This is the All Ears English Podcast.
Learning English is not like pulling teeth.
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.
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Today, learn a useful and fun way to say that something is hard to do.
Plus get bonus phrases so that you can share what you are struggling with in life and connect.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Good, Michelle.
How are you?
How's it going?
I'm good.
I don't think I wished you a happy new year yet.
Oh, happy new year in that case, Michelle.
Glad to be here.
So exciting.
Oh my gosh, it's going to be a good year, I think.
Yes.
Yeah.
Lindsay, when was the last time you went to the dentist?
Well, funny you asked, Michelle.
I actually just went yesterday.
I'm glad that I have a good answer for that instead of like five years ago or something.
That's right.
Yeah.
I went yesterday.
You're very responsible.
Yep.
Feeling good about that.
So yeah.
Yeah.
I try to go three times a year usually.
Three?
That's good.
Wow.
That's a lot.
Yeah.
Just a little extra cleaning never hurt, you know?
Yeah.
So you're not afraid of the dentist, are you?
I don't love it because usually, you know, when they clean your teeth, it hits nerves and stuff.
So that can be a little painful.
But I know that it's good for me to go.
So I go and I don't have to get teeth pulled or anything when I go.
Thank goodness right.
Yep yeah um, and that's what we're talking about today is a fun little expression.
I love when we teach our listeners these super native natural expressions because it gives them like a quick i don't, it's like a secret.
They can put their back pocket and pull these out anytime they want to sound natural.
And what is the expression?
All right.
So the expression is it's like pulling teeth.
Yes, this is.
I mean, this is a super, this is an old school one, right?
Um, it's cheesy, but would you say it's still common.
Yeah.
I say I use this.
I like this one.
This is part of my repertoire, my personal repertoire.
It's fun.
It's descriptive.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, I think it's good.
I endorse this.
Very good.
So, um, yeah, I, I, it, so basically this means that something is very difficult to do.
That's what it means.
Um, so, but it is funny because, so my husband is a dentist.
And yeah, he always talks about this expression because he always says for a dentist it's not that hard to pull a tooth.
So he doesn't he feel he's like, who is the expression talking about?
Is it for the person getting their teeth pulled?
If because if it's for the from the dentist perspective, like that's actually not that difficult.
It's a good point.
He's really overthinking that, I think, a little bit.
Definitely.
Yeah.
That's where this idea came from, because we were having this talk about that.
And he's like, I don't understand who this expression is meant for.
Pulling teeth for a dentist.
Like, that's what we're trained to do.
That's not that hard.
That's like...
Oh, that's funny.
I love that.
I mean, in my mind, it's more from the perspective of the person whose teeth are being pulled.
You think so?
I think so.
Because think about how painful.
I mean, now we have Novocaine.
Obviously, we have all the drugs and all the things.
But I'm sure there was a time, you know, hundreds of years ago when they just yanked your tooth out.
True.
Maybe it's because, yeah.
But if it was from the perspective of the person getting their teeth pulled, wouldn't it be?
It's like having your teeth pulled right.
So I always thought of it as like the dentist perspective.
But yeah, then from, I don't know.
I think we're thinking too much into this.
Basically, guys, this means something is difficult to do.
Yeah, yeah.
I love this.
This is going to be a fun episode today.
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Okay.
Yes.
And you know what's funny is that right now, right in front of me, I just realized that there is on the windowsill a giant crocheted tooth with eyes and a mouth.
Because I always have all this random.
Yeah, I have all this random.
So now I'm just. looking at it like hello and it's like that's weird yeah don't pull me oh my gosh that's funny i love it when i think about this expression though i think about this first example we have for our listeners which is trying to get my kids to tell me about their days is like i do is like pulling teeth so i do think about like kids just not wanting to to like do something or talk or share yeah it's like pulling teeth i feel like that's where it comes up the most don't Would you think?
Yeah, I would say.
I mean, even it's funny with my son.
I when he gets off the bus, first of all, he's the most loving boy in the whole world.
Like, unbelievable.
He's so loving.
But when he gets off the bus, he barely acknowledges.
And interesting.
Yeah.
And then I don't even really bother asking him any questions.
It just I just kind of wait for things to come out naturally.
And then, you know, when it comes when everything comes out and lying down at night.
So you know, you just kind of have to wait and know.
As a parent, you know when are you, when should you ask and how should you ask?
And because all you want to do is know everything.
I wish I could know everything about it at all.
So you have to back off and not pull the teeth.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
You have to play it cool.
I love it.
Play it cool.
Here's another example.
Getting my bandmates to practice every day is like pulling teeth.
So they clearly they don't want to practice anything.
