This is the Business English podcast, episode 413.
Do you know these cheesy business cliches?
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Hey Michelle, what's going on today?
Not too much, Lindsay.
I'm happy to be here today with you.
How are you? Me too, as always feeling good.
What are we getting into today, Michelle?
Oh, this is gonna be fun.
Today we're gonna be talking about cheesy expressions that are cliches, cheeze, cheesy cliche expressions at work.
Lindsay, do you use cheesy cliche expressions?
do you think? I mean, there's always a time and place, Michelle, especially when, you know, you're with people you know, well, your coworkers, maybe you've been working together for a long time and you want to be silly and fun.
Sure. There's a place for it.
Yeah, definitely. So today we're going to talk about some expressions that are pretty overused, but still used for sure.
And generally in a funny way, I mean, sometimes they might be used genuinely, but there are expressions that you will hear especially in pop culture.
So we're going to be going through them today, explaining them, and see if you agree with me Lindsay that there are cheesy cliches.
All right. Excellent.
I'm excited to see what these cheese.
Yeah. So I mean, what is our general attitude towards cliches?
I mean, what are we, what do we think about it is the difference between a cliche and just a, an idiom or an expression or something that people say, I guess that's what our listeners are going to ask.
Yeah, I think a cliche is just, I, I would say it's overused and it kind of shows maybe that you haven't put that much thought into something, right?
Like you're just kinda scratching the surface and just using, throwing these things out there.
What do you think? Yeah.
Completely, completely.
I think, um, in like in writing in academia, using a cliche is worse than in speaking because it shows, I mean, a professor would say it's lazy, right.
That using a cliche is a lack of creativity, that you should come up with your own original idea or way of saying something.
But in spoken English, when you're having fun, sometimes you're making a bit of a joke when you're using a cliche.
You're being a little bit facetious.
So that's the scenario we're talking about today.
Yes. Yes. Exactly. So we're going to go through them and see if we agree with the philosophy.
So what's the first one, Lindsay?
Yeah. Okay. Love it.
Go big or go home. Yeah.
It reminds me of, it's like the state of Texas.
Everything is big in Texas, right?
Right, right, right, right.
I mean, yeah, so this one basically means you have to put everything into whatever it is you're doing or just don't even bother.
So it's saying just take risks or quit, right?
Or don't bother, right?
Yeah, for sure. It's a very extreme way of looking at things.
But again, if you're trying to drum up excitement on your team, right?
And you're all on the same page, you're working together, there's no harm in throwing out one of these cliches.
No one's going to say you're so unoriginal.
These are just kind of fun.
I mean, to me, I hear this a lot with sports business, just taking risks in general, or maybe even I was thinking an exercise class teacher, right?
An instructor would say, okay, come on, five more pushups, go big or go home.
Right? Sure. For sure.
I could see that happening.
Yes, absolutely. They want to push you to do your very best. You want to, you know, they'll say something like leave it all out on the field or leave it on the gym, that sort of thing.
yeah yeah yeah I agree with you Michelle sports a business this idea of taking risks leads to greater rewards right and that's something that in our culture historically we have always believed in American culture right yeah yes absolutely yeah I mean one way you could use this here's an example oh man I don't know if I should take on this project right now well you know what they say go big or go home so I'm deciding to do it right yeah I tend to like this idea, I tend to say just go all in on something, you know, just leave everything out there, but it also kinda depends on your personality,
some people wanna conserve energy and be really smart about what we select to take part in, so it's a personality thing too, right?
Yeah? Absolutely, Lindsay, what's the next one?
Teamwork makes the dream work.
And you have to say it like that.
You have to say teamwork, yeah, it has to be teamwork makes the dream work, Our teamwork makes the dream work, right?
You have to say it in a way that, you know, you're using a silly cliche.
You're not taking yourself seriously, but you are in a sense trying to bring people together and get people excited about working together as a team.
Right, right. Yeah.
So this is motivational.
I mean, it's basically saying we got to work together to accomplish our goals, to make the dream work.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
I could see, I feel like someone is always clapping when they say this, Come on.
Teamwork makes the dream work, right?
Um, so true. You're so right.
And you, you could say this, maybe on a zoom call, maybe, uh, at the end of one of our team sinks, when we've come up with a new strategy, one of us might say this, come on guys.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
You know, maybe we have a target.
I dunno, revenue goal or something.
It's when you're about to go into something that requires teamwork.
Right. Right. Right.
So you could just say, come on guys.
Let's get started. Teamwork makes the dream work.
Let's go. Right. It's so cheesy.
But it's so it's fun.
Yeah. All right, Michelle.
We're back. So another one that we've heard over the years, I feel like I used to hear this a lot for my this is another dad ism.
I used to hear my dad say this a lot, especially almost every tennis match I played, because I would always lose a tennis.
You win some you lose some right.
Uh huh said to comfort someone or or to comfort yourself when you've had a loss, whether it's in sports or business or life, maybe school, you didn't get the best grade.
I don't know. What does it mean?
Michelle, tell us more.
Yeah. I mean, you win some, you lose some.
You just have to kind of expect it, right?
Um, you know, you're not on the winning side.
Um, for example, I know you're upset, but you win some, you lose some you'll win next time around.
Mm hmm. For sure. Yeah.
Exactly. Or maybe in the case of business English you've gone in a job interview you just didn't get that job.
You're not going to get every job you interview for you win some you lose some.
Right. Yeah. Yeah. And we have to be okay with losing some.
Exactly. And then another cheesy cliché.
And our list for today.
No God's no glory. This actually goes to the cultural value related to go big or go home.
Doesn't it? It's the same idea.
