This is an all ears English podcast don't overdo it with textbook English 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 hosts Lindsay McMahon the English adventurer and Michelle Kaplan the New York radio girl coming to you from Colorado and New York City USA If you listen to native speakers talk you'll hear them
use a lot of words that start with over How can this be a clue to maximize your vocabulary options when you talk about things that are excessive?
Find out today Hi all years English listeners My name is Elise Hugh and I'm a journalist and the host of the podcast Ted talks daily every day I give you the latest Ted talks in audio that cover new and innovative ideas from the world's leading thinkers and creators We explore a ton of topics from the effects
of smartphones on childhood to AI time travel Change your perspective learn something new and get your daily dose of English listening practice with Ted talks daily Wherever you get your podcasts Hey Lindsay, how are you?
Hello Michelle, I'm feeling pretty good.
I'm excited to go to Run Club tonight.
What about you? What's going on?
Yeah Yeah, I am good.
I'm good. My kids are gonna be starting school soon.
So that's exciting And I'm excited I'm happy it's gonna be full.
I think I've had enough.
Oh, you've had enough of summer Yeah, I get that I get that.
Well, hopefully, you know, yeah seasons change and especially in the Northeast You get a lot of nice changing of the seasons Yeah, really good stuff.
I'm gonna regret saying that soon when I'm freezing in the morning.
Yeah, I will hear about it I'm sure Have you ever been overcharged at a restaurant?
Oh have I yeah. Yeah, like the wrong charge you mean, uh -huh Yeah, it happened to me recently at the grocery store.
Someone charged me for like 17 cabbages like what Or something like that.
I know so funny like that's kind of a high bill Let's because we always look at the receipt and they were like 17 of them.
They just made a mistake They just went fast, you know, oh my god.
That's all that's hilarious What would somebody do with 17 good question make a lot of stew?
I don't know. I guess so So how did so you told them what happened?
Yeah, we just went back in and just politely said we think there was a mistake and Then yeah, they just they just solved it for us.
But what about you?
Has it ever happened to you at an actual restaurant?
I'm sure it has nothing's coming off the top of my head But those those things just happen from time to time just yeah mistakes like that or whatever it is But yeah today we're actually going to be talking about this prefix over Right.
So because I said overcharged so we're gonna be talking about that in just a second but we today we're excited because we've been doing these Spotify polls and We are going to share the results of one of them today Yeah, this was back from episode well an episode on a Saturday, do you bicker with your
family a few weeks ago and We asked you the question who do you squabble with the most meaning fight with right?
And I'm not surprised about the first one Michelle.
What is it? Yeah the highest percentage So the highest one is your partner.
So that was almost 28 % Yeah, that's you fight with the most it makes sense to me That's kind of who you're around the most right as an adult That's who you live with day in day out there are things about your partner.
You don't like for sure And then the second one also to me makes sense is siblings Lindsay So this was 26 % of you I think it makes sense, especially if you're close to them, you know If you're not super close to your sibling you also when people's parents pass away, there might be some bickering some
fight, right? arguing not a good thing Then parents right 21 .6.
Percent. Yeah Then friends 17 .4 % now.
Yeah, you'll notice I feel like it's kind of going further and further away Right somebody so you spend the most time with your partner.
You might fight with them the most siblings parents They're also extremely just close to you And then friends might not be as much because you don't have to be as tied to them and then colleagues are even the least Right goes all the way down the furthest out 7 .8 percent about 8 % of you bicker the most
with colleagues. So that doesn't make sense I mean whoever we're closest to we tend to fight with the most makes total sense.
So Exactly. So very very interesting.
So okay Well, we are about to answer that question But we also want to remind you guys that we have this great app if you don't have it already It's all ears English app available on iOS and Android at Lindsay.
Tell us about that Yeah Well what we like about the app the most this season is that we now have different listening speeds so there are no no other apps that I know of where you could listen to a podcast an episode of this show at point eight point eight X or point nine X or 1 .1 X or 1 .2 X you want
to challenge yourself a little bit more you can do that over on the app Plus you get transcripts your personal power list of vocabulary episodes Really good stuff guys go over to others English comm slash app to sign up.
All right Okay, great.
So I love it and this question today comes to us from Ben from Japan Lindsay would you like to read it?
I would love to here we go.
Hi allers English team.
This is Ben from Japan It's been five months since I found your podcast program for the first time I've learned a lot from your topics in the program since then well, that's so good to hear Ben We're happy to have you as a listener.
Yes Anyway, I have a question for you.
There are a lot of verbs with over something such as Overestimate overcharge over here overload and so on is their common meaning among them Can you explain these words you frequently use great question Ben?
Yeah, well, thank you bed for that a question and the wildest thing was I was planning this episode and Someone texted me something that I don't want to overlook Michelle it was kind of strange AI thing happening Say something to you AI or something I don't know it was wild and I well, we'll go over
what that means in a second But yeah, I wasn't gonna teach that one and then I thought oh my gosh That's that it's the coolest thing when that happens when I'm planning episodes.