Maybe they're lazy or they're just busy or something.
So it's very hard.
So you're always nagging them to practice.
That word nag is a good one.
Yes.
Or finding the right holiday gifts for my friends is like pulling teeth.
So they're hard to shop for.
Lindsay, are you good at knowing what gifts to get people?
No, I'm really bad at that.
And I also leave things to the last minute.
I leave things to the last minute and then I panic and then it just never turns out well.
So I've got to get started early this year.
We're recording this in early December, so there's still a chance.
There's still time, Lindsay.
So yeah, but this is about?
It's basically about an effort that you have to put in something, maybe trying to get someone to do something or say something.
So like an extraction of some sort for the most part, you're trying to get something from somebody.
So pulling teeth.
Yeah.
No, that's a good description.
That's why I always think of like trying to get your kids to tell you something or share something or take out the garbage or something right.
Yeah.
It's like pulling teeth.
Would you say there's anything in your life that comes to mind that's like pulling teeth?
I think some jeez, i can't think of anything right, i guess, getting myself to do my chores, you know, like you know, sometimes i just don't feel like vacuuming on a sunday or cleaning um, that can be like pulling teeth and that's an interesting use of it right on yourself.
It's not how we use it, but it's my own.
Yeah, but english is like that.
You can, you can use it.
You know, you can play with the language.
So for me um, I'm going to call out my brother.
I mean, it's getting my brother to answer a question about planning.
And he's notorious for this.
I mean, my dad will ask him questions and we can't get an answer.
And oh, like he's very wait until the last minute.
And I am in a sense, but he is to the extreme.
So if you try and ask him, like we were trying to plan my dad's birthday.
And I was going to sing a song with my sister-in-law and he was going to play piano.
And how did that turn out?
Oh, did you end up doing it?
It was good.
But like it was two days before and I finally got him on the phone and he's like Oh uh.
I said maybe we can just talk about which part my sister-in-law and I are singing.
And he's like, I don't think it needs to be that serious.
And I like, this is I think this is a normal conversation who's singing what like yeah you just you just want to plan so he's not a planner no like no to the extreme but yeah so I would say that's like pulling teeth but yes we talked about this a little bit so you don't seem you don't it doesn't sound like you think this is outdated this expression I'm not too worried about that yeah no I I still use it I mean maybe I'm outdated I don't know no I don't think it I don't think it is it's you know, cause we talk sometimes about like, Oh, raining cats and dogs and those kinds of idioms.
Pretty outdated, I think.
Right.
And it's funny because this one seems to kind of hold up because it's still I don't know when it started being used, but it just it's still kind of it's kind of stood the test of time, I think.
I think so.
And I think it's a good connection phrase.
I mean, why do you think it would be good for connection, Michelle?
Because you're talking about your struggles.
It's good for relating to people.
Oh yeah.
Trying to get my kids to do this is like pulling teeth.
Oh, mine too.
You know, people can start to relate to you on their, on like things that are difficult for them.
Yep.
Especially if you're at a similar life phase as someone else.
Maybe you pick up your kids at daycare or something and you're struggling with the same things.
That is the recipe for building connection and friendships, right?
Exactly.
Exactly.
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All right.
So there are other ways to say the same thing, which are very funny too.
These are fun little idioms.
For example, it's like herding cats.
Have you heard that one?
I've heard this one, of course.
Yeah.
I mean, and the idea here, I mean, why is this hard?
Yeah, because the cats aren't going to They can't be heard.
Yeah, you can't hurt them.
You can't just say, oh, we're all going in the same way.
Right.
No cows.
You can herd cows.
You can herd the cats.
You can't.
My my dog is like a herding breed.
He is a part border collie.
And so it's like in his it's in his genes, like he'll see a dog and he'll crouch and start to stalk it.
And then, but he doesn't want to hurt it.
He wants to herd it.
He doesn't want to hurt it.
Ah, herd, not hurt.
Yes.
And then he'll do these spins and it's part of his herding routine.
It's just really funny.
That's cute.
Oh my God, I love him.
It's really cute.
What would be an example, Michelle, of herding cats?
My life, exactly.
Trying to get my kids out the door in the morning is like herding cats.
Yeah.
Because cats will run in all directions, right?
That's what they'll do.
You know, meow and run and hide and it's impossible, right?
Yep, that's why we're always late.
That's your reality.
Yes yeah um, next one, A hard nut to crack.
So these are kind of related expressions.
So that means something is difficult to solve or someone is difficult to get information out of.
So similar idea?
Not exactly, but I want to know what's going on in his head.
But he's a hard nut to crack.
So I could have said but asking him questions or getting him to answer is like pulling teeth, right.
