Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another brand new Catchword episode.
Catchword is our vocabulary series where we teach you interesting and useful English vocabulary or idioms or phrasal verbs, anything that we think will help make your English stronger.
Joining me today for this episode is my co-host, Indiana.
Hey there, Indiana. How's it going? Hey, Andrew.
I'm good. How are you? I'm good, Indiana, and today we've got a fascinating lesson for everyone.
We're going to teach our viewers and our listeners two expressions that they can use to talk about situations that are out of control.
So we have really common daily idioms, and we're going to introduce them and break them down for everyone so that you'll be able to use them guys in your future English conversations.
And when you're listening to English as well, it's good to know what these expressions mean.
If you hear them when you're watching Netflix or listening to a podcast, something like that.
So we'll jump in and get started with this lesson in just a moment.
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Okay, and with that being said, Indiana, I think...
Let's get started with our episode today and our lesson today.
So guys, as I mentioned off the top there, we're going to teach you two expressions that you can use whenever you need to talk about a situation that is getting out of control and is becoming unmanageable or unreasonable.
So Indiana, I'll turn things over to you.
Do you want to do the honors and introduce our first expression for this episode?
Sure. So the first expression we're going to talk about today for situations that are getting out of control is to go off the rails.
So as you're hearing in this expression, there's the word rails.
So you can imagine... uh train like train tracks tracks rails kind of synonyms for each other And to go off the rails means to become completely unmanageable, to be completely messed up, It's really out of control.
As you could picture with a train, if a train goes off the rails, goes off its tracks, there's a train crash.
And that's like the most... disastrous situation you could imagine.
So that's a great visual for this common expression. to go off the rails.
Something becomes completely messed up and unmanageable.
Yeah, exactly. When a train is operating normally, it's on the rails, right?
Actually, we don't have that expression, guys.
We can say to go off the rails, but we don't have an expression about staying on the rails, but just to explain the imagery and the visuals behind this expression.
If a train is on the rails, then it's functioning normally.
Everything's okay. But like you said, Indiana, when a train goes off the rails, it's the most... terrible, unimaginable situation that you can think of, really, right?
So that's the visual behind this expression.
Yeah, we use it to describe situations that are chaotic or out of control or a disaster, something like that.
Actually, it reminds me of a similar expression that we have in English, which is to be a train wreck, right?
We can say somebody's a train wreck or yeah, it's a train wreck, meaning that it's a disaster.
It's a big problem. Indiana, maybe you could tell us a few situations where we would use this expression to go off the rails.
What are some of the situations we would use it in to talk about something?
I think generally, because it sounds so extreme and such a bad situation.
We would use it for something like a big plan or an event, like my travel plans went completely off the rails.
There was a bunch of unfortunate events that happened one after another. or perhaps a conference, an event, everything went wrong and it became unmanageable.
The conference went off the rails. But you could also even use it, I think, with a person if they're behaving... erratically or their behavior becomes sort of uncontrolled or unusual, and it's a very bad situation.
I would think maybe if somebody you knew had a really bad breakup and it hit them so hard, you could say, ugh.
Greg really went off the rails after the breakup, you know?
That would be like, oh, he's not doing well.
His life is not in a good place. So those are some, yeah, the first things that come to mind for go off the rails. yeah yeah i think that's a great summary so we can use it to describe some event or some process that has become a mess, become a disaster.
We can use it to talk about someone's behavior, right?
Somebody has gone off the rails. And when I hear about somebody going off the rails, when we use it to describe a person, I don't know if you think about this too, Indiana, it'll be interesting to find out,
For me, I think about maybe them having a mental break, like kind of going crazy perhaps, or having some mental health issues, maybe not acting. in a regular way in that regard, or maybe drinking too much or doing a drug too much, something like that.
It's like really, really extreme abnormal behavior when somebody goes off the rails.
Is that what you think as well? I definitely agree.
I would use it that way as well. So it's important to note then that this kind of expression, We're not going to use it for some minor hiccup in a plan or somebody's acting a little strangely.
It's quite extreme. It's quite chaotic. So you want to make sure you're using go off the rails for a serious situation.
I have even heard people use it to talk about a situation like a conversation. especially maybe with politics.
When I listened to like a podcast about politics, maybe they'll have somebody from the right wing talking with somebody from the left wing and they're having a conversation.
And at first the conversation seems normal, but then after five or 10 minutes, things have gone off the rails and they're yelling at each other and it's not a civilized conversation anymore.
This is another kind of situation where we can say, It's gone off the rails, right?
It's not normal anymore. It's changed from this normal civil conversation to this crazy fight.
It's gone off the rails. Well, very good.
Okay. I think we should jump into some conversation examples using this expression to go off the rails.
And in our first example here, we're going to listen to some coworkers talk about a business meeting that they recently had where a person at the meeting who is giving a presentation went off the rails.
So let's listen to that example conversation right now.
Here we go. Did you see how Jake reacted in the meeting?
Yeah, he went totally off the rails. He just exploded.