That's really cool I think it makes sense though, because these are as I was saying, you know, Ben's question overestimate overcharge over here overload If they are super common, okay, very common.
So yeah, this is about Using that prefix over so when added to a word, what is over usually me?
I think it generally means too much.
Yeah too much of something.
Yeah More than needed so but we're gonna go over this let's go through these words that Ben asked about let's start with those and Here we go.
So overestimate Yeah, I over I just you estimated too high too much of something right?
So for example, I overestimated how much food I needed for the party That can happen sometimes Yes Yeah, absolutely Mess up the shopping lists or if you go to Costco or somewhere where you're buying in bulk and you think oh, yeah Do I need one giant package for this party or two and you go with two
and then you have leftover for three Leftovers for three weeks and no one wants yeah, it's the famous Costco effect, right the famous You go in for one thing and you come out with like an entire pantry worth of things Yeah, absolutely Or what's so another thing that's interesting is do you ever hear
somebody say you overestimate me or you overestimate my Ability to handle technology or something like that.
What does that mean to you when used like that?
Yeah, it kind of means you're saying you give me too much credit, you know Maybe you received a compliment about something you're so great at technology Because you fixed maybe the computer shut down you fixed it.
Oh you overestimate me I just you know, I just knew one thing that happened to be the key thing All right, right right and I wouldn't really recommend saying this too much right now.
It's kind of kind of rejected Deprecating it's a little self -deprecating.
Yeah, but something that you might hear the next one is overcharged So we already did this one.
But yeah charged too much like our example from the beginning So you might say I'm sorry, but I think you overcharged me for the coffee So maybe you know when you go and you get a coffee if you ever get anything extra Maybe you get some sort of special milk or you get some sort of special syrup in it
some flavoring But maybe someone charged you for something that you didn't get Yeah For sure and remember guys you always have the option to put that in the passive voice if you want to kind of take it It does go a little direct in my in the wrong environment.
It might feel intense, right?
So you could always say I'm sorry, but I was I was overcharged charged.
Yep Way a little bit you're not so direct or maybe sound you might you're not gonna offend someone if you yeah It's just hard, you know in coffee shops sometimes people are just tired.
They've been working all day could be crowded Yeah Add to the to the the challenge of being a barista behind the counter that day If they're having a bad day, so putting into the passive voice you can still use the word, right?
Which is fantastic and thinking about different ways to say things.
I love it. Yeah, definitely Okay, Michelle over here is our next one.
Tell me about this.
This one's interesting Yeah, this is interesting because I was thinking does this really work with the too much And it it's a little bit different, but you could justify it So you're hearing too much basically Maybe you're hearing something you're not supposed to not something that isn't supposed to
be heard So in a way it does work with that over.
What do you think Lindsay?
I think it works I think it works right here You heard too much more than you should have but it really just means you maybe you eavesdropped Or you just happen to hear something that you shouldn't have heard So I overheard them talking and I think you may want to start looking for a new job Budget
cuts budget cuts Yeah, so that's that's a good but comment right often you you could overhear conversations I remember when I lived in New York.
I used to enjoy like just overhearing conversations, right?
Or even in Japan I would try to listen and try to understand what people are saying because I was learning Japanese Yeah, I don't know.
It's just kind of a fun thing on the subway.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely So over here though on eavesdrop I think or yeah light difference because because when I hear over here, it sounds a little bit less purposeful Totally.
That's a good point.
Right? So if you're if you're wondering about a difference guys You could try to overhear something but it's a little yeah eavesdrop is more direct you were going for it You've wanted to hear oh, yeah, exactly.
I love that's a really important difference and so then if you want to say that in that context you could essentially be trying to add a layer of Meaning by saying you're a little ashamed of that right?
Sometimes I would try to overhear.
Do you know what I mean?
There's a little bit of a subtext there So we're getting into super high levels of fluency, but I think our listeners are ready for it Michelle, is there yeah Yeah, we're still we're still going for it.
Okay, so we have Overload our listener asked about this one as well.
So to put on More than can be held.
So for example, he overloaded the truck so the tire actually broke Yeah, I mean at home some common things.
Oh, I'm famous for overloading the dishwasher the washing machine Let me just jam some more in there we don't You don't want anything you want to just get it done.
It's a Sunday trying to finish your chores.
No. Yeah This also makes me think of the expression Information overload or cuteness overload or things like that.
We could do a whole episode about that But yeah too much information or there's too much in my head Whatever it could be but so these were the ones that that our listener asked us about Would you like to continue with a couple?
Let's throw in maybe one more Michelle.
Do we have all right?
Why don't you choose your favorite?
Okay, so I really like oversee because this could also apply at work right to oversee It doesn't really mean though what we've been defining this as to see too much the chain Right meaning changes with this one a little bit.
Yeah, right. Right, right, right However, every time I found one that didn't quite work.
I was able to Think deeply about it and realize okay.
Well, it kind of works But it but it was it's a little bit tough, but you know basically to see more Because you are the leader in a way.
Yeah Yeah, don't think about it like that guys just writing it more complicated.
It just means to To direct let's let's say the verb to direct a project You're the director or the manager of a project you're in charge of a project So you kind of have that bird's -eye view in a sense, right?
