AEE 2366: Don’t Blow Off This English Vocabulary Episode!

Summary

All Ears English Podcast Episode 2366: "Don’t Blow Off This English Vocabulary Episode!"

Release Date: March 3, 2025

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Introduction to the Episode

In Episode 2366 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan delve into the intricate world of English phrasal verbs, focusing specifically on those derived from the verb "blow." This episode is designed to help intermediate to advanced English learners enhance their vocabulary and grasp the nuanced meanings of phrasal verbs, making their speech sound more natural and native-like.

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Listener Question: Exploring "Blow" Phrasal Verbs

The episode centers around a thoughtful listener question from Mira, who seeks clarification on various phrasal verbs associated with "blow." Her query highlights the complexity and versatility of phrasal verbs, prompting a detailed exploration by the hosts.

Mira's Question:

"I know there are so many phrasal verbs related to blow, like blow up, blow off, blow out, and blow away. Could you guys elaborate on these phrases for me sometime?"
— Mira [03:00]

Deep Dive into "Blow" Phrasal Verbs

1. Blow Out [04:04]

• Primary Meaning: Refers to the act of getting a professional hair blowout.

  Michelle Kaplan explains:

  "A blowout is when somebody goes just to get their hair blow-dried in a really nice way." [02:49]

• Alternative Meaning: A sudden flat tire.

  Lindsay McMahon shares:

  "If you get a blowout on the freeway, that means we got a flat tire." [05:01]

2. Blow Up [05:56]

• Meaning 1: Inflate

  Example:

  "You blow up a balloon or an air mattress." [06:22]

• Meaning 2: Become Angry or Explode Emotionally

  Example:

  "I blew up at my boss yesterday." [06:34]

• Meaning 3: Become Popular Rapidly

  Michelle Kaplan notes:

  "Timothy Chalamet really blew up this year." [06:51]

3. Blow Off [07:37]

• Meaning: Dismiss or Ignore

  Lindsay explains:

  "He doesn't usually blow things off like this." [07:49]

  Michelle adds:

  "Sometimes you don't want somebody to think that you blew them off. There's probably another explanation." [08:13]

4. Blow Away [08:44]

• Meaning: Impress Greatly

  Example:

  "I was blown away when I saw her dress." [09:02]

  Personal Anecdote:

  "I hope he blows them away." [09:05] – Lindsay McMahon discussing her son's speech competition.

5. Blow Over [09:52]

• Meaning: Fade Away Without Serious Consequences

  Michelle Kaplan reassures:

  "I hope that blows over." [09:52]

  Lindsay adds:

  "It probably blow over, right?" [10:10]

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Roleplay: Applying Phrasal Verbs in Conversation [11:54 - 15:34]

To illustrate the practical use of these phrasal verbs, Lindsay and Michelle engage in a roleplay scenario where they incorporate "blow up," "blow off," "blow away," and "blow over" naturally within a conversation.

Key Highlights from the Roleplay:

• Blown Away:

  "You look so cute. I am blown away by your new hairstyle." [12:02]

• Blow Out (Flat Tire):

  "I had a blowout on the highway. It was awful again." [12:21]

• Blow Up (Lose Temper):

  "I blew up at my boss yesterday." [06:34]

• Blow Over:

  "I needed to get past this. I need to move past this. Let's let this blow over." [14:07]

This roleplay not only reinforces the meanings of the phrasal verbs but also demonstrates their appropriate contexts and usage in everyday conversations.

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Key Takeaways and Conclusion [15:01 - 15:51]

Michelle Kaplan summarizes:

"Phrasal verbs are very tricky because there are so many for each verb. They make your speech sound so much more native and natural." [15:19]

Lindsay McMahon emphasizes:

"You want to learn these phrasal verbs and add them to your conversations to make them more fluent and less formal." [15:34]

The episode concludes with the hosts reiterating the importance of mastering phrasal verbs to achieve greater fluency and sounding more like a native speaker. They encourage listeners to continue practicing and integrating these expressions into their daily English usage.

