AEE 2415: 5 Phrasal Verbs to Wash Away English Stress

Summary

All Ears English Podcast Summary

Episode: AEE 2415: 5 Phrasal Verbs to Wash Away English Stress
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan
Release Date: May 27, 2025

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Introduction

In episode 2415 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan delve into the versatile world of phrasal verbs centered around the word "wash." This episode is tailored for intermediate to advanced English learners seeking to enhance their conversational skills and understanding of nuanced expressions in American English.

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Listener Question: Exploring "Wash" Phrasal Verbs [03:02]

The episode kicks off with a listener question that sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of phrasal verbs involving "wash." The listener seeks clarity on expressions like "wash over me" and "wash up," particularly confused by the sentence, "the wreckage washed up months later."

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Deep Dive into "Wash" Phrasal Verbs

1. Wash Up [04:28]

   • Meaning 1: To wash one's hands or body, often used in the context of preparing for a meal.
     • Michelle: "It means wash your hands. So go and wash your hands, right? And get ready for dinner."
   • Meaning 2: To clean dishes or the kitchen after a meal.
     • Michelle: "I might say, 'I'll wash up. You guys go sit and chat.' That means I'm going to do the dishes and clean the kitchen."

2. Wash Over [08:31]

   • Meaning 1: To affect someone strongly, often with emotions or physical sensations.
     • Michelle: "Waves of nausea washed over him," indicating a strong feeling affecting someone.
   • Meaning 2: To happen to someone without affecting them, implying indifference.
     • Michelle: "I let her insults wash over me," meaning the insults did not affect her.

3. Wash Off [07:13]

   • Meaning: To remove something from the surface by washing.
     • Michelle: "I need to wash the sand off my feet."

4. Wash Away [07:34]

   • Meaning: To be removed by water, often used in contexts like weathering or natural phenomena.
     • Michelle: "The rain washed away the footprints," meaning the water removed the footprints.

5. Wash Down [08:38]

   • Meaning: To drink something after eating or consuming food.
     • Michelle: "Can I trouble you for a glass of water to wash it down with?"

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Personal Anecdotes and Examples

Lindsay shares a memorable experience where she encountered a whale carcass washed up on the beach of Block Island, Rhode Island [05:02]. This vivid example illustrates the literal meaning of "washed up," showcasing how phrasal verbs can be contextually rich and varied.

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Role-Play Scenario: Applying "Wash" Phrasal Verbs [13:08]

To contextualize the phrasal verbs, Lindsay and Michelle engage in a role-play set at a dinner party. This interactive segment demonstrates how these expressions naturally fit into everyday conversations.

• Example Dialogue:
  • Michelle: "I'm just going to wash up. I was painting our kitchen today and just noticed I still have paint on my hands that I need to wash off."
  • Lindsay: "Waves of anxiety just wash over me whenever I think about tackling that project."

This segment emphasizes the importance of context and intonation in understanding and using phrasal verbs correctly.

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Connection Moment: Childhood Memories [17:24]

The hosts reflect on how phrases like "wash up for dinner" evoke personal and nostalgic memories, highlighting the podcast's focus on connection over perfection. This discussion encourages listeners to share their own experiences, fostering a sense of community and engagement.

• Michelle: "Anytime you talk about childhood like that, especially something very simple like this. Right. What did your parents say to call you in for dinner to let you know dinner was ready?"

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Teasers for Upcoming Episodes [17:50]

Lindsay and Michelle tease future content, including an episode comparing phrasal verbs that have the same form but opposite meanings. This upcoming discussion promises to further unravel the complexities of English phrasal verbs, enhancing learners' comprehension and usage.

• Michelle: "Let's do it. Hit follow, guys, so you don't miss that episode. That's going to be interesting too."

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Conclusion

Episode 2415 of the All Ears English Podcast offers an in-depth and engaging examination of phrasal verbs with "wash," complete with practical examples, personal anecdotes, and interactive role-plays. By dissecting each phrasal verb's meaning and usage, Lindsay and Michelle provide listeners with valuable tools to enhance their English fluency and conversational prowess.

