go ahead.
No, no, no, you go ahead.
No, I was gonna say, I'm just recognizing that.
These phrases guys, if you're taking the IELTS exam, these are gonna get you that seven or higher on your speaking test.
If you're adding phrases like no brainer, a cakewalk on the fence, I'm torn.
Wow, the examiner is going to say wow okay, this person is using vocabulary that other students don't use.
And that's actually how you get your seven or higher guys.
So if you want to learn more about that, go and subscribe to the IELTS Energy podcast.
This is great.
For sure.
Good, good, good.
So you have lots of ways to talk about, you know, decision making and how easy things are for you.
So let's go ahead and give this a little role play.
So Lindsay, in this situation, I know you just talked about how you want a dog.
I also want a dog.
Terrible.
What kind of dog do you want, by the way?
I think a beagle because I grew up with a beagle.
But any.
Yeah.
Any like I like kind of like medium sized dogs.
But I don't know.
I love all dogs.
What about you?
I love all dogs, too.
But I really prefer like bigger dogs like like maybe a lab or like a husky or.
Yeah.
This weekend we saw the dog shelter.
We saw a lab husky puppy.
Oh, so cute.
Wait, do you actually think you might get one soon?
No, no, no.
I can't have one.
At least not for another year.
At least a year.
But I go to the dog shelters like twice a month.
No joke.
There's a dog park not too far from me and sometimes I just go around on a walk at night on a nice night and just stare at the dogs playing and laugh at them.
It's so creepy.
I'm like a dog stalker.
Sounds like it, Michelle.
Yeah.
But no, I just want them so bad, and it's such a big responsibility.
I really want a dog that I can take hiking.
You know, I want to take a dog hiking.
I want him to be my hiking partner.
You know, that would be so fun.
Oh, yeah, that's cute.
Yeah.
Anyway, so in this roleplay, we're living our fantasy and we're at the pound picking out a dog.
Okay, cool.
So which one which one do you like?
Ooh, I like that little brown one, but I also love the spotted one.
I don't know.
I'm torn.
Oh, come on.
This is a no-brainer.
The brown one is adorable and so friendly.
I don't know.
That's a tough one.
I saw him growl.
All dogs growl sometimes.
This is an easy choice.
Come on.
It's no cakewalk.
This is a big decision.
And I'm still on the fence, Lindsay.
Okay, well, let me know later what you decide.
This reminds me of one dog that we've been seeing in the in the shelter.
His name is Bullet.
The poor thing.
He's like, he's a lab.
But he's so sweet looking.
But he growls at you every time you get near his fence because he's been there since November.
The poor thing.
Oh, that's sad.
Is he a yellow lab or a black lab?
He's brown, like a brown lab with the green eyes, which I think that's such a pretty dog.
But I don't know why people don't adopt it.
Like I guess he's just kind of getting kind of like toughened up, so he's growling, so he's turning people off.
You know what i mean?
Like he's oh, people aren't wanting to adopt him because he does growl and that's making it worse.
Oh, poor thing.
Yeah, All right.
Well, now that we're both depressed.
Okay.
So, so we said, let's just go through this.
So I said, I also love the spotted one.
I don't know.
I'm torn.
It's like, I can't decide.
Right.
And then I said, Oh, I said, Oh, come on.
This is a no brainer.
It's obvious, right?
The choice, the choice is clear.
Right, right, right.
And then I said, I don't know.
That's a tough one because I saw him growl.
And then you said?
I said, this is an easy choice.
Exactly.
And then I said, it's no cakewalk.
Like this experience is no cakewalk.
It's hard to decide, right?
Yeah.
Having a dog is not a cakewalk, I'm sure.
That's true.
And then I said, this is a big decision and I'm still on the fence.
So guys, we talked about, we used I don't know if we used every single phrase, but we did use a lot of them here to talk about.
I can't decide.
It's an easy choice.
It's a tough choice, right?
We gave you a good mix here.
So this is, it sounds like a pretty realistic conversation to me.
I think so.
Yeah, Michelle, I think you should sleep on it before you make your decision.
Okay.
Oh, gosh.
One day.
Anyway, but this is a great question.
And thank you to our listener for sending this.
And this has been a lot of fun, Lindsay.
Yeah, this has been awesome.
Awesome.
Guys, I mean the takeaway for today.
Just grab these words, write them down, start using one or two of them.
And again, if you're taking IELTS, be sure you add these to your vocab, because you can strategically increase your speaking score.
And guys, grab the transcripts for today, allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe.
Michelle, thanks for hanging out with me today and talking about dogs.
Thank you, Lindsay.
Thanks.
Have a good one.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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