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Conclusion

Episode 2366 of the All Ears English Podcast masterfully breaks down the complexities of phrasal verbs derived from "blow," providing clear definitions, practical examples, and engaging discussions. By addressing a listener's specific question and demonstrating usage through roleplay, Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan offer valuable insights that empower English learners to enhance their vocabulary and conversational skills. This episode is a must-listen for those aiming to achieve fluency and connect more naturally in American English.

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For more episodes and resources, visit AllEarsEnglish.com.

Transcript

[Michelle Kaplan]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2366. Don't blow off this English vocabulary episode.

[Aubrey Carter]

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. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe.

[Lindsay]

Do you want people to be blown away when you speak English? So much of this is about using phrasal verbs. Today we'll help you differentiate between phrasal verbs you using the word blow. Listen in to learn how to use them today.

[Mira]

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[Michelle Kaplan]

I'm good, Aubry, how are you?

[Lindsay]

It's so fun to be back here with you today. And I have a question. Do you ever get a blowout?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, only when I am going to get my hair cut but I don't go. I know some people, they just go. They're not getting it cut or anything. They're just going for a blowout. I don't really do that. How about you?

[Lindsay]

Never done that. I've never gone into one of those dry bars. I see them, it's like this is the price for a blowout. I don't kind of have that kind of hair that I don't think that would really help that. But curious if you guys listen. If that exists elsewhere probably it's fairly new in the states that there are these dry bars where you would go just for like a blowout and a style.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So guys, a blowout, I mean it's, it's when somebody goes just to, to get their hair blow dried but in a really nice way. I mean not just oh, you're drying it after the shower or whatever. It's a really nice way. And for some people they, they can get that and you know, they don't have to wash their hair or do anything to it for a week. Right, Right. I don't have that kind of hair either.

[Lindsay]

Well, we got an interesting question today. There are so many phrasal verbs with this verb below that we're going to dive into today. Do you want to read this question for us, Michelle?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, I would love to. Here we go. It says, hello, Lindsay, Michelle, Jessica, and Aubry. This is Mira again. Hi, Mira. I've been listening to the Oller's English podcast for more than three years. I found listening to Allers English to be come part of my life when I drive, when I walk my dog, or even when I run some errands. Thank you guys for all the effort, and I appreciate that. Well, thank you so much, Mira, for listening.

[Lindsay]

And I know that I love this feedback.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I love. Yeah, I love your name, Mira, and I love your question and your feedback. So thank you so, so much. Now, here's the question. It says, I have a question about the phrasal verb below. I know there are so many phrasal verbs related to blow, like blow up, blow off, blow out, and blow away. Could you guys elaborate on these phrases for me sometime? I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Best regards, Mira. Thank you, Mira.

[Lindsay]

Yes. Such a good question. There are so many, and they all have such very different meanings. Phrasal verbs can be so tricky to keep straight. They're confusing when so many come from one verb. Like this.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah. And this is. This is one of those where there's just a ton. So we are going to get into a bunch of them today. Before we do, guys, we want to remind you to hit the follow button so you never miss anything from the Allers English podcast. Let us come to you. You don't have to go looking for us. We'll just come to you every day and say, hello, we're here. Yes.

[Lindsay]

We have five episodes every week. That is amazing. Very few podcasts do that. So it's fun that we're with you so many days of the week.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It is fun.

[Lindsay]

All right, let's dive in here. This first one, we talked about blowout when we're talking about hair, but it has another meaning, unfortunately. You can get a blowout on the highway. What does that mean, Michelle? You mean like when you're drying your hair?

[Michelle Kaplan]

When your tire, I would say, doesn't have any air in it and then your car is in trouble?

[Lindsay]

Exactly. Do you say this for a flat tire? If you get a flat tire, we say, we got a blowout.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's funny. I actually Don't. I would say flat tire. I wonder if it's a regional thing or if it's a. Something that I don't know about cars.

