AEE 2427: Make Your English Magical

Summary

Podcast Title: All Ears English Podcast
Episode: AEE 2427: Make Your English Magical
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan

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Introduction: Infusing Magic into Everyday English

In Episode AEE 2427: Make Your English Magical, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan delve into the enchanting world of English expressions derived from magic. Aimed at intermediate to advanced ESL learners, this episode explores how magical terminology seamlessly integrates into daily conversations, enhancing both vocabulary and conversational skills.

Key Themes:

• Understanding and using magic-related expressions in English
• Enhancing conversational fluency through thematic vocabulary
• Building connections by leveraging familiar concepts like magic

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Exploring Magic-Infused English Expressions

The episode begins with the hosts reminiscing about their personal connections to magic, setting a whimsical tone for the discussion.

Notable Quote:

"Sometimes we just say something is magic. Right? It's magic."
— Lindsay McMahon [05:00]

1. Do the Trick

Lindsay introduces the phrase "do the trick," explaining its versatility in making situations work or solving problems.

Example:

"No, there's a hole there. Just glue it. That'll do the trick."
— Michelle Kaplan [05:40]

Usage Context:
This expression is commonly used in everyday scenarios, from simple fixes like repairing household items to more complex interpersonal solutions.

2. Can't Wave a Magic Wand

Michelle and Lindsay discuss the phrase "can't wave a magic wand," highlighting its usage in expressing the inability to solve a problem effortlessly.

Notable Quote:

"I wish I could wave a magic wand and get rid of my allergies, but I can't."
— Dan [07:45]

Usage Context:
Often used in situations where a straightforward solution is unavailable, emphasizing the need for practical action over wishful thinking.

3. Work Someone's Magic

The hosts explore "work someone's magic," a compliment acknowledging someone's unique skills or expertise.

Example:

"Can you work your magic and get these undone?"
— Michelle Kaplan [11:00]

Usage Context:
Applicable in both professional settings, such as delegating tasks based on someone's strengths, and personal scenarios like fixing tangled necklaces.

4. Magic Touch

Lindsay and Michelle discuss the phrase "magic touch," referring to someone's exceptional ability to excel in specific tasks.

Notable Quote:

"She really has the magic touch."
— Michelle Kaplan [14:20]

Usage Context:
Used to describe individuals who bring exceptional skill or finesse to activities, whether it's cooking, editing, or any specialized task.

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Practical Applications and Role-Play

To provide listeners with practical understanding, the hosts engage in a role-play scenario demonstrating the use of the discussed phrases.

Role-Play Highlights:

• Scenario: Wrapping presents
• Dialogue Example:

  Michelle: "Can you work your magic and fix this?"
  Lindsay: "Okay, that'll do the trick."
  Michelle: "I can't just wave a magic wand and have bows. We need to buy them."
  — [16:00]

Insights:

• Demonstrates natural incorporation of magical expressions into everyday tasks
• Reinforces the contextual usage of each phrase

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Cultural Reflections on Presentation and Effort

The discussion transitions to cultural perspectives on presentation and effort, contrasting meticulous Japanese gift-wrapping with the more casual American approach.

Notable Quote:

"In Japan, beautifully wrapped and perfect when you present it to. And then here in the US we just throw a bunch of paper on there."
— Michelle Kaplan [17:38]

Insights:

• Highlights the importance of presentation in different cultures
• Encourages appreciation of diverse approaches to common tasks

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Takeaway: Embracing and Highlighting Unique Strengths

As the episode concludes, the hosts emphasize the significance of recognizing and appreciating individual strengths—“magic”—in both personal and professional contexts.

Key Takeaway:

"Everyone has their unique kind of magic. It sounds kind of, I don't know, like extreme, but I think it's true."
— Michelle Kaplan [11:32]

Actionable Advice:

• For Learners: Incorporate these magical expressions into daily conversations to enhance fluency and relatability.
• For Educators and Professionals: Encourage the identification and utilization of unique strengths within teams and personal interactions.

