Aubrey Carter

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 26:53 when fishy and cheesy aren't about food.

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Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection. With your American host, Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, and Aubrey Carter, the ielts whiz, coming to you from Arizona and New York City, usa. To get real time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven day free trial@allearsenglish.com app.

Michelle Kaplan

Have you heard something described as Facebook fishy or cheesy, but you could tell they weren't talking about food Today, Learn how to use these fun adjectives idiomatically to add flavor but not flavor to your vocabulary.

Aubrey Carter

Do you know a lot of English vocabulary but still struggle to find the right words? When it's time to speak, then this can make you feel isolated and disconnected from other people. That's exactly what our brand new course, Active Vocabulary is designed to fix. In just 20 minutes a day, you'll follow our step by step Active vocabulary system, which helps move your vocabulary from passive recognition to active use. You'll learn from real Allers English conversations, practice with speaking activities and build the confidence to use better words in real time. Plus, you'll be invited to our popular Open Conversation Club and fluency practice every week. But don't wait too long. This offer expires on Sunday. Save up to $100 before Sunday at midnight. Go to allearsenglish.com vocabulary to get into the course today. Allearsenglish.com vocabulary. Hello Michelle, how are you?

Michelle Kaplan

Hi, Aubry. I'm good. How are you? How was your weekend?

Aubrey Carter

Amazing. I have fun news. Okay, I'm gonna show everybody. If you're watching on YouTube at home, you'll be able to see this and if not, we'll have Michelle describe it. I got a tattoo.

Michelle Kaplan

Oh my God. Okay, so sleeve. Oh my gosh. Aubrey. So it was funny because when we were talking earlier, I was like, there was one moment where I was like, did I just see something? And then. And then, you know, we said, I'm tired. I don't know, like so. But I. Oh my gosh. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Does it look real Beautiful?

Aubrey Carter

I love it.

Michelle Kaplan

So this is a real. Wait, you go to.

Aubrey Carter

No, it's henna tattoo. It's henna on the video. It's Hard to. So, yeah, it's henna, but it is a full sleeve of henna tattoos, so you can come and look at it on YouTube if you are listening on the podcast Beautiful. I am obsessed. And. Okay, here's the story really quickly. I was at my daughter's birthday party, and a woman had a full sleeve of tattoos that I loved. They were so beautiful. And I was telling her, I'm like, I love your tattoos. I've always wanted a sleeve like that. And she was like, why haven't you done it? I said, I don't know. I just never have. I don't love needles. And I told her, now I'm too old. And she was like, yeah, I got mine when I was young. And I was like, that's not. You're supposed to say, you're not too old. And then she was like, why don't you just get a henna tattoo? She's like, then it's not needles. She's like, you could just get a full sleeve of henna. And I was like, I've never thought about that. We'll do henna tattoos for our kids sometimes on the beach in Rocky Point. Artists will come by and offer, and they'll get, like, a little tatt, their arm, whatever. But I've never gotten one. I've just never even thought about it. And I especially hadn't thought about getting a whole sleeve. And so I, like, looked at her, and I was like, I'm gonna go do that right now. And I left. I called another mom to pick my, you know, our kids up from the birthday party. And I went to a henna shop, and for the next three hours, I was there getting this henna tattoo, and it was so fast.

Michelle Kaplan

How long it. Well, it's beautiful.

Aubrey Carter

And at first, it's very dark before the ink flakes off. So I got home, and my husband saw it, and it looked. It looks more like a real tattoo when it's really dark before the ink flakes off. And he was, like, flabbergasted. Just like, oh. Because I've never even really talked about getting a tattoo. It's not something that would be on his radar. So that was fun. And so I shocked you, and I shocked him. And maybe everybody listening at home, everybody on YouTube.

Michelle Kaplan

Wait, so how long will it last?

Aubrey Carter

A couple weeks. If they. They said if you don't get really hot water on it and keep it out of direct sunlight, it should last two weeks.

Michelle Kaplan

So.

Aubrey Carter

But now that I have it, I love it so much. I'm like, Maybe I need a full sleeve of real tattoos. Maybe I can handle needles because I love it so much.

Michelle Kaplan

You could start with something small, and then, you know.

Aubrey Carter

See, that's not really me, though. I'll probably just get the whole sleeve all at once. No, I'm joking. I think I would start with a small one and see if I can handle the needles. See if we. You know, we'll see. We'll see. Do you have any tattoos, Michelle?