I've never seen him like that before. Me neither.
I hope he's okay. Okay, guys, in this example conversation, we heard about a guy named Jake. who went off the rails at a business meeting.
He totally exploded. And when you totally explode, Indiana, it means like you get really, really super angry, right?
And your anger just comes all out at once, just like a volcano can explode. a person can explode too and just throw out all of their anger.
And so we don't know about the details about what happens in that business meeting, but something caused Jake to go off the rails and to go crazy and become very angry.
So I'm guessing maybe somebody was late to the presentation, maybe, and that made him angry or somebody wasn't listening or somebody asked an inappropriate question, something like that, we can assume.
Okay, Andrew, so the next example dialogue is not about a person, but a situation, as we could also use this expression with.
So this next example dialogue is talking about a vacation that did not go as planned. vacation that did not go as planned.
Okay, let's take a listen now. Here we go.
You're back. Wow. How was your vacation?
It started out amazing, but it all went off the rails midweek.
Oh, no. What happened? Our hotel flooded, our flights got canceled, and we ended up sleeping at the airport.
Wow, Indiana, that sounds like a terrible time.
Could you break down that conversation example and remind us about what we heard?
Yes, so although Lisa's vacation started out pretty good, she explains to her friend, that it all went off the rails partway through the week.
So not one thing, not two things, but everything imaginable started going wrong.
The hotel was flooded. The flights got canceled.
They were sleeping at the airport. So the entire vacation truly went off the rails.
Okay, very good. Indiana, let's move on to our second key expression for today, which again is related to... talking about something that is becoming unmanageable or becoming very difficult or chaotic.
And our second expression is to get out of hand, to get out of hand.
So could you do us the honors again and give us a definition for what to get out of hand means?
So to get out of hand is similar to go off the rails because it's also talking about, a situation where things are beginning to get uncontrollable and unmanageable.
I would see to get out of hand being used in a situation about maybe a project or a task that you're working on and it's becoming a little too difficult to handle and it's no longer in your control, Or maybe you're hosting a party and there's a lot of people, but then a few more people show up and somebody just broke a glass and people are getting rowdier. that party is getting a little bit out of hand.
And I think a good thing to note with this expression is is we often qualify it a little bit.
We change the meaning by adding words like it's getting a little bit out of hand or it's beginning to get out of hand.
So this way, we can talk about a situation that is just a little crazy, a little uncontrollable, and doesn't sound quite so dramatic as go off the rails, right?
So using this present progressive tense, it's getting out of hand, it's beginning to get out of hand. we can show that kind of meaning.
Yeah, absolutely. So if something is just trending in the wrong direction, like...
I don't know, maybe you're planning a wedding or a big party or an event, something where you have to spend some money and having a budget is important.
It's really easy for things to get out of hand in this situation, right?
I remember when I was planning my wedding maybe indiana you know about this too it's like it's really easy for the expenses to get out of hand if you're not careful you can spend too much money so quickly and it's hard to follow that budget.
So maybe at the start of that process, if you notice that you're not being as strict with following the budget as you should be, And you could say, hey, maybe let's take a pause here for a second and evaluate before things get out of hand.
Maybe into that process a little bit, you could say things are a little bit out of hand or they're getting out of hand.
But then in the opposite direction, if it's too late, then we'd wanna maybe change it to the past tense, right?
If the event was over, Maybe let's just use this example of a wedding, because I know this is a situation where people overspend too much money on sometimes.
You could say, oh, it got out of hand, right?
Things got out of hand, meaning that you lost control of following your budget and staying to your budget.
We can also use the present perfect tense, right?
We could say things have gotten out of hand.
And my feeling with that nuance, Indiana, is if you say things have gotten out of hand, it means like you're still planning the wedding.
The wedding hasn't finished yet. but your spending has lost control.
You've totally lost control of following the budget even before the wedding has happened.
So I think you're absolutely right that the tense that we choose can change the meaning and change the nuance of this expression.
So guys, just keep that in mind. as you're listening to this expression in the future in your English listening and also using it in your English speaking as well.
Indiana, do you know the origin of this expression?
Have you ever heard anything about the origin or can you take a guess?
I think I know the answer. Maybe I'll put you on the spot here and give you a little quiz.
Do you know the origin of this expression?
Yeah, no, I don't know. I mean, I can picture like something leaving my hand.
Like I drop something or yeah, I can't manage to hold on to something, but I don't know where exactly it comes from now.
Yeah, well, you might be absolutely right about that because I think a lot of the times when we're talking about the origin, it's kind of just a guess.
We don't know exactly where this expression came from.
But what I read online was that it's related to horseback riding.
And in The hands of the rider, guys, you hold these things called a rein, which is part of the horse's saddle, I suppose.
And it's just the... Almost like the ropes that you hold when you're riding a horse to control the direction of the horse and the speed of the horse.
And you can imagine if you're riding a horse and you drop the reins and you're no longer holding onto the reins, then it's a lot more difficult to control the horse and to direct the horse to go where you want the horse to go.