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Conclusion: Connect Through Magic, Not Perfection

Lindsay McMahon wraps up the episode by inviting listeners to reflect on their own “magic” and how it can be used to build connections without striving for perfection.

Final Quote:

"Let us know what your magic is."
— Dan [19:34]

Call to Action:

• Quiz: Take the two-minute fluency quiz at allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore to gauge your English proficiency.
• Engagement: Share your unique “magic” and connect with the All Ears English community.

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Additional Resources:

• App: Download the All Ears English app for real-time transcripts and personalized vocabulary lists.
• Previous Episodes: Explore thematic episodes like "Everyday Courtroom English" for varied learning experiences.

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By weaving magical expressions into everyday language, Lindsay and Michelle not only make learning English engaging but also empower listeners to connect more deeply through shared linguistic enchantment.

Transcript

[Lindsay McMahon]

This is an All Ears English podcast.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Episode 24:27 make your English magical.

[Lindsay McMahon]

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 hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl. Coming to you from Colorado 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 7 day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slapp.

[Dan]

In English, we sometimes bring magic into our connection with four key phrases. Find out how to do this today. When you speak English, do people ask what a lot? Or maybe they tell you you have great English but you don't feel feel like you do. Break free from awkward conversations and shake off that feeling of almost fluent by taking our free two minute quiz. Get your personalized results immediately. Check it out. Allearsenglish.com fluencyscore that's allearsenglish.com Fluencyscore Hey Lindsay, how are you today?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Good. Michelle, how are you doing today?

[Dan]

I'm good, thanks. Lindsay, do you like magic or did you as a kid?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, what kid doesn't like magic? Right? Yes. What about you?

[Dan]

Yeah, of course. But Dan was the bit is was actually a magician. I mean, not a real professional magician, but he did volunteering as a magician. He was super into magic. So he's been kind of trying to get our son into it. So that's cool.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's so cool. I want to know all the tricks. I want to know all the tricks.

[Dan]

Yeah, exactly. I liked doing more card tricks. Those were the kinds of things. And now I. It's so frustrating because do you have any magic tricks that you knew as a kid? Maybe a card trick or something and you have no idea anymore how you did it? Like, I have a few things, like magic trick.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I never knew one. I was always very impressed by the kids that had tricks.

[Dan]

Dan is very good at like the things with your hands where you're lifting things. He's very good at doing the acting and things like that.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I love that. I love that magic is a big, big part of being a kid and being an adult. I mean, yeah, I know people go to see David Copperfield, right? I don't know if he's still performing or what, what's going on with him now, but he was a big show back in the day, right?

[Dan]

Yeah, exactly. So magic is huge. And so that's what we're going to be talking about today. We are going to talk about expressions dealing with magic and how we actually use this wor in or this idea in English conversations.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, it's true. And we do. It's so fun when we do these expressions where it comes from a sport or a hobby and the words seep right into the English language and we want to know them to make our English.

[Dan]

Ah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

More magical. There we go.

[Dan]

Here we go. So before we get into that, guys, we just want to give you some results from a key poll we did back on episode 2391. And this episode was called Coffee or Tea. No, no, sorry. The key poll was coffee or tea. The episode was called how to Connect Over Coffee Habits in English. And the question was coffee or tea. So, Lindsay, what were the results?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I'm actually a little surprised about the results. I thought we would have more tea, but it's 72 coffee. Coffee wins big time. And 27 tea. Wow, Michelle, interesting.

[Dan]

Yeah, it is interesting. So good to know. Good to know. And you are actually going to London. So are you going to have some tea over there?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, I guess I will, yeah. I. I want to like tea. I want to get into it. So maybe someone, a British person will take me under their wing and. And do like a, you know, we'll do like a high tea or something. I don't know. At the conference. I don't know.

[Dan]

Maybe. Maybe that's good. You'll have to let us know. So. All right, so let's go over some of these before we actually start with the ones I wrote down. I also just want to say that sometimes we just say something is magic. Right? It's magic. Or, for example, if a kid is asking how you do something, you might just say, it's magic. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And then. And then the kid be like, whoa.