Michelle Kaplan

No, but I. But, like, I. I do think they're really cool, and sometimes I think about getting one, but I don't know, maybe.

Aubrey Carter

I was always jealous of Jessica's tattoos.

Michelle Kaplan

I know.

Aubrey Carter

I was just thinking you made me think of Jessica.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah. Oh, gosh. Hers are awesome. Well, I remember I did get a henna tattoo when I went to my friend's wedding in India, and I had it, like, on my hand for a while, and I. And I did. Really? I liked it, but, yeah, I haven't since. But that's really awesome.

Aubrey Carter

There were two henna artists at this shop, and while she did my sleeve, which took a lot of time, like, four different girls cycled through the other artists getting small tattoos on their hands. And it was fun to, like, watch this beautiful art, you know, be really done on their hands. And then they were always like, whoa, a whole sleeve. That's cool. I was like, yeah, I don't know.

Michelle Kaplan

Why not?

Aubrey Carter

That's awesome.

Michelle Kaplan

Well, looks beautiful. Enjoy it. And then, yeah, we'll see where the wind blows you, Aubry.

Aubrey Carter

I know, I know. It's interesting because it's not on the inside of my arm. I want it. At first, I wanted the full sleeve that goes all the way around your arm, but she said that won't work because that, like, in order, like, you'd have to do the top, and it's wet for a long time while it dries. She's like, you wouldn't be able to turn your arm and have her do the bottom right away. You'd have to come back another time or. And so I was like, just do

Michelle Kaplan

it on the top. We're good. Yeah, that sounds good. Yeah. Beautiful.

Aubrey Carter

I love the main part of my arm that people see. It's not like I'm showing people the underside of my arm very often, though. I just did it twice on YouTube. Well, I'm excited to dive into some vocab today, Michelle. Now that I've shared my exciting news, I was excited to show it to you.

Michelle Kaplan

That's awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you. Another question that is not about tattoos. But okay. Do you know any cheesy jokes?

Aubrey Carter

O, yes. As a mom, I think the average parent has a few cheesy jokes up their sleeve ready for the opportune moment. Cuz kids, I think love cheesy. My kids love cheesy jokes. So here's when I told my kids the other day, okay, why did the scarecrow win an award?

Michelle Kaplan

Okay, why?

Aubrey Carter

Because he was outstanding in his field. Ah, I like it. That is a cheesy one. It is cheesy. It took him just a second because outstanding is not a word that my kids use a lot. They know what it means, but it's not super common. So they got the literal meaning that a scarecrow would be a outstanding in a field, like a corn field. But then to think of the adjective outstanding meaning like worthy of receiving an award, that that second meaning took them a second to get. But I love the moment when they have the this realization. I don't explain it to them. I give them time to like, figure out what the double meaning is, like what makes it a joke. And it's always fun when they're like,

Michelle Kaplan

h. I get it. Yeah, exactly.

Aubrey Carter

Exactly.

Michelle Kaplan

Oh, that's so funny. Very cute, Aubry. I like it. So, Aubry, when we talk about cheesy jokes, we're obviously not talking about food. We're not talking about like, oh, the taste. Cheesy. Right. But there are several adjectives that describe food but have a completely different idiomatic meaning. So today we're gonna answer a listener question about these. About this, of cheesy. And then another word.

Aubrey Carter

Yes, a few words like this that we use to describe something in English that is totally unrelated to the food that you would sing. They're the idiomatic. So yeah, I'll go ahead and read the question. This is from YouTube. Remember you guys can leave comments on the YouTube videos. If you came to YouTube to see my tattoo, leave a comment while you're here. Let me know what you think of my Hannah. Let me know if you think I should get a full sleeve of tattoos or not. I'll take all feedback and commentary with an under advisement, which means I'll consider it and then I'm going to do whatever I want. All right, here's our comment. This was From Tomoko F U1Q who said, thank you always for your podcasts and videos. You're welcome to mogo and thank you for the comment.

Michelle Kaplan

Thank you.

Aubrey Carter

And then they said, I'd like to know the difference between fishy and cheesy. And more examples with them. They sound funny to me, and that's because they are funny. I love these words.