Notable Quotes:

• Michelle Kaplan [04:28]: "It means wash your hands. So go and wash your hands, right? And get ready for dinner."
• Michelle Kaplan [08:38]: "Can I trouble you for a glass of water to wash it down with?"
• Lindsay McMahon [17:24]: "What did your parents say to call you in for dinner to let you know dinner was ready?"

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Additional Resources

Listeners are encouraged to submit their questions and engage with the All Ears English community through their website allearsenglish.com. For personalized learning, the All Ears English app offers real-time transcripts and customizable vocabulary lists, enhancing the learning experience.

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Stay Connected

Subscribe to the All Ears English Podcast to stay updated on future episodes and continue your journey toward speaking American English like a native. Remember, it's all about connection, not perfection!

Transcript

[A]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2415 Five Phrasal Verbs to Wash Away English Stress 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, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, 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 7 day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slapp.

[B]

Do you want to wash away the anxiety of phrasal verbs? Listen in today as we explain five different phrasal verbs and what they mean for connection conversations. Ready to push your English to the advanced level? Want to have fast back and forth conversations with native speakers where the conversation doesn't hit a dead end? Announcing a special offer on our C1 English fluency course packed with tons of ways to practice your speaking. Special offer this week only. You can save up to $100 off the normal price. Plus get our new AI conversation guides to continue with the conversation and get unlimited speaking practice. Enroll [e-mail] C1 offer ends June 1st at midnight. Hey Lindsay, how are you?

[A]

I'm doing fantastic today, Aubrey. How are you?

[B]

Great. I have a question. When you were a kid, what did your parents say to tell you dinner was ready?

[A]

Oh, what did they tell me? They said dinner's ready.

[B]

They just said dinner's ready. My mom always said wash up for dinner.

[A]

Every time.

[B]

Every time. That's how we knew dinner was ready. Would hear her yell wash up for dinner.

[A]

Up for dinner.

[B]

I love it. I love it. What does that mean, wash up? Lindsay?

[A]

It means wash your hands. So go and wash your hands, right? And get ready for dinner. So many different things are said and it says so much about our families, right? Really interesting.

[B]

Do we have probably was because we were playing outside, so we were probably all muddy and filthy often, right? We were like playing outside on a farm. So it was like, come in and wash your hands.

[A]

Oh, you had a good life, a good childhood, right?

[B]

I love that. We got a great question about this phrasal verb, wash up and other phrasal verbs with wash. There are so many in English and we're going to dive into some of these today.

[A]

Yeah, guys. By the way, don't forget to send your topic questions into support. Allersenglish.com and we'll make sure they get on our list if they're a good, specific question. Here's the question. Could you please help me out with a phrasal verb like wash? Like wash over me and wash up. Especially because I was confused when someone said the wreckage washed up months later. Thank you so much for your help. And this is from one of our loyal listeners.

[B]

Yes. Such a great question. And I can see where this would be confusing if you're reading an article and it says the wreckage washed up and the only time you've seen wash up is to mean wash your hands. Right. Wash something. That's a totally different meaning of the same phrasal verb.

[A]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Really interesting. I love this, guys. Before we get into the answer for our listener today, don't forget the the best to get transcripts for the podcast. Get tappable keywords that you can save to your power list is inside our iOS Android app. Aubrey, where can we get the app?

[B]

Yeah, go to allearsenglish.com app A P. This is the best place to add vocabulary to your list. It's really easy. We organize it for you. So then 5, 6, 7 keywords, every transcript, every episode, you're going to be able to add to your own vocabulary list. Yeah.

[A]

So go over. Use the app to make your own list. Good stuff. Okay, Aubry, where should we start? The question was about wash up.

[B]

Exactly. And wash over me. But let's dive in first to wash up. This does have two very distinct meanings. The first is this. The wreckage washed up months later. That means to wash up on shore, on a beach. So something was in the ocean, or maybe a sea, a really big lake, and the waves pushed it onto the beach. So it'd say it washed up on the beach by ending up on the beach after it was out in the water.