[Dan]

Yep, exactly. Exactly. So sometimes you might just hear like, oh, how do you do it? It's magic. Right. So that's just one thing. But what's another thing that we might say dealing with magic?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay, so the expression do the trick, right? Do the trick. Is that the one you were looking for, Michelle?

[Dan]

Yeah, exactly. So I don't know if this comes from magic trick, but it sounds like it to me.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Sounds like it, Yep.

[Dan]

So to do the trick is to get something. Something make something work, Right. Something is done in order to get something to work. So what would be an example of that?

[Michelle Kaplan]

You could say, oh, no, there's a hole there. Okay, Just Glue it. That'll do the trick. And I will just want to emphasize how common this is. Yeah. In everything. Okay. Again, we're not. Now we're moving out of the realm of magic. Performing magic. Right, guys? And we're talking about phrases we insert into everyday life. Something broke, we fix it. Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

That'll do the trick.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Very common, Michelle.

[Dan]

Yeah, exactly. Or you could say, just call him and tell him we will have it ready for tomorrow. I think that'll do the trick. We'll get the deadline extended. So perfect.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And. Yeah. So in that case, you're talking about convincing someone, achieving kind of a interpersonal success there.

[Dan]

Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right. Yes.

[Dan]

What's the next one? Lindsay?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Can't wave a magic wand. Okay. This means we can't get something to happen just like that. Right. You can't just do magic and make something go away or make something appear.

[Dan]

Okay. Yep, Exactly. So this is. I do we say that you can wave a magic wand. I feel like this is more used in the negative sense of I can't wave a magic wand. Rather than like, oh, I mean. I mean, you might say, oh, let me wave my magic wand. But it's always kind of used about something difficult because we don't actually have magic wands.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I mean. Right. I guess that's true. I. I think I might use it in both ways. Like, I. I wish someone were here in Denver. They're in some other city. I say, I can't wave a magic wand and make them appear. But I guess you're saying that is negative, right? You can't do that, Right? Is that what you're saying, like. Yeah.

[Dan]

That it's something that you can't do? Yeah, yeah. I. More so with that. But rather than like, oh, I can wave my magic wand.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I totally agree with you. So it's usually about making something appear or disappear, but you can't wave a magic wand. We don't say, let me wave my magic wand and. And make this person appear. Not so much, right?

[Dan]

No, no, not so much. So here's an example. I wish I could wave a magic wand and get rid of my allergies, but I can't.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right. So you might say this. You know, maybe you're on a hike and your allergies are starting to act up and someone's giving you a hard time, and you're saying, hey, I can't do anything about this. This is not my choice. Right?

[Dan]

Yep, Yep. Exactly. Or what's another example?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I can't wave a magic wand. And Clean this place up. We all need to work together.

[Dan]

I wish I could have a magic wand and clean my house with that.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Maybe one day, Michelle, AI will just have a way of doing that. You just snap your fingers and AI cleans up your house. That's what I AI, that I need.

[Dan]

Yeah, that would be perfect. Lindsay, if you had a magic wand, what would you do with it? Is there something that you would get rid of or somewhere?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, just transport myself instantly to any place in the world. I would just say, oh, I have some free time this afternoon. I want to go to Paris. And I would be in Paris and I would be in a cafe speaking French. And then I would go to Asia. You know, that's what I would do. What about you?

[Dan]

Same. Like I always say. Yeah. If that were my. If I had a superpower, it would be, you know, to be able to do something like that. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And just for a few hours or something, I mean. Yeah, yeah. Very cool idea. Love it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

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[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, Michelle, let's come back to it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

There are a few others.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Remember, these are ways that we bring magic into our daily speech, right?

[Dan]

So work someone's magic. Right? So work your magic. So that means that someone should do something they're really good at, right? They. It's. You usually say when someone is kind of specialized at something or, I mean it. Yeah. Like your magic. It's basically saying that you are good at this, right? Yes. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And I mean, I really believe that everyone has their unique kind of magic. It sounds kind of, I don't know, like extreme, but I think it's true. Everyone does something really well and it's just a matter of finding it. I mean, that's why we did strengths finder, you know, here, and we try to look at that and what do we do uniquely? Well, what are your unique abilities? Right.