So that's how they're kind of related.
Yeah, they're related.
I mean, maybe the person's a bit of a mystery and enigma.
Right.
You just don't can't quite figure the person out.
Right.
This expression getting nowhere fast.
You know, it's like spitting your wheels.
Right.
Not progressing.
I can tell this conversation is going nowhere fast.
It's kind of funny.
Yeah, that's a good one.
So what else, Michelle?
The last one is just you could say something is really tough.
That's kind of the most basic way, but it's also good to use.
So getting my teacher to help me more with this assignment is really tough, right?
That's just kind of very neutral, not with any bells and whistle idioms on it, but very common.
Yeah yeah, sometimes we just want the most straightforward phrase and that is an option for our listeners too.
There's nothing wrong with that.
We don't have to always come up with the fanciest idiom because, remember guys, connection is the goal.
So don't, you know, go off in la la land trying to come up with the idiom you want to connect, make the eye contact and say, say the direct phrase sometimes right michelle yeah yeah, exactly kind of like the most basic one.
So should we do a role play?
Let's do it, Michelle.
So here we are, both first grade teachers.
Wow, I don't think I could do it.
But we're friends and we work at the same school.
All right.
Here we go.
All right.
Here we go.
So how's your class going?
It's good, but trying to get them to leave for music class is like herding cats.
Oh, tell me about it.
They're so cute, but sometimes getting them to answer questions is like pulling teeth.
Definitely.
It can be really tough. especially one boy in my class.
He is a hard nut to crack.
I'm not sure if he likes school.
That's too bad.
It can feel like you're getting nowhere fast, but we're still at the beginning.
That's true.
Maybe it's the beginning of the school year or something, right?
Which is what you mean there.
Yes.
So here we're talking about, you know, getting kids organized, getting them moving all in one direction, down to the music class, down the hallway, is like herding cats right, because one kid has to go to the bathroom, the other kid has to get his lunch, and you know it's just chaos.
I'm sure i mean yeah um, and then i said they're so cute, but sometimes getting them to answer questions is like pulling teeth.
So maybe i'm sitting there and saying oh, and who knows the answer to this, and no one says nothing silence.
Yeah, i mean this can happen when you're teaching adult learners too.
I mean, i've been in the adult classroom teaching adults esl and sometimes You ask a question.
There's no response.
There's silence.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then you're like, OK, I'll just answer my own question.
Right.
Yes.
Yeah.
And then we just went with a straightforward phrase here.
Right, Michelle.
So I said definitely can be really tough.
And this is good for empathizing.
Right.
Yeah.
We don't need because I'm trying to reflect. back what you've said so i don't necessarily need to come up with some fancy idiom here i just need to know that i show that yeah that i get you right because you didn't right i i said one so if then you just came back right away with another one in or you know because again here you're just empathizing so if i said getting them to answer questions is like pulling teeth definitely it can be like herding cats, you know, it might be like a little overkill.
So it's good to have those more basic expressions just to insert when you need them.
Yep, exactly.
Because again, the goal is connection.
It's not being fancy with our vocabulary.
It's not sounding like a genius.
It's connecting, right?
Love that.
What else, Michelle?
I said, especially one boy in my class, he's a hard nut to crack.
I could have also said a tough nut to crack, I think. yeah that's true we do say both both and then i said i'm not sure if he likes school good and then i said that's too bad it can feel like you're getting nowhere fast but we're still at the beginning so and that also i mentioned a bonus idiom spinning our wheels right it's kind of similar idea you're you feel like you're putting all this energy into something but your wheels are just spinning they're not going anywhere yeah right so Great.
This is a good one, Michelle.
What's another episode our listeners should check out?
All right.
Check out All Ears English.
This was another, I think another Saturday one, although it could have been a Friday.
Avoid mistakes with these English adjectives.
Yeah.
And what's our takeaway for today?
Where should we leave our listeners?
We've learned a lot of idioms today.
Yeah, we got a lot here.
Listen out for these.
I taught you very common ones.
We taught you very common ones.
And you know, these are just super good connection topics because they can always bring to the surface things that other people are feeling, or can get people to tell a story, share something about their life.
So very, very useful for connection.
Yeah, for sure.
If you can show in a kind of a lighthearted way with an idiom, that maybe you're struggling with something right.
You're struggling to talk to your child or struggling to do something.
That kind of that opens up, like you said Michelle, that space for connection.
So these are the phrases to do it.
All right.
Excellent.
Good.
All right.
This was fun, Lindsay.
All right.
Great stuff, Michelle.
You have a good rest of your day.
I'll talk to you soon.
All right.
Bye.
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