No guts, no glory. So what do we mean by guts?
It's go all in, again, go home.
It's you have to be a little brave to go after something.
The idea it's based on the idea that the worst thing you could do is go through life without taking any chances, without taking any risk.
You didn't fail, but you didn't really gain anything.
And I think there's a quote there somewhere out in pop culture about that, but it's that idea, right?
Right. It makes me think of the, you miss a hundred percent of the shots that you don't take.
Right? I don't know.
Maybe that's the one.
Yeah. I don't know.
But yeah, no guts. Like if you don't put everything you have into something, no glory.
You mean meaning you're not going to get, you're not going to reap the rewards.
Yeah. And I do think this is super rooted in American culture.
I mean, I'm sure that some of our listeners, this quote exists in your language, but I'd be curious to know where does it come from?
If I think about where this comes from, it probably comes from the roots of like frontier movement, uh, moving West, uh, it was dangerous as people move - explorers moved West, um, around, um, in, in the U S and taking risks, taking chances, starting businesses, right, so this idea of no guts, no glory.
I think it comes from history, don't you think?
Well, if I'm just looking very briefly on chat, GBT, um, it says, uh, it's, Uh, there are some military routes to the 1950s.
Uh, okay. Uh, so yeah, it could be something with, uh, with the military, but it is used a lot in pop culture.
So for sure. So I feel like these phrases always come from somewhere, right?
Which is really interesting cause it tells a story about a country.
Really interesting.
Michelle, which is your favorite here of these?
I think I like, let's say, um, I think I like teamwork.
Makes the dream work.
What do you say? I really like go big or go home, because what it signifies is go all in on something.
And I love that thinking.
I tend to be kind of tunnel vision when I go into something, I get a little obsessed with it.
I'll just go after it, right?
So that idea of being fully immersed in a goal is very refreshing.
It's exhausting, but it's refreshing, in a way.
Definitely, definitely.
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Should we do a roleplay?
Let's do it Michelle.
So here we're coworkers.
Um, you just didn't get a promotion and I'm making you feel better.
Okay. Yes. Here we go.
Oh, I can't believe this.
I mean, I guess you win some, you lose some.
Yeah, but you'll get there.
Just keep working hard. No guts, no glory.
Yeah. I guess I'm just kinda down now.
I mean, I wonder if it even matters.
Michelle. Go big or go home.
You're right. And I can help you.
We'll do this together.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
like now you're talking nice.
And I purposely didn't say now you're talking right rice said now you're talking right.
And so we'll circle back to that one another day Michelle and you know this this stringing together of these phrases is a little awkward because you would tend to say this more maybe on a team or don't you think you tend to say this yeah less to like a friend directly I guess I don't know.
Yeah I mean it's more so that I think you don't you want to say this first of all I'm down and you're just like your just like you're getting a little you're getting a little annoying I know I wrote it but you're being yeah maybe you scratch this role play don't do this if somebody's upset don't just keep on throwing these cliches at them so the point is use them at a time when thing I think like most people are like in a It's a generally good mood.
Good mood. Kind of just like a funny, you know, having a good time.
Hey, teamwork makes the dream work, like, you know.
Totally. But I wanted to give you that example of like how they fit together, so it is possible, but yeah, don't be annoying.
Don't be annoying, yeah.
Maybe use one of these max every year.
One of them every year.
And if you do use it, do it in a funny way.
Yes, totally. Love it.
Good stuff. So we'll just go through it real quick.
So you didn't get your promotion and then you said, I can't believe it, but I mean, I guess you win some, you lose some.
I could see you saying that, right?
So if we've suffered a loss, maybe in our career, we didn't get the job, we didn't get the promotion, either the person that didn't get it might say it or the other person, that one works in the one -to -one scenario, but then it gets kinda weird right here.
I totally, yeah, I totally agree.
Yeah, you said, just keep working hard, no guts, no glory.
I mean, even that, even that I think is okay.
I guess. Yeah, yeah, it depends on the vibe between us.
Like, how disappointed are you?
No guys, no glory. And then you said, basically, I wonder if it even matters.
So you're sounding kind of down and depressed, and then there's a little tone deaf, right?
Michelle go big or go home.
I would connect this more to something that you're about to do.
You're about to go after something.
You're about to, Let's say you're trying to launch a business and you're about to take like call the mayor and be like can I interview you on my podcast?
Right, that's a big deal like you're going to get a mayor on, right?
That's huge. Go big or go home, go for the big, you know, the big interviews, right?
So it's a little bit different.
Okay, yeah. But then you said you can help me, we're gonna do this together and I said teamwork makes the dream work so.
Yeah, that one kind of works you're gonna work together.
Yeah. Um maybe we've just proven that we want to generally be careful around clichés.
Right, oh yeah that's why they're cliches right?
Like that's why yeah we call them like cliches.
They're cheesy, we know we're being cheesy.
Do it at a time when it's low risk.
Um maybe in a group and you're drumming up support for something right?
That's right. Love that.
Exactly. Oh my gosh.
Well this this was fun, Lindsay.
Thanks for Talking about this with me today, guys check out episode 404, which was don't miss this dynamic episode for another good episode.
Yes. I love it. And for a takeaway today, just kind of know what are the phrases that you're using?
Are they cliches? Are they creative expressions?
And sometimes it's all, we're using an idiom, and it is kind of a cliche, but also add some innovation to your language.
Say something new and original.
That's good too. Mix it all in, have a variety.
Right, that's right.
Oh my gosh. Well, this was fun Lindsay teamwork makes the dream work.
I'll see you next time.
Okay Alright sounds good.
Michelle. I'll talk to you soon.
Have a good one. All right.
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