[Dan]

Your magic.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah.

[Dan]

So you could say, oh, I got paint everywhere. I'm not the artist here. Can you work your magic and fix this?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. And then the other place I would say outside of talents, unique talents, is maybe mothers, like, do you ever feel, I don't know if this is true or looking at it on the outside, but maybe sometimes a kid just wants their mom and like, you know, just.

[Dan]

You have that special touch, like, yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

You can calm the kid down or something. Do you think that's true? Maybe. It depends.

[Dan]

Yeah, I guess. Yeah, I think, you know, moms have a little bit of magic. We're just coming off of Mother's Day.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Happy Mother's Day, Michelle. Thank you.

[Dan]

Thank you. My, my daughter last night woke up twice, you know, and. Yeah, there are some things that only the mom can do.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Kind of. Kind of. I mean, yeah, that's the other context where I could imagine it. Do we have any other, other examples here?

[Dan]

Yeah, well, let's say you are, you are in a sports game and you know, maybe you're losing, maybe you're down a little bit. And then you could say, okay, let's put Tony in the game so he can work his magic. Right. So maybe he's just really good at, you know, getting points and he can do it. So we know that he's the best.

[Michelle Kaplan]

One for the job. Yeah, exactly. If there's a go to person, like when I was growing up, it was the early days of the Internet. Okay, that makes me sound old, but it was dial up aol. You know, I remember my brother. Yep. My brother was a tech. Tech wizard. Right. He worked at a tech shop and he knew how to get the Internet connected. And the Internet would constantly go out. So we would call Ben to work his magic on the Internet at the house. Right.

[Dan]

That's a great example. I mean, yeah, that is a wonderful example. There's always that. That person in the family that is better at tech, you know, like, oh, for me it's I think it's my brother in law, you know, whenever we're over at my in laws house. So he's. Oh, we need to hook this up. Okay. Get Justin. Okay. He needs to work his magic. Yep.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's so funny how that happens, right?

[Dan]

It's like designated person.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, designated person. All right, good stuff. What else, Michelle? So that's. Work your magic.

[Dan]

Work your magic. We'll have one more. Let's do one more. So this is the magic touch. So this is. I mean, in a similar way, this is. We're all kind of talking about strength here, the ability to do something special, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. That's why I think this episode's inspiring. Right. Because it lets us highlight what people do.

[Dan]

Well, yeah, exactly. So, yeah, the magic touch is the special way of being able to do something or to fix something. So I can't get this jar open. Come on, you try. You might have the magic touch.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, right. You might. And so that's just a little bit more mundane. But it's like even like a chef has like a magic touch. Can you finish off this cake? You have the magic touch on the baking skills, right?

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Or I'd ask Sherry to edit your paper.

[Lindsay McMahon]

She's so good at it.

[Michelle Kaplan]

She really has the magic touch. Yes.

[Dan]

Yeah. So, Lindsay, what is your magic that you can work?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I don't know. Maybe it's podcasting. Michelle. Sometimes I think it might be. Actually, I actually love podcasting and I feel like I'm better in podcasting than writing or video or other skills.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So I don't know, maybe I'm still discovering it.

[Dan]

Well, that's great. You have a lot of strengths.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Thanks, Michelle. What about you? Do you feel like anything specific, maybe a hobby or skill is your magic?

[Dan]

You're gonna lie. Well, well, first of all, I thought of a good example. Another good example, how you would use this. Like, for example, my sister in law was trying to get all her necklaces untangled the other day and her mom was there and so she. It's like you might say, oh, can you work your magic and get these on, undone? Or you have the magic touch when it comes to this. You know when you have to get a bunch of the necklaces untangled. So that's what it makes me think of.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So you're, you must have very precise fingers then because you need really, like, I find that really. Because those, those chains are very thin. Right.

[Dan]

Well, she couldn't even get it done. Nobody could do it. So nobody had the magic touch. We couldn't Wave the magic wand. But it just makes me think of, like, something like that.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah.