We're high up higher so you can see more.
I think that's what it is Yeah, yeah, so for example Jen is going to oversee the projects very common Vocabulary for the workplace and by the way Michelle where should our listeners go if they do want to get that business English vocabulary Oh, well, I'm so glad you asked.
We are over on the business English Podcast it is me and Lindsay and Aubrey and we talk about all sorts of things dealing with business English but even if No matter what it we talk about real life things, right?
So because you're not a robot just because you're in the workplace.
You got it Michelle.
You are not a robot All right.
So where do we go from here?
Where do we go? Okay Well, there are so so so many more but this gives you the most basic idea of what it means So should we do a role play?
Let's do it. So Michelle in this case, you are a customer and I'm the barista Okay, so we're in that scenario All right.
Here we go. All right.
Thank you so much. Oh, wait, I'm sorry Oh, I think you may have overcharged me for this cappuccino.
Oh, no, really? Oh no, it's overflowing Oh, let me get you a napkin.
Oh, thank you. I'll take a sip Wow It's great how the vanilla flavor doesn't overpower the coffee.
Isn't that good? Okay So I'm so sorry.
I overestimated how much milk you wanted.
That's okay. I like it Okay, good and sorry for overcharging you.
I'll fix it right now.
Thanks These scenarios are so creative right?
How do we get in all these over words into one moment in the cafe?
I just gotta figure it out.
I gotta overload these role plays So but with the vocabulary so some of these were ones we taught already some of these might be a little bit new But we can go through it.
So the first one we know I said, I'm sorry I think you may have overcharged me for the cappuccino and I could have said I think I was overcharged However, I think the fact that I said you may have softened that muscle a little bit.
That's a good point It's not always just putting things in the passive voice to soften a little bit There are other words instead of might or instead of you did you may have done this thing, right?
Much Also very good to soften the blow of what you're about to say And then I said, oh no, really?
Oh, no, it's overflowing.
So there's some things that are happening I'm realizing overcharged you and then I'm also I guess maybe handing it to you are still doing the thing making the cappuccino Yeah, it's overflowing.
So meaning the milk or the coffee is coming out over the top of the cup, right?
Yes, exactly big problem, especially with hot coffee.
So So I said I'll take a sip you know that moment when something is overflowing So you just kind of have to do that awkward bend over And you just have to carefully even if it's super right and we've all been in that situation I wish we could throw a photo on the screen right now of a moment.
We've had to do that It's very awkward.
Just imagine it imagine it.
I'm sure So I had to give it a try so then I commented on it and I said wow It's great to have the vanilla flavor doesn't overpower the coffee So overpower is another one Lindsay and I really like this one in the context of food Because you know if you watch any cooking shows which I do in the winter all
the time all the tournament of Champions and all this where they really analyze these dishes and they say, you know This flavor overpowers that and that's the reason that points get docked off right?
They go into all the nuances It's just incredible Michelle.
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, absolutely So I'm saying the vanilla flavor doesn't overpower the coffee.
So am I saying that the vanilla flavor is Stronger than the coffee or weaker?
No we're saying it's kind of even or it's just it's in Proportion to what it should be right?
It's in proportion period like it's in the right Second amounts, right?
You can still use the coffee over and like the power of the coffee So it doesn't over get take more power, right?
Yeah when I first started drinking coffee my gateway drug My gateway coffee was a vanilla latte from Starbucks, right?
I don't know and I feel like a lot of people that's what that is because it really does Overpower I mean first of all a latte milk and all these things then vanilla latte You have the flavor you have the milk and then you kind of taste the coffee.
It's a gateway, right?
Right, right Exactly.
Yes, and sometimes if I get a coffee and I get a little flavor in it then it's one too many pumps and oh, yeah Yeah, I don't I don't do it.
I don't do the flavored stuff anymore black coffee Okay, you're you're so tough Lindsay I'm so cool All right, isn't and then I said, isn't that good, right?
So I'm obviously nerding out about the coffee.
I just made you right I'm really excited is probably a high -end coffee shop where the barista really gets into it and these places do exist Maybe they made a little heart in the coffee.
Yeah. Yeah, they'll do that That's that's the thing and then I say, okay, so I'm so sorry I overestimated how much milk you wanted right and that's the reason that I overcharged you Right, yeah, exactly.
Yep overestimate so and then You said I'm sorry for overcharging you.
I'll fix it. I'll fix it.
All right, that's a great conversation and something you honestly might experience In a cafe right all these things are happening at the same time, right?
That's what that's the funniest part about it is that you have it's you're you have to put out all the fires We have the issue of the being overcharged and then oh no It's overflowing and then probably there's a line of ten people.
So it's all crazy For sure.
Yeah, this is the way to be able to maximize your learning on vocab guys is learn prefixes, right Michelle Yep, absolutely.
It's a fantastic way to build your vocab So if you're curious about another prefix or suffix Let us know send it into a question to support at allersenglish .com.
All right. Absolutely Thank you so much to Ben for that question and have a great one All right, Michelle take care talk soon.
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