Michelle Kaplan

They are. Yeah. I mean, I can definitely thank you for the question and the comment. And yeah, I mean, I can definitely understand why English learners would be confused about these because the difference isn't very obvious. But people do use them, and they're really good for connection because they're so playful and they add personality and humor to your conversations. But they definitely seem weird to describe things as fishy or cheesy if. If you don't know what they mean. Right.

Aubrey Carter

If you don't know what they actually mean, you could be confused because something can smell fishy, and it means it smells like actual fish, like the ocean fish. And something can taste cheesy. Like you said, cheesy crackers, cheesy pizza. But what we're talking about today is idiomatic meanings that are unrelated to those more literal meanings. So I'm excited to dive into this. We're going to teach you four expressions like this, where we're using food words but not actually talking about food at all. And they're very casual. They're perfect for everyday conversations.

Michelle Kaplan

Exactly. And guys, remember to hit the follow button if you haven't already. Wherever you are listening to the Allers English podcast or if you're on YouTube, hit subscribe. So you never miss anything from us.

Aubrey Carter

Yeah. So let's dive in with the first one. When we're not obviously talking about food and something that smells fishy, what does that mean to call something fishy? Michelle?

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah, well, if we're not talking about food, it means something is suspicious, dishonest, or just not quite right. So if something is fishy, you. You have this feeling that someone might not be telling the truth or maybe they're doing something they shouldn't, or you just don't really trust them. A situation.

Aubrey Carter

Exactly. So actually, I may have used that this weekend because my son told me something that had happened at school, and I was like, that sounds a little fishy. I need more details. And long story short, he shared some things that his teacher had said. She was comparing his class to another class, and he found out about it because my daughter, they're twins, my daughter is in the other class. And so they sort of had more information than most kids would have. And she basically was telling the other class, you're my favorite class. You're by far the better class. You're more well behaved. And then she was even saying some things to my son's class, like that, like, they're the better class. They're more well. So I had to contact the principal. So I was like, this is. That's not cool. Great. Like, this is discouraging. It's making. Well, like, sad, you know?

Michelle Kaplan

So wait, and how. And how old? What grade again?

Aubrey Carter

He's 11. He's in sixth grade.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah. That doesn't sound like a great.

Aubrey Carter

Because there. That's definitely still the age where it really matters to them what their teacher thinks of them and that their teacher likes them. And he was devastated. He's devastated, you know, so it was good. The principal took it very seriously, and it's speaking to the teacher. And I'm really glad because it's. I've certainly heard of teachers doing worse things. Pretty minor in comparison to what could happen, but a big deal to a small child, you know?

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah.

Aubrey Carter

So anyway, that's one example of something being a bit fishy. When your kid tells you something and things aren't adding up, up. They're like, giving d. And then you're like, I need the whole story so that I can understand what sounds off to me. Right.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah. Well, I'm glad you said something. Aubry. Let's do another.

Aubrey Carter

Let's do a role play.

Michelle Kaplan

So here we go. It's a little fishy that he suddenly changed his story.

Aubrey Carter

Yeah. I definitely don't trust him. That's a great example. When someone is telling you something and you can tell that details aren't matching up. And this is different. Like, when my son told this story, it wasn't that I didn't believe him. It was that I could tell he was leaving things out. Out. And I could tell. Right. He, like, didn't want to get in trouble. He didn't want anything to happen. But this can also happen where someone's lying and you can tell something's fishy because you. You can tell from their demeanor that they don't seem like they're being truthful.

Michelle Kaplan

Right. Yeah. All right. Here's another example. The hotel keeps quoting me a different price.

Aubrey Carter

The price shouldn't keep changing like that. Something's fishy.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Aubrey Carter

How about he said he was sick.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah. But then he posted photos at the beach.

Aubrey Carter

Oh, seems fishy. Yeah. We've all been there where someone calls out sick because they're going on a vacation and then something happens, or you realize that actually they were going on vacation. Yeah, it happens with social media. It's harder to get away with it. Like, you can't be posting on social media.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah. You gotta yeah, that's not a good idea. That's really funny. So, okay, let's get into cheesy. So cheesy is basically your try. I think we've talked about this a little bit on the show before, but it's, it's basically trying too hard to be funny or romantic. But it's, it's really hard to define this word, actually.

Aubrey Carter

It's tricky and there's a fine line. There's a fine line between a joke that's just funny and one that you would call cheesy and, and there are different definitions. The joke I told about the scarecrow, some people would just be like, that's a great joke. Other people would be like, that's really cheesy. So that's kind of a matter of opinion as well.

