AEE 2465: One Word to Describe Your Rare Taste in English

Summary

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All Ears English Podcast — Episode 2465

"One Word to Describe Your Rare Taste in English"

Hosts: Lindsay McMahon & Michelle Kaplan
Release Date: August 21, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Lindsay and Michelle explore the word “obscure” — what it means, how to use it naturally in English conversation, and its subtle differences from words like “weird,” “rare,” “vague,” and “unusual.” They address a listener question about all the meanings of “obscure,” uncover cultural nuances, and offer practical language tips for expressing non-mainstream or rare tastes in American English. The hosts model real conversation, share personal examples, and demonstrate usage in a lively role play.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introducing “Obscure” and Personal Taste

• The hosts open by asking if they have obscure tastes, setting up the relevance of the word for ESL learners.
• Cultural Context: What’s considered “obscure” depends on where and how you live. Something mainstream in one country can be obscure elsewhere.
  • Lindsay: “When I think of… something like I really like matcha, matcha tea, like Japanese matcha. And I think a lot of people don’t like that. That’s maybe what I would say. Like random things that I’ve tried when I’ve traveled that are not mainstream.” [02:13]

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2. Defining “Obscure” and Its Frequency in English

• Listener Question: From Ardalan BookArt24 — “Can you talk about all the meanings of obscure in different situations?” [02:41]
• Meaning:
  • Not well known, unusual, hard to understand.
  • Can mean “to block” or “make something less visible.”
• Frequency:
  • Not an everyday word, but familiar and considered “high level” vocabulary.
  • Useful for sounding advanced, especially in exams like IELTS.
    • Michelle: “I wouldn’t say that it comes up every day, but I also wouldn’t say that it’s obscure...I think it sounds kind of hip, kind of cool, kind of high level.” [03:25]

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3. Examples and Usage in Conversation

• Obscure as Unusual or Unknown:

  • “Obscure reference” – a niche or little-known reference in conversation.
    • Michelle: “Well, that was an obscure reference. I’m proud of myself for understanding it.” [04:58]
  • Used positively in dating/context of shared rare interests.
    • “I found my match. This person gets me because maybe this person uses very obscure references.” [05:22]
  • For books, music, or tastes outside the mainstream:
    • “We found this obscure book in this old bookshop.” [07:06]
    • Michelle: “Some people say, my taste in music is obscure. I take that as a compliment.” [06:22]

• Obscure as Hard to See/Block:

  • “The car obscured his line of sight, so he honked his horn.” [09:56]

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4. Obscure vs. Weird, Unusual, Rare, Vague

• Weird: More negative, may offend if you don’t know someone well. Used positively in some cases (“Keep Austin Weird”), but still can be harsh.
  • Michelle: “If you say that was a weird reference and you don’t know the person that well, it could sound more… a little bit more offensive than obscure.” [06:41]
• Unusual: Softer, more politically correct than “weird.”
  • Lindsay: “Unusual is like a politically correct thing to say.” [10:44]
• Vague: Means unclear, but can overlap.
  • “The way you present your opinion is pretty vague. I’m a little unclear on what you mean.” [11:03]
• Rare: For things that are uncommon, a synonym for obscure in many contexts.
  • “Oh, it’s such a rare kinds of wine that you’re into. How did you learn about them?” [11:33]

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5. Role Play: Conversation Model [12:51–13:16]

• Demonstrates how “obscure” and synonyms fit in natural talk, jumping between parallel topics:
  • A (Lindsay): “Oh, no. It was so obscure. I didn’t really like it.” [13:02]
  • B (Michelle): “Yeah, I felt some of the chapters of the book were kind of vague.” [13:12]
  • Switching topics: Bright sun obscuring vision—“The sun is super bright. It’s blocking my vision here.” [13:08]
• Insight:
  • American conversation often weaves between topics; being able to follow along is a connection skill.
  • Lindsay: “It’s important to be able to do this. Weave in and out of ideas and come back to them, pick them up seamlessly.” [13:26]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lindsay (on “obscure” as a vocabulary booster):

  • “It would be a great… band nine vocabulary word for sure. Because the whole point on IELTS is using different words than everyone else is using.” [03:50]

• Michelle (on “weird” vs. “obscure”):

  • “If you say that was a weird reference and you don’t know the person that well, it could sound more… a little bit more offensive than obscure, which just kind of means unusual, not putting a judgment on it.” [06:41]

• Lindsay (on context):

  • “If you live in Argentina or Uruguay or maybe Brazil, it’s not obscure to you. At all. But in the US it’s kind of obscure. The mate tradition.” [07:59]

