Monthly Archives: October 2013

151. Google Questions

Luke answers some common auto-completed questions from Google.

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Hi listeners. Do you know what “Google auto-complete” is?
You know when you start to google something, like maybe ‘why is Luke’s English Podcast so awesome?’ and when you type ‘why is’, Google completes your question with lots of options? Those options are ‘auto-completes’. It’s when Google predicts your search based on frequently asked searches. Try typing “why is” into Google. It will give you some options, like “why is the sky blue?”

Some auto-completes are quite fascinating, because they make you think “why are people asking these crazy questions?” or “that’s a good question – what’s the answer?” Some Google auto-completes are really deep, if you take the time to consider them.

Have a look at this graphic, which was produced by xkcd http://xkcd.com/1256/ It is a montage of auto-completed questions from Google. I also posted the image on Facebook recently, here.
Here’s a link to the Adweek.com article about women’s rights I mentioned too.

In this episode I decided to try giving my answers to these Google auto-complete questions.

You can listen to my answers in this episode, but I’m also interested in your opinions and your findings from google searches.

Your task while listening to this is to Google the questions and check the results. Are my answers correct? Leave a comment below to give me your opnions.

I hope you enjoy the episode.

Cheers,
Luke

150. British Slang (D to G)

More informal English for you to pick up in this episode as we continue the series on British slang words.

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Below you’ll find a list of slang words from http://www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml with some other words which I added. The explanations in this list are mainly reproduced from effingpot.com but the explanations you will hear on this podcast episode are all my own.

I hope you enjoy learning more British slang, and stay tuned for more podcasts in the near future.

Cheers!

Luke

Other Slang Episodes In This Series
British Slang (A-C)
British Slang (D-G)
British Slang (H-M)
British Slang (N-Z)

LIST OF SLANG TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE (Thanks also to www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml)
Dear – If something is dear it means it is expensive. I thought Texan insurance was dear. It’s also a term of affection that an older person might use. “Hello dear, would you like a cuppa?”
DIY – This is short for do it yourself and applies not just to the DIY stores but also to anything that you need to do yourself. For example, if we get really bad service in a restaurant (oh, you noticed!) then we might ask the waiter if it is a DIY restaurant – just to wind them up.
Do – A party. You would go to a do if you were going to a party in the UK.
Do – If you drive along a motorway in the wrong lane the police will do you. You could then tell your friends that you have been done by the police. Prosecute is another word for it!
Do someone over
Doddle – Something that is a doddle is a cinch, it’s easy. Unlike ordering water in Texas with an English accent, which is definitely not a doddle!
Dodgy – If someone or something is a bit dodgy, it is not to be trusted. Dodgy food should be thrown away at home, or sent back in a restaurant. Dodgy people are best avoided. You never know what they are up to. Dodgy goods may have been nicked. When visiting Miami I was advised by some English chums that certain areas were a bit dodgy and should be avoided!
the Dog’s bollocks – You would say that something really fantastic was the dog’s bollocks. Comes from the fact that a dog’s bollocks are so fantastic that he can’t stop licking them! Nice huh? Often shortened to just “The dog’s”.
Donkey’s years – Someone said to me the other day that they hadn’t seen me for donkey’s years. It means they hadn’t seen me for ages.
Dude
Faff – To faff is to dither or to fanny around. If we procrastinated when getting ready for bed, as kids, our Dad use tell us we were faffing around.
Fag
Fancy – If you fancy something then it means you desire it. There are two basic forms in common use – food and people. If you fancy a cake for example it means you like the look of it and you want to eat it. If you see someone then you might fancy them if you liked the look of them and wanted to get to know them a little better!!!
Fit – Fit is a word that I have heard a lot recently – it seems to be making a comeback. A fit bird means a girl who is pretty good looking or tasty! A fit bloke would be the male equivalent.
Flog – To Flog something is to sell it. It also means to beat something with a whip, but when your wife tells you she flogged the old TV it is more likely she has sold it than beaten it (hopefully!).
Fluke – If something great happened to you by chance that would be a fluke. When I was a kid my Mum lost her engagement ring on the beach and only realised half way home. We went back to the spot and she found it in the sand. That was a fluke.
Fortnight – Two weeks. Comes from an abbreviation of “fourteen nights”. Hence terms like “I’m off for a fortnights holiday” meaning “I am going on a two week vacation”.
Full of beans – This means to have loads of energy. It is a polite way of saying that a child is a maniac. I was often described as being full of beans as a kid and now it is my wife’s way of telling me to keep still when she is trying to get to sleep. Strangely the same expression in some parts of the US means that you are exaggerating or talking bollocks!
Geezer
Get lost! – Politely translated as go away, this is really a mild way of telling someone to f*** off!
Get stuffed! – Even politer way to tell someone to get lost is to tell them to get stuffed. However, this is still not a nice thing to say to someone.
Getting off with – This seems to be the objective of most teenagers on a big night out. Getting off with someone means making out or snogging them.
Give us a bell – This simply means call me. You often hear people use the word “us” to mean “me”.
Giz
Gobsmacked – Amazed. Your gob is your mouth and if you smack your gob, it would be out of amazement.
Good value – This is short for good value for money. It means something is a good deal.
Goolies – If you have been kicked in the goolies, your eyes would be watering and you would be clutching your balls!
Gormless – A gormless person is someone who has absolutely no clue. You would say clueless. It is also shortened so you could say someone is a total gorm or completely gormy.
Grub – Food. Similar to nosh. I remember my Dad calling “grub’s up”, when dinner was ready as a kid. A grub is also an insect larva. Not usually eaten in England. Actually is available in some Australian restaurants!
Gutted – If someone is really upset by something they might say that they were gutted. Like when you are told that you have just failed your driving test!

149. Backing Up Into The Cloud

Hello Dear Listeners, I’ve been a little bit quiet recently but I’m still here.

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This episode is a chance to explain what’s been going on recently, and to answer some of your questions and comments from Facebook and Twitter. Apologies for the slightly poor sound quality on this one.

Yesterday I devoted over an hour to recording an episode only to be let down by my recording device which ran out of memory space. It was very annoying indeed because I lost all the work that I had done on that recording. I’ve since learned the importance of regularly backing up your work on an external memory card or alternatively “backing up into the cloud”.

I hope you enjoy the episode and more episodes will follow before long, including the continuation of my series on The A – Z of British Slang.

Cheers,
Luke

p.s. Here are videos of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and Queen performing at Live Aid in 1985. Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ&w=400&h=300]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQsM6u0a038&w=400&h=300]