[A]

This happened to me once. I was in Block island in Rhode island, which is kind of a. It's like a version of Martha's Vineyard or. Or Nantucket, but less yuppy, less fancy. It's a better Nantucket. And I was down on the beach and we were walking around on the beach. It was, you know, a cloudy day. All of a sudden, we look over there and there's a huge whale carcass. Just a huge whale. I'd never seen anything like it before. The whale carcass was washed up on the beach. Super cool. It was a really cool experience, actually. There's real nature right there in front of you. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. It's interesting because I had a different I'm like, oh, that's so sad. Like, it was so cool. I'm like, lindsay, a whale died.

[A]

No, don't worry. That feeling was in there, too. But it was more just the stark size of it, and it inspired a sense of awe. Awe about nature, right?

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. Because it's one thing to see whales breaching in the distance when they're. It's right there, washed up on the shore. I'm sure it's crazy how gigantic it is.

[A]

Incredible. Incredible. So what else do we need to know here, Aubrey?

[B]

Yeah, so this can happen. Animals, of course. But also, like, if someone loses jewelry, you'd say, I lost my necklace in the water, but it washed up on the shore the next day. So this is just a phrasal verb that we use to mean something came from the water and ended up on shore, on the beach.

[A]

But then what your parents said to you was not anything about something coming up onto the beach, right?

[B]

Exactly. It's the same phrasal verb, wash up, which means to either wash oneself, your hands, your body. I'm going to go wash up. I will say this after playing sand volleyball because I'll have sand all on my feet and legs from diving in the sand. I'm like, I'm just going to go wash up really quick.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

But also we use it to mean, like, to clean up after a meal or wash the dishes. Right. I might say, I'll wash up. You guys go sit and chat. That means I'm going to do the dishes and clean the kitchen.

[A]

I love it. And then we could say wash away if we want to add the preposition away. And this is to be removed by water. So I might actually say in my style, I might say, I'm going to wash away the sand from my legs. Right. I. It's not very natural for me personally to say wash up for whatever reason. I didn't say it as a kid, but I might say wash off. Wash off the water. Wash the water off.

[B]

Yeah, we have wash off. We'll just jump to that one here. So that's to remove something from the surface of something by washing. And that's how I would say say that more often, too. Right. I need to wash the sand off my feet. I need to wash the dirt off my hands. So we'll say wash off when we're talking about just like something on the surface. So a few options here, really.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. What else, Aubrey? What else do we need to know for our listeners?

[B]

And for wash away, we'll Also say this if, like, imagine after a crime scene, and they're asking why. Why don't we have, you know, footprints? Why don't we have this? And then say, well, it rained that night. The rain washed away the footprints. So that means it just was removed by water. But we wouldn't say the rain washed off the footprints. Right. If they had been made in mud or in snow or something, then we would say, wash away. They got washed away by the rain.

[A]

Yes. I love it. And then what about wash down? This is totally different. Right?

[B]

Right. Yeah. It's crazy how many phrasal verbs there are with wash. You add a preposition, it becomes a totally different meaning. So this means to drink something after eating. So I might say, I ate a handful of pretzels and washed them down with a glass of beer.

[A]

Yeah, it's a casual way of saying that you needed liquid to consume the food. Right. Or you're just saying I drank something after that.

[B]

Right, exactly right. Washed it down.

[A]

I love it. And then wash over. Did we talk about that one yet? I don't think so.

[B]

This one's next. And there are two meanings for this. So the first meaning. This is kind of a crazy one because the meanings are complete opposites.

[A]

Oh, no.

[B]

First it means to affect someone strongly. So, for example, when waves of nausea washed over him. And that means he was very nauseated. Right. Wasn't feeling well. I'd always say, oh, waves of this, or waves of anger or irritation might wash over someone. Means they're being very affected by it.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. And then the second meaning, literally, I've never thought about this before, Aubry. But the second meaning is literally the exact opposite. We're gonna have to do a separate episode maybe in a couple months, just about these two. The. Yeah, the two meanings.

[B]

We could find a few other phrasal verbs that do this, where it's the exact same verbs with opposite meanings. So this one, the opposite meaning is to happen to someone without affecting them. Like, for example, if someone insulted me, I might say, I let her insults wash over me. That means I didn't let them affect me at all. I just totally ignored them.