It'd almost be like trying to drive a car without holding the steering wheel, right?
You couldn't really turn the car in that kind of situation.
Now, these days, we use this expression to get out of hand, to describe any kind of situation where we've lost control.
Yeah, that is the supposed origin of the expression Indiana.
I don't know if it's true or not, but that's what I read.
And I think it's a nice visual that can help people remember what this expression means.
Guys, keep that imagery in mind going forward to help you.
And Indiana, I guess now we should jump into some example conversations.
We've got two of them prepared for you guys.
And the first one that we have is about a car repair bill that is getting out of hand.
So let's take a listen to that first example conversation now.
Here we go. Any updates on your car? Yeah, it's turning into a whole thing.
The repair costs are really getting out of hand.
I thought it was just a brake issue. That's what I thought too.
But now they're saying I need new rotors, tires, and maybe the suspension.
It's one thing after another. Okay, so in that example conversation, Indiana, we heard about two friends who were talking about a car repair bill. that was getting out of hand, maybe not just getting out of hand, but spiraling out of control as well, which is of a more extreme expression that we can use when something is becoming really, really really bad spiraling out of control you could almost think of like a helicopter spinning and you know gonna crash that kind of imagery really really bad situation So yeah, the friend brought her car into the repair shop and thought that she just had to get her brakes fixed.
But then the mechanic said, oh, no, it's not just your brakes.
It's also your tires. It's also your suspension.
And so the repair bill... was getting out of hand, meaning it was just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
It was ballooning. That's another expression that we use, ballooning, meaning it's like blowing up and inflating just like a balloon.
Yeah, maybe this is one of the reasons I don't own a car is because I'm worried about this kind of repair bill getting out of hand, which is a really common situation I think many people have to deal with.
Indiana, have you ever had this problem about a bill that's gotten out of hand?
I definitely have. And luckily, my husband knows so much about cars, so I'll get a quote from the dealership or the repair shop, and then he'll try to figure it out and half or quarter the price for me.
But yeah, many times, unfortunately. Good.
Okay. Let's move on to our second example with this expression.
And in this example, we're going to hear... about some co-workers working at the office and a stressful situation that they're dealing with.
So let's take a listen to that example conversation right now.
Here we go. You seem really swamped. Is everything okay?
Not really. This project's getting out of hand.
Can you delegate anything to me? You know, I'm always happy to help.
Thanks for your offer, but the deadline is too tight.
Okay, Indiana, do you want to break down this conversation example for us?
What did we just hear there? For sure. So, Lisa's concerned coworker, Mark, is asking if she needs any help because she seems kind of swamped.
And swamped is a great expression to describe somebody who is just has so much work to do.
They're drowning in it. They simply can't get their head above water.
The work is piling up, and they can't manage it all.
So he thinks she's swamped, and she is. She tells Mark that...
Her project, it's getting out of hand, and the deadline is fast approaching.
So I can imagine here... that maybe her boss keeps tacking on extra tasks with this project.
Some people she's working on it with, they're not responding to her.
And most importantly, the deadline is coming up.
So this project of Lisa's is completely getting out of hand.
Yeah, too much to do and not enough time to do it in will cause any project to get out of hand if you are not very careful. so I can empathize and understand what that character is going through.
It's not a fun situation. And in fact, whenever something is going off the rails or getting out of hand, It's usually not very fun.
It's the opposite, right? It's becoming more stressful, more chaotic, more problematic.
All right. Well, everyone, that's going to bring us to the end of today's lesson.
So thank you so much for tuning in to Indiana. and tuning into me here today to study English with us, and we hope you were able to learn a lot.
Going forward, keep your ears open for these expressions because I'm positive you're gonna hear them all the time going forwards in your English life as you're listening to English and having conversations with English speakers.
These are really, really, truly common expressions and you're going to hear them and encounter them often.
Just to recap what we studied, we learned about two idiomatic expressions.
The first one is to go off the rails, and the second one was... to get out of hands and we use these expressions to talk about any situation or person or thing that is becoming unmanageable problematic, chaotic, and is just trending in the wrong direction that way.
Don't forget there is an interactive transcript, a helpful study guide, vocabulary breakdowns, explanations, examples. and a quiz and questions for speaking practice and writing practice in the study guide. that you can get if you are a QLips member.
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We also have an amazing Discord community.
You can join our Discord community for free just by following the link that's in the description for this episode.
And over on our Discord community, we'll continue the discussion about this episode.
And that's a great place for you to be active with your English and to make some example sentences using to go off the rails or to get out of hand.
You can write the example sentences or you can practice your speaking by recording an audio message and uploading it to our Discord.
And Indiana and I will be patiently waiting. for your example sentences to check them out.
And we're looking forward to doing that.
Well, Indiana, I think that's it for us for today.
So thank you. Of course. Thanks for listening, everybody.
Yeah, thank you guys. We'll catch you in the next episode.
Bye-bye. See ya.
