What English phrases really mean

Understand news stories in English with our Learning English from the News podcast. In each episode we talk about one big news story and the vocabulary and the headlines that will help you understand it. Follow the biggest stories in the world and improve your English. Search for Learning English from the News in your podcast app or visit BBCLearningEnglish.com. Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Pippa. And I'm Beth. In English, what we say and what we mean are sometimes two very different things. We often use exaggeration for emphasis or for humour, something known as hyperbole. For example, people say, "I am so hungry I could eat a horse," but of course no one really could. Here's presenter Michael Rosen and linguist Derek Bousfield discussing one example of hyperbole on BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth. People do say, "Absolutely nightmare." Yeah, or as my daughters would say, "I've had a mayor today." I want to say "Mare," which is obviously shortened for nightmare. What it basically means is they've had a mild and potentially slightly humorous occurrence at work. You might call an unpleasant or difficult experience a nightmare. Derek's daughter used the word "mare," short for nightmare, to describe her terrible day at work, but she was exaggerating. Her day wasn't really terrible, more like strange or annoying. Can you remember time when what you said wasn't really what you meant, Beth? Well, sometimes we say, "Hi, you're right," which means "Hi, are you all right?" Like, "Are you okay?" But actually, we don't really want to hear the answer. It just means hello, doesn't it? Yeah, I have a friend who actually just says, "All right," and they just mean hello. They don't mean, "Are you okay?" They don't want to hear about my day. No, if you're having a bad day, they don't want to know. They're just saying hello. In this episode, we'll be finding out more about how the meaning of words changes in English. As usual, we'll be learning some useful new words and phrases, and remember, you'll find all the vocabulary from this episode on our website, BBCLearningEnglish.com. But first, I have a question for you, Beth. The word "hyperbole" comes from two ancient Greek words, "whooper" and "ballo." But what is their literal meaning? Is it "A" to overthrew? "B" to "overspeak" or "C" to "overthink"? I have no idea, Pippa. I'm going to say to "overspeak." Okay, we'll find out the answer at the end of the programme. It's not just "hyperbole" that changes the meaning of words. It's opposite something called "understatement" has the same effect too. "Understatement" involves de-enthocising something. For example, imagine you were served an awful meal in a restaurant, but instead of saying how bad the food was, you just said it was "less than perfect." Here's linguist Derek Balsfield discussing "understatement" on BBC Radio 4's word of mouth. We love "understatement" as a way of kind of signalling that something much more serious has gone on. It's a kind of performative, sadonic, not taking oneself too seriously, identity when you do that, because taking yourself too seriously is a no-no in British culture. And so linguistically, not taking yourself too seriously is really the dumb thing. "Understatement" is valued in British culture, unlike taking yourself too seriously. If you take yourself too seriously, you think you're more important than you really are. In Britain, this is a no-no way of behaving that is not socially acceptable. In other words, it's not the dumb thing, meaning it's not what you're expected to do in a particular social situation. Another area where the meaning of words can be easily misunderstood is apologising. Here Michael Rosen responds to an imaginary situation where his toe gets accidentally stepped on by Derek Balsfield for BBC Radio 4 programme "Word of mouth." Imagine I stepped on your toe. I said "Oh Michael, I'm really sorry." And you said "It's all good." "Oh right, that probably means he doesn't." "Yes, I'm actually a bit miffed, a little bit annoyed, but then I don't want to have a barney with you. You're a stranger, so I don't want it get into a whole thing." So I said "Yeah, yeah, it's all good." "It's all good." Exactly. That's a British English one, an equivalent American English one would be no worries. "If someone tells you it's all good, they could actually be feeling miffed, an adjective meaning slightly annoyed or hurt by someone's behaviour." But no matter how annoyed you are, you probably don't want to get into a barney, a loud argument or quarrel. So you say something like "It's all good" or "No worries" and "Move on." As an English learner, unclear word meanings are a challenge. A lot depends on the situation and on the relationship between speaker and listener. So don't be shy, get talking to others in English, and if you make a mistake, say "No worries" and carry on. "Okay, Pippa, I think it's time to reveal the answer to your question." Yes, you thought the ancient Greek words "Huper" and "Ballow" meant "Overspeak", but the answer was actually "A" to "Overthrow". "Huper" means "Beyond" and "Ballow" means "I throw." Oh well. Okay, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with "Mare", short for "Nightmare", meaning an unpleasant or difficult experience. If you take yourself too seriously, you consider yourself and your actions more important than they really are. In Britain, this is a no-no, a way of behaving that is not socially acceptable. The "Done" thing, on the other hand, is what you are expected to do in a particular social situation. If you're "Mift", you're slightly annoyed by someone's behaviour. And finally, a barney is a loud argument or quarrel. Once again, our six minutes are up. But if you're keen to practice these new words and phrases, then check out our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where you'll find our worksheets and quiz for this episode. See you again soon, but for now, goodbye. Bye!