[A]

So how would our listeners know from the context which one it is? Okay, I. I think just the context.

[B]

Right. What are they saying? Because you wouldn't. That, you know, if you're talking about nausea. Right. Waves of nausea washed over him. That's not something that you wouldn't care about. Wouldn't let affect you. Like, that clearly means you were being affected by that and then insults. This is sort of the tricky one because it could be that you let it affect you really strongly. Right. Her insults washed over me. Meaning, like, they really affected me a lot. So it's all going to be about intonation, I think.

[A]

I think there's context here, too. It's. Sure it's intonation. It's what do you know about that person and what their attitude is? Right. Are they easily hurt or not?

[B]

Yeah, I think.

[A]

I think the verb let gives us a little bit of a clue. I allowed something to just not impact me.

[B]

Interesting, because I could say, you know, I let her insults wash over me, meaning they didn't affect. But then if it's like I, you know, I let her insults. Well, I agree. I wouldn't say I let her insults wash over me. If they really affected me, I might say, like, her insults really washed over me. And that I'm saying they, like, did affect me.

[A]

So it's kind of the words around it. And then the other piece I would say is body language. I think someone might tend to shrug their shoulders like they don't care when they say that I let her insults wash over me.

[B]

Good point. So you're hearing it in your intonation, and there probably would be body language as well that you're saying like, I didn't care. It didn't bother me.

[A]

Oh, I love the idea of another episode in the future of taking two or three of these phrasal verbs that have exactly the opposite meanings.

[B]

Yeah, let's do it. Hit follow, guys, so you don't miss that episode. That's going to be interesting to be.

[A]

A really good one. All right, good stuff. I have learned after so many years as an entrepreneur that speed matters when it comes to hiring, but so does quality. You need the most qualified person on your team fast. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites in deeds. Sponsor Jobs helps you stand out and hire fast. With sponsor Jobs, your job post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. And it makes a huge difference. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Hiring from me in the past has felt overwhelming. Managing all of the incoming applications, making sure you write the job ad in a way that attracts top talent. That's what I love about indeed. It speeds up the process and makes it easier. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring Right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com AEE just go to Indeed.com A E E right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com a e e that's I n--e dashed.com a e e Terms and conditions do apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Okay, Aubry, we are back from break and here in our signature role play. You are attending a dinner party at my house. Well, that's good because I love to host dinner parties.

[B]

Perfect. Because I love to attend dinner parties. I like to host, too.

[A]

Perfect.

[B]

All right, I'll start us. I'm just going to wash up. I was painting our kitchen today and just noticed I still have paint on my hands that I need to wash off.

[A]

We've been meaning to paint. It's such a big job, though. Waves of anxiety just wash over me whenever I think about tackling that project.

[B]

Also, I need to take some ibuprofen. Can I trouble you for a glass of water to wash it down with?

[A]

Of course. I'll grab one for you. Nice.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah, we used a lot of them, but pretty natural conversation at the same time, right?

[B]

Absolutely. That's what's tricky. Or what's interesting about phrasal verbs. They have such different meanings that native speakers, as we're using them, we're not even really thinking about how they're related to wash or that wash is part of it because the meanings are so different. So you might hear them all in one conversation. Like this.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. So let's go through it. So here you first said, I'm just gonna wash up. So do you mean you're gonna wash dishes or wash your car or what do you say?

[B]

Yeah, you'd have to know from context, right? I mean, I'm going to wash my hands. I'm just gonna wash up means I'm going to wash my hands. But if I. If it's after dinner and I'm offer, especially if it's at my house, I think I'd say I'm going to wash up. I wouldn't say that at someone else's house. I'd be like, can I help clean up? Right.

[A]

That's really interesting, too. There's kind of like a. At like a homey meaning to wash up, right?

[B]

Yeah, it definitely implies, like, you're cleaning your own mess or your kitchen. Right. You wouldn't offer to help at someone else's house saying like, can I wash up or can I help you wash up. No, that's really how I would say it. Yeah.

