Welcome to English with Dane, a podcast designed to improve your English. As always, I'm your host Dane, and you can find me on Instagram and TikTok at Englishwith Dane. If you want transcripts for each episode to follow along more closely para seguir más de cerca, go to EnglishwithDane.com slash transcripts. The link is in the description. Today's episode is about expressions and sayings, dichos, sayings, that I've heard recently in movies and thought they were worth talking about.
So let's get right into it. You are listening to episode 153 of English with Dane. Hit it, okay, we have officially started the show, so let's start going through this list. I have seven expressions and sayings for you today, so let's get to it. The first one is Scott Free. Scott spelled S-C-O-T.
It was a miracle I wasn't killed. Well, you know that I didn't kill anybody else. The cops took me in for questioning, but they couldn't charge me. They had no proof I was even behind the wheel. Meanwhile, Brad did three months in jail for contempt because he wouldn't rat Donnie out. The result? I was scot-free.
Scot free, usually used with the phrasal verb to get away, means completely free of harm. The Daniel. Completely free of harm or penalty. So you get away scot free. In this case, Leonardo DiCaprio's character in The Wolf of Wall Street just says, I was scot free. Let's listen again. I was really curious about what Scot meant. So I looked it up. I looked it up. Apparently, Scot was a type of tax a long time ago in medieval times, to be precise.
So if you avoided paying it, if you avoided paying it, you were Scot free. So Libere de Scott. So you didn't have to pay that tax or penalty. So that's where it comes from. Second on my list is to have a chip on your shoulder.
I can't even talk to my own son. What the hell's wrong with him? He took his mother's death pretty hard, Carl. Kim, we all did. He's the only one walking around with a chip on his shoulder.
Chip is spelled C H I P, by the way, like a potato chip or a computer chip. If someone has a chip on their shoulder, they are angry all the time because they think they have been treated unfairly. Can see others o tratadas injustamente, they think they have been treated unfairly, or feel like they are not as good as other people. Let's listen again. Once again, I wanted to know why this is something we say, so I looked it up. I found this.
Now, I don't know how accurate this is because it just seems so stupid, but hey, it's what I found. I'll read it to you and you can tell me if it's stupid or not. It says. Relaxing his grip on the reins. So his hands would be down when it was obvious or an easy win. So that's where hands down comes from. Let's listen one last time.
Hands down, best fish taco I've ever had in my life.
I feel like this is a really easy one to throw into a conversation. You could say, hands down, my favorite restaurant in the area. Hands down, the best museum. Hands down, the best boss I've ever had. Hands down, their best album. Hands down, the best concert I've been to, etc. Moving on. At number four, we have To Roll with the Punches. There's no turning back. Guess I'll have to roll with the punches. Roll as in R O L L, by the way. And punches as in puñetazos.
To roll with the punches means to adapt yourself to adverse or negative circumstances. Again, to roll with the punches means to adapt yourself to adverse or negative circumstances. This one comes from the sport of boxing. If someone throws a punch at a boxer, they can roll, which means they move their body in the same direction as the punch to make the impact considerably less hard. So to move with the punch in order to decrease its power.
So if you roll with the punches, metaphorically, you are adapting to an adverse situation and operating in a way that is not fighting against what you can't change. Next up at number five is quality time.
Hey you. Giving some quality time with the boys? Uh huh. Yeah, it was fun.
Quality time is time spent with people you are close to and giving them your full attention. During Christmas, for example, you look forward to spending some quality time with your family or friends.
Hey you. Giving some quality time with the boys? Uh huh. Yeah, it was fun.
Moving on to number six, which is to keep your eyes peeled. If we translate it word for word, it means mantendo. To peel, spelled P-E-E-L, means pelar. To keep your eyes peeled means to be on the alert, to watch carefully or vigilantly for something. You could say something like, We need to find a parking spot, so keep your eyes peeled while I drive around. I couldn't find a really good or convincing explanation as to why we say this one.
One explanation said that because a lot of fruits and vegetables improve when peeled, that the same thing would be true of our eyes. I mean, I guess it's an explanation, but it's hands down the worst one so far. So, one more time before we move on.
Mr.
I've slow, keep your eyes peeled.
Alright, let's talk about this next one. Last but not least, we have to bark up the wrong tree.
But you're wrong, like hell I am. Joe, trust me on this. You've made a mistake. He's a good kid. I understand you're hot, you're super fucking pissed. We're all real emotional, but you're barking up the wrong tree. I know this man, he wouldn't do that.
To bark, spelled B-A-R-K, means ladrar. This expression comes from the world of hunting, de la caza, or caza. So in the early 1800s, hunting with packs of dogs was very popular. So this term would be used, serious, when animals tricked dogs into thinking they were in a tree when in reality they had escaped. The dogs would bark while looking up in the tree for the animal that was no longer there. So they would bark up the wrong tree. To be wrong, essentially, right?
To be mistaken, to be pursuing, estar persiguiendo, to be pursuing a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of action. I really like this one because it's very visual. You can totally imagine the scenario. So one more time before we go.
We're all real emotional, but you're barking up the wrong tree. I know this man, he wouldn't do that.
So, to recap all of them, number one, scot-free means completely free of harm or penalty.
The result, I was scot-free.
Number two, to have a chip on your shoulder. To be angry all the time because someone thinks they have been treated unfairly or they feel they are not as good as other people. Number three is hands down, so easily, decisively, or unquestionably.
Hands down, best fish taco I've ever had in my life.
Number four is to roll with the punches, so to adapt yourself to adverse or negative circumstances. There's no turning back. Guess I'll have to roll with the punches. Number five is quality time. Time spent with people you are close to and giving them your full attention. Number five is quality time. Time spent with people you are close to and giving them your full attention. Number six, to keep your eyes peeled, to watch carefully or vigilantly for something.
And number seven, to bark up the wrong tree, to be pursuing a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of action.
But you're barking up the wrong tree.
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