[Lindsay]

No, I'm curious, but I remember watching A Christmas Story this winter, and this is when he gets a flat tire on the highway and he says, ah, blowout. And that's how I grew up saying it. So at least it's me and the people in A Christmas Story. Yeah. Yeah. You would just say like, we had a blowout on the freeway. That means we got a flat tire.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, yes, exactly. So let's do blow up. So this one has some of these have even. I mean, even blow out. There are other meanings for that too. But blow up. There are at least three. So we're going to talk about three here today. So the first one is inflate. So you blow up a balloon or you blow up an air mattress. Aubrey, do you feel comfortable sleeping on an air mattress?

[Lindsay]

It depends on the air mattress. There are some newer ones that are actually quite comfortable, but when they lose air overnight or camping, then no. Terrible, Awful.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, I. I don't know. I just can't. I feel like exactly what it feels like. I feel like I'm sleeping on air and I can't. I don't know. I can't do it. It's just comfortable for me.

[Lindsay]

Yeah, for sure.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So you blow up a balloon, blow up an air mattress. Aubry. What's another one?

[Lindsay]

Yeah, the other. One of the other meanings for blow up is to become angry or yell or overre. You could say I blew up at my boss yesterday. This would mean you got really angry and probably yelled.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah, not good. Not a good one. This one is very interesting to become a popular fast. Timothy Chalamet really blew up this year. So that's the actor. He's in that new Bob Dylan movie.

[Lindsay]

Have you seen that? Have you watched? It's called A complete unknown. I haven't seen it either. I want to. It looks good.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. I think that was filmed near. Some of it was filmed very close to where I used to live. They converted a bookstore into, I think, a record shop.

[Lindsay]

Interesting.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. So that was exciting for a little while.

[Lindsay]

Yeah. You're gonna miss living where films are created sometimes and seeing the movie.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, we had that a lot. So that was interesting. Yeah. Timothy Chalamet. I always. I always have trouble with his name.

[Lindsay]

Yes. This kind of blowing up this way. It's like to become popular really fast and means you're hearing about them everywhere. They're in the news, they're in the media, everyone's talking about them. That's kind of what it means to blow up.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right, right, right, exactly. So now let's do blow off this on Very, very different. So this one is to dismiss or ignore or not prioritize.

[Lindsay]

Yeah. So you might say I'm surprised he didn't show up for the meeting. He doesn't usually blow things off like this. So. Yeah, it just means, like, you maybe didn't take it seriously. You didn't show up at all. I try never to blow anything off. If that. If someone thinks I did that, it was likely a mistake.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right. That's the thing. Sometimes you don't want somebody to think that you blew them off. Really? There's probably another explanation.

[Lindsay]

Right. And we probably shouldn't assume this about people because likely, like you said, there's an explanation. It was an accident. They're going to let you know why it's so rare that someone just intentionally blows you off. Off.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, exactly. Or here's another example. Is Mandy mad at me? I said hi to her and she just totally blew me off. Oh, Mandy.

[Lindsay]

Yeah, right. This would be like, you say hi and they just ignore you, look away, give you the cold shoulder. That's me. But that's pretty rare. But if they're mad at you, maybe.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yep, exactly. Or what's another one?

[Lindsay]

Blow away. This means impress. So, like, you are going to blow them away with your speech. And we often use this impassive voice to say, like, I was blown away when I saw her dress or whatever. Something that you're really impressed by.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Is there anything that's blown you away recently?

[Lindsay]

Oh, you know, I was just telling you, Michelle, about my son's speech. Yeah. Because this examples I've thought about this for my son. He won a speech competition at his elementary school, so now he's going to compete at the district level. And if he places there, he'll go on to the state level. I hope he blows them away. I definitely blown away by how hard he worked to memorize it.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's great. That's great. Oh, that's so. That's so special. So wishing him good luck and congrats to you. Thank you.