Michelle Kaplan

Right. So it might be a little embarrassing or cliche and it sounds light hearted. So it's not overly offensive. I guess somebody could get offended if you say that, you know, something they said is cheesy or that they are.

Aubrey Carter

Especially if they try to make a romantic gesture and you accuse it of being cheesy or they write you like a sweet note and you call it cheesy. I feel like that would be devastating to me if I tried to do something heartfelt and romantic and someone called it cheesy. I would be devastated.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah, yeah.

Aubrey Carter

Cuz you're being vulnerable. You're putting yourself out there and maybe it is a little cheesy, but you're being willing to be vulnerable and a little cheesy to show you care for someone. So I would never, like, if someone did that for me, I would never be like, this is a little cheesy. I think that's so mean.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah, that would definitely hurt someone's feelings if they're trying to do something like genuine romantic and you say cheesy. So. But this is often used to describe jokes. Like we said movies, like I'm like a romantic comedy would be, you know, might have, might be a little bit cheesy depending on which one it is. Pickup lines, marketing slogans. You know, I'm thinking of, you know, when they have commercials for pharmaceutical drugs. Like on that everyone's dancing and singing and you're just like, oh my gosh. Right?

Aubrey Carter

This is a little cheesy. I would say that Broadway musicals are cheesy. I love them. I love them. But I've had this conversation with Jessica. She hates, she hates musicals. All musicals. She won't watch them. She thinks they're so cheesy. And I get it like, I get that they're cheesy. I don't disagree. I love them anyway. Sometimes I really like things that are cheesy. Do you like musicals, Michelle?

Michelle Kaplan

Well, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, I will. So I'll say this. I. I do love musicals. It depends on the musical. Some are too cheesy for me, but Dan is of the opinion that they're pretty much all cheesy. And yeah, I can't. Can't really watch them.

Aubrey Carter

I get it. I'm not saying they're not cheesy. I think my husband might agree and just be like, no, this is too cheesy. I can't do it. But sometimes they really depends, though. Yeah, sometimes they really. And different music, like some of the older ones are more cheesy. Like My Fair lady might be really cheesy. The newer ones, like Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen are not as cheesy. I feel like the modern musicals are not as cheesy. So, yeah, it depends. But this is. We're going to get into just a second into like, you know, more examples with cheesy and a role play. So we will show you those right after the break.

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Aubrey Carter

e e okay, Michelle, so let's give some examples with Cheesy here. For example, did you hear his pickup line?

Michelle Kaplan

Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? So cheesy.

Aubrey Carter

Oh, that is cheesy. And a lot of that is in the cliche of it, right everyone's heard this pickup. It's the prime example of a cliche pickup line that everyone would have heard. And so it's cheesy. It's really cheesy. Don't use that pickup line, guys.

Michelle Kaplan

No. Or here's another one. What did you think of the Hawaiian themed party?

Aubrey Carter

It was fun, but the decorations were a bit cheesy. So. Yeah, this might be stuff you bought at the dollar store that's a little bit more like bright colors. And it's not those, like, you know, really classy decorations. Like, it's maybe more like big flowers and. And then it might seem a little cheesy, but, like, my kids would love that. My kids love cheesy decorations. Yeah, it depends on the party. Sometimes you want cheesy, Right?

Michelle Kaplan

Right. Exactly. There's a time and a place.

Aubrey Carter

Exactly. And then how about this? Because sometimes people like cheesy things, right? So I might say we've talked about love, actually on the show, and though it has its faults, I still love it.

Michelle Kaplan

Oh, I watch it every Christmas. I love cheesy holiday movies.

Aubrey Carter

Yeah, I. I still love love, actually. I do too. This is very true for me, I reckon. I watch it now. I still watch it every Christmas. We've talked about on the podcast before, but I recognize it's false. There is fat shaming that shouldn't be there, but I can forgive its faults, recognize it as a product of its time. I'm grateful that we have evolved and those jokes wouldn't be in a movie now, or at least would be less likely. And I can still love it. And I love the cheesiness. I love the ending. I love everything about. I love not everything. I love that movie.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah, me too. It's. It's the best.

Aubrey Carter

All right, let's do a role play here, Michelle, with cheesy and fishy to show how they might look in a conversation. I'll start us out. Ready? Yes. Hey, did you hear about Jake's business opportunity?