[A]

It's subtle, but it's interesting. It's important to know. And then you said, and just noticed I still have paint on my hands that I need to wash off. Okay. So now we're kind of.

[B]

I'm gonna go wash up. Like I'm saying, like, oh, I need to wash my hands before I eat. And then I say, I've realized I have paint on my hands that I need to wash off. I could even say scrub off. Because when you have paint on your hands, it isn't usually just like, rinse really easy. It's like, you're gonna have to wash it off.

[A]

Scrub. Yeah. Scrub your hands, for sure. Fascinating. Then you said, we've been meaning to paint. It's just such a big job, though. Waves of anxiety wash over me whenever I think about tackling that project. So is this kind of the more serious one where it actually takes you over, or do you just let it go and you don't care?

[B]

Yeah. This is interesting because this is both in the vocabulary and the way you said it. If you go back and listen to Lindsay's anxiety intonation, first of all, if you're saying waves of anxiety, you're not going to be like, oh, those waves of anxiety didn't bother me at all. No, you would say this differently. You would choose different vocabulary. Right. Anxiety on its own is already heavy. And then also your intonation, you were like, waves of anxiety wash over me whenever I think about. So could hear the seriousness in the way you said it.

[A]

Yeah. And it's also just a common conversation topic you might have with friends that are homeowners. Oh, yeah, I know. I need to redo my kitchen and this and that. And you're always talking about things you need to. At least in my circle, people talking about things they need to fix in their house, they want to upgrade their kitchens, their bathrooms, that sort of thing.

[B]

Right. But maybe you're using the word stress and someone's asking if something's stressing you out. Be like, no, I'm just letting that stress wash over me. And that's when you're saying, like, I'm not letting it affect me at all. But you would use a serious word, maybe stress instead of anxiety.

[A]

Interesting. Well, there's a lot of subtleties here today, Aubry. And then you said, I need to take some ibuprofen. Can I trouble you for a glass of water to wash it down with?

[B]

Yeah. So this is that you just need liquid to wash something down. We'll often say this with medicine, food as well. But I kind of love this little bonus of ask of saying, can I trouble you for something? When you're asking for something, I do this a lot. I wouldn't be like, can I have a glass of water? Like, I often will try to be more polite and I'll say it this way, can I trouble you for a glass of water?

[A]

Right. You might feel like, like a kid might say, can I have a glass of water? Right. Just very matter of fact. But as an adult, you might want to be a little more polite, a little more delicate about it.

[B]

Right, Right. And this is one of those options. One of the ways that we ask politely for something.

[A]

Yes. Guys, go to episode 2408 when you finish up today. The episode is called Effect or Effect. How to avoid this common English mistake where we battled, battled it out around those two words. Right. The very common mistake for our listeners.

[B]

Yes. And we gave you pro tips of how to know which to use right one's. What's spelled with an A, ones with an E, they sound the same. So this is very tricky. Don't miss that episode to find out which to use.

[A]

Yes. I love it. And I think a connection moment here is about, you know, kind of remembering the phrases we used as kids in our households. You started the episode today by asking me that. That's a conversation that, you know, you have with a native speaker that could evoke positive memories for people. For sure.

[B]

Absolutely right. Anytime you talk about childhood like that, especially something very simple like this. Right. What did your parents say to call you in for dinner to let you know dinner was ready. It'd be interesting. Everyone's probably going to have a different answer.

[A]

Yeah. So start a conversation about that. Why not? And hit follow so that you're ready for that upcoming episode coming up in the next few months about comparing phrasal verbs that are exactly the same but have opposite meanings. Things. I'm excited.

[B]

Yes. It's gonna be a good one. Hit follow, guys.

[A]

All right. Good stuff. See you next time. Aubry. Have a good one.

[B]

Awesome. You too.

[A]

Bye Bye. Thanks for listening. To all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com forward/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 with the MX Gold card. You can run your errands and grab a pick me up from Duncan on Amex. Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits when you pay with the Gold card at Duncan Enrollment required terms apply. Learn [e-mail] US Explore Gold Jegaro Los.

[B]

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