[Lindsay]

Yeah. So we have one last meaning here. Blow over. This means to sort of fade away without serious consequences. Often if something bad happens, you'll say like, oh, I hope that blows over. Meaning like, I hope we can get past it without too many negative results.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Yes, exactly. So I know this seems like a big deal, but It'll blow over. A lot of times we might do this or say this to reassure someone, maybe, oh, if they're nervous, nervous about some sort of consequence, you might say, oh, it'll probably blow over, right?

[Lindsay]

They don't show up to the meeting, someone thinks they blew them off, and you say, no big deal. It'll blow over. Right? They're all related.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly.

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[Lindsay]

All right, let's do a role play. Michelle, you and I are friends meeting for lunch in this roleplay. I'll start us out. Ready?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay.

[Lindsay]

You look so cute. I am blown away by your new hairstyle. Did you get a blowout today?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, thank you. Yes, I did.

[Lindsay]

It looks amazing. Hey, I'm so sorry I didn't show last week.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I was surprised. You don't usually blow things off like that. But then I got your text about car troubles. What happened?

[Lindsay]

I had a blowout on the highway. It was awful again.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That happened to you not long ago, right?

[Lindsay]

Yes, I have had bad luck with cars lately. I need it to blow over.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Did you change those tires yourself or call someone?

[Lindsay]

I tried the first time and couldn't get the lug nuts off, so then I blew up. I'm glad no one was there to see me yelling and stomping around. This would totally happen to me. I would like try I would get out the tool and try to get the lug nuts off, and then finally just call aaa.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I don't even know what a lug nut is.

[Lindsay]

That's those little bolts that, like, hold the tire on. I don't think I've tried. I've tried to get one off. I'm like, I need to see if I could change a tire if I had to. They're very, like, stubborn that it's hard to get him to move.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I bet. I have definitely not ever changed call.

[Lindsay]

To AAA from inside the car.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah, that's.

[Lindsay]

Oh, 100.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's what. That's what I was thinking right away.

[Lindsay]

Okay, let's go through this role play. I first said, I'm blown away by your new hairstyle. That means very impressed. I love it. And then I asked, did you get a blowout? So I'm asking if she, like, went to the salon for this special blowout.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And then we are going to talk about you not showing up last week. So I said, you don't usually blow things off like that. So you don't normally ignore things, dismiss things, not go to something you're supposed to?

[Lindsay]

Yeah, I'm usually more dependable than that. Right. But then you're asking about a text I had sent. I had let you know I wasn't able to be there because I had a blowout. A flat tire on the highway.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yep. And then you said, I've had bad luck with cars lately. I needed to blow over, so. So I needed to stop.

[Lindsay]

Right. I need to get past this. I need to move past this. Let's let this blow over. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. And then you said. What was the last thing you said?

[Lindsay]

And I was talking about the lug nuts. I said I couldn't get them off, so I blew up. So this would be like, I had, like, a mini temper tantrum there.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I got really mad at those lug nuts. Yeah.

[Lindsay]

Right. Frustrating.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, Very frustrating. So speaking of jumping around and being upset, we have an episode that we want you to listen to of the business English podcast. That's episode 341, do phrasal verbs jump out at you? So another good phrasal verb episode over on the business English podcast.

[Lindsay]

Yes. If you're not following over there, be sure you're following both shows right here at Allers English and Business English as well. Lots of great vocab phrasal words over there as well. So be sure to hit follow.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, so takeaway for today, Aubrey. Yeah. Phrasal verbs. People ask a lot about phrasal verbs and there's a reason for it. They're very tricky, right, because they have. There's so many for each verb. I mean, look at. We could have even gone on and on about just this one.

[Lindsay]

Exactly right. And they do make your speech sound so much more native and natural because often the verb that we're changing into all of these phrasal verbs is a little more formal, a little less common. So you want to learn these phrasal verbs and add them to your conversations.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly. All right. Well, thanks for hanging out Aubry today. This was fun and been enjoying recording with you. So nice to see you again.

[Lindsay]

So fun. I will see you next time. Bye, Michelle.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Bye.

[Aubrey Carter]

Thanks for listening. To all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com fluency score and if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.