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah, I don't know. It sounds kind of fishy to me.

Aubrey Carter

Yeah. He said we could get rich overnight.

Michelle Kaplan

That's already a red flag. Anytime someone says that, it's usually fishy.

Aubrey Carter

I agree. And the way you presented it was sort of over the top, Right?

Michelle Kaplan

All those dramatic lines like, this will change your life forever. So cheesy.

Aubrey Carter

Yes. I almost laughed out loud when he paused for effect.

Michelle Kaplan

Oh, same here. I felt like he was acting in a low budget movie.

Aubrey Carter

Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna sign up. What about you?

Michelle Kaplan

Not a chance. It's both fishy and cheesy. Worst combo ever.

Aubrey Carter

Exactly. Let's stick to normal ways of making money.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah. Less drama, fewer scams. Exactly.

Aubrey Carter

Oh, that would be so tricky. Imagine like a friend is pitching to both of us like a multi level marketing scam and we're just like trying to be polite and save the friendship, but we're like, oh, no, they no, thank you. No, thank you.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah, this was really great. Like a way to combine both of these and give lots of examples. So I really like this role play. So yeah, you said, how did you hear, did you hear about Jake's business opportunity? And you were saying that in this way of already you have almost like judgment quotes.

Aubrey Carter

Right. If I wrote that, I would write quotes around it. Kind of like business opportunity, question mark.

Michelle Kaplan

Right. And I said, yeah, I don't know, it sounds kind of fishy to me. So I here you, we need more information. Why does that sound fishy? So that's what you give next. So what did you say? You said, you said, oh yeah, you said, he said we could get rich overnight, right? Yep.

Aubrey Carter

And then you're like, that's a red flag. Anything like that. And when someone says that, it's pretty fishy. And then I said, yeah, this just seems over the top. And you said one of his lines, one of the things he said you called cheesy. This will change your life forever. That's a kind of a cliche line. Feels cheesy, right?

Michelle Kaplan

Yes. And then let's see, the next thing is. Oh, I said, you said, so are you going to join? And I said, not a chance. It's both fishy and cheesy. Worst combination ever.

Aubrey Carter

That is the worst combo ever. Imagine fishy and cheesy. I'll pass. I'm passing on something that's fishy and cheesy.

Michelle Kaplan

Yeah.

Aubrey Carter

But guys, stay for follow for part two. We are going to do a part two. This is a two part series with other words we use that are related to food. But we use them like this where we're not talking about food, we're talking about something else like nutty and peachy. So definitely hit follow so that you don't miss that. And if you'd missed it, go check out episode 2652. That was just yesterday's episode. When to call it the American narrative toward perseverance.

Michelle Kaplan

Love it. All right, this was fun. Aubry. I hope you guys didn't think this episode was fishy or cheesy.

Aubrey Carter

I hope you don't think my tattoo is Cheesy or fishy. My daughter actually, this is funny. When I got it, my daughter was a little giving me the side eye and she went and googled if Hannah tattoos are cultural appropriation. And then she came and luckily she reported to me that it is not cultural appropriation. It is considered cultural appreciation. And I was like, thank goodness because I didn't even consider that. And I would have been more. I would have had to wear long sleeves for weeks if I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I do. I appreciate every culture that does use henna tattoos as part of their culture. I think it's beautiful. Any celebration that incorporates that, I love. So I'm glad that this, I hope everyone out there sees this as cultural appreciation, as I do and. But you don't. I actually would love to hear from you. Leave a comment on our YouTube and let's start the discourse. Do you think this is cultural appreciation and do you approve or not? If you feel like no. You know, we have henna tattooing in my culture and. And I don't think Aubry should be doing it. I would like to hear that too. That would be really interesting for me. So come back to YouTube, leave a comment on this video and yeah, we'll report on the podcast what the results are. I want to know. Aren't you curious, Michelle?

Michelle Kaplan

I am curious, yeah. All right, Aubry, well, enjoy the tattoo and guys, we will see you on the next epis.

Aubrey Carter

So see you guys next time. Bye.

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Michelle Kaplan

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Michelle Kaplan

Fantastic.

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Michelle Kaplan

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Aubrey Carter

A fake email cost me my dream home. After I sent my personal information to a scammer, my AI agent wired thousands to an account I'd never seen.

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