[Dan]

But my magic touch. I'm gonna say roasting vegetable.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Love that you put just the right amount of spices or salt.

[Dan]

Oh, and I'm also known for good eggs, so. Yeah. So you could say, oh, I have the magic touch. I'll make it right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So I love it.

[Dan]

Roasting vegetables, guys, if you need any roasted vegetables, you know who to call. It's me.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, now I want. I want to know, because I had some really good roasted carrots the other night, But I want to know what you put on roasted carrots. You put, like, paprika or cumin or something?

[Dan]

I did salt and pepper. And. And I. I got this Trader Joe's other spice that I was just trying out, and then I actually drizzled some tahini on it.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, interesting. The sky's the limit when you're working your magic, Michelle.

[Dan]

That's right. That's right. So should we do a role play before we head out today?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Let's do it. So here we are, wrapping presents for our friend's party. Okay. Okay.

[Dan]

Here we go. Oh, no. I ripped the paper again. Could you work your magic and fix this?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Let's see. Okay. Tape in that spot. Okay. That'll do the trick.

[Dan]

Thank you. You have the magic touch, Lindsay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Dan]

Okay, so where are all the bows?

[Michelle Kaplan]

We didn't buy bows.

[Dan]

Well, I thought we had bows.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Michelle, I can't just wave a magic wand and have bows. We need to buy them.

[Dan]

Okay. Okay. I'll go get some.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That reminds me of wrapping presents. As a kid, I used to get so frustrated. I was so bad at it. And I always felt like my parents had magic touch when it came to wrapping presents. And then I just learned how to do it. You know, you just learn. As a kid, my.

[Dan]

My dad had the magic touch with wrapping the presents, but I just had to wrap a present recently, and I always look good. It does not my. Not my talent, not my strength. If there was a strength finder for if you're good at wrapping presents, that would not be on mine.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Hilarious. It's so funny. And then I think about all the cultures I visited where presentation matters so much. Like in Japan.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So beautifully wrapped and perfect when you present it to. And then here in the US we just throw a bunch of paper on there. Here you go. Like a roll of scotch tape. Holding it together, you know, with it.

[Dan]

Like with my. With. With my family, we don't even really wrap presents. Excep. Especially on Dan's side. We just kind of like hand in a. In a plastic bag with a receipt taped on it, you know, it's fine.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I love that. That's so good. It's the thought that matters. It's not the wrapping. Right.

[Dan]

Exactly.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Love it. All right, let's go through the role play here, Michelle. So you said, oh, no, I ripped the paper again. Can you work your magic and fix this?

[Dan]

Yep. And then you figured out where to put the tape. And he said, okay, that'll do the trick.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. And then you said, thank you. You have the magic touch.

[Dan]

Yep. And then I get all nervous because I can't find bows. And I'm saying, I thought we had bows. And you said, I can't just wave a magic wand and have. Have both.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, so funny. I love it. What an inspiring episode, Michelle. I mean, before we get to our takeaway, let's let our listeners know where to go now to keep listening to the show.

[Dan]

I did want to direct you guys to this episode because this was another theme episode. This was 2385 and it was everyday courtroom English. We had a lot of fun with that. And that one kind of reminded me of this one.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, these theme episodes are so fun and they're so real. We really do take words from everywhere, from all these different realms of life. I think the key here, Michelle, is this is an opportunity to elevate someone. Whether it's you're talking about a serious skill, a career, whether you're talking about quirky things like little skills, like unwinding necklaces.

[Dan]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

The little things, it doesn't matter. But you have a chance to elevate someone and that actually even the littlest thing could make them feel special and important.

[Dan]

So true. All right, well, I think that's a great takeaway for today, guys. Let us know what your magic is. And I wish we could do a.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Fill in the blank for this. This point.

[Dan]

I know, I know. Well, we'll have to talk about another day, guys. Write to us and let us and let us know what it is. And thanks, Lindsay, for working your magic with me today.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Absolutely. Thank you, Michelle. Have a good one. Bye.

[Dan]

All right, bye.

[Lindsay McMahon]

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

[Unknown]

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