• Michelle (on conversation agility):

  • “There’s always these little adjustments we’re making… we need to just take one second and then jump right back into the conversation like nothing ever happened. So that’s a real skill.” [13:40]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:41] — Listener question about “obscure”
• [03:25] — How common is “obscure” in English?
• [04:46] — Definitions and first examples
• [05:22] — “Obscure reference” in dating and connection
• [07:06] — Example with “obscure book” and food tastes
• [09:56] — “Obscure” meaning “to block” (line of sight)
• [12:51] — Role play demonstration
• [13:26] — Agility with shifting topics in conversation

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Takeaways

• “Obscure” can describe anything rare, not well-known, or hard to understand, as well as physically blocking or concealing something.
• Related words like “weird,” “unusual,” “vague,” and “rare” each shade meaning and cultural nuance.
• Use “obscure” to build connections and sound advanced — it’s less judgey than “weird” and more specific than “vague.”
• Practice moving between parallel topics in conversation for natural English flow and connection.

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Next Steps & Further Listening

• Suggested episode: AEE 2457: Can You Relate? How to Speak Up with Confidence in a Meeting
• Keep submitting direct language questions for deep dives on nuanced vocabulary.
• Build confident, connected conversation skills by noticing how advanced words are used in real life.

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Hosts’ Signature Reminder:
“Connection, not perfection!” — Remember, communicating is about connection, even when your taste (or vocabulary!) is a little obscure.

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Transcript

[A]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2465. One word to describe your rare taste in English. 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 Allears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward/app.

[B]

Do you have obscure taste in something? Maybe you like unusual books or movies that no one knows about Today? Find out how to talk about your obscure taste in your conversations.

[C]

The Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University helps you go from I know the way to I've arrived with our top 10 ranked online MBA. Gain skills you can learn today and apply tomorrow. Get ready to go from make it happen to made it happen and keep striving. Visit strayer.edu Jack Welch MBA to learn more. Strayer University is certified to operate in Virginia by Chevinus. Many campuses, including at 2121 15th Street north in Arlington, Virginia.

[A]

Hey Michelle, how's it going today?

[B]

Good, Lindsay, how are you? Good.

[A]

I have a question for you. You ready?

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So do you have obscure taste in things?

[B]

Ooh, I guess in some things. Of course. I think everybody has a. Some obscure taste, right? Like I don't think that everybody likes everything completely mainstream. What do you think? But I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

[A]

I know. I. I guess. Yeah, I mean I, I think when I think of. To answer that question, I think about like something like I really like matcha. Matcha tea, like Japanese matcha. And I think a lot of people don't like that. That's maybe what I would say. Like random things that I've tried when I've traveled that are not mainstream. They're not Doritos.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I mean in our culture. So whatever is obscure. It's just a matter of whatever is common in the culture.

[B]

Right? Right.

[A]

Your taste.

[B]

Right, right, right, right, right, exactly. So today we're going to answer a listener question about the word obscure. This is a really good one. This is very high level, this word, in my opinion. This question comes to us from YouTube. So guys, you can also submit your questions on there. And we are on YouTube. So go ahead and watch us if that's the way that you prefer to consume the podcast. But this question is from Ardalan BookArt24, and this listener says, can you talk about all the meanings of obscure in different situations? So really direct, really good question.

[A]

We love good, direct questions. Is this a common word, Michelle? I mean, do we hear this a lot? Do we use this in English?

[B]

I mean, I wouldn't say that it comes up every day, but I also wouldn't say that it's obscure.

[A]

The word obscure is obscure. You wouldn't say obscure.

[B]

Obscure. Now it's gonna lose all meaning, right? Yeah, that's funny. But I, but I do think it's, you know, it's fairly common. I think it sounds kind of hip, kind of cool, kind of high level. What do you think?

[A]

Yeah, I see what you're saying there. I think you're right. I think it's kind of, it would be a great I, you know, band nine vocabulary word for sure. Because the whole point on ielts is using different words than everyone else is using. So you don't get pulled down to the six like everyone else, right? Yeah, I do. I agree. I think it's kind of rare. But it's. But we all, we also know it. So if you use it with a native speaker, they're not going to look at you like you have five heads.

[B]

No. Right?

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

And to make sure we don't look at you like you have five heads, please hit the follow button because I don't understand why you wouldn't. Right, Maybe.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

That's it, Michelle. You got it. Why wouldn't you be following all ears English if you believe in connection, not perfection?

[B]

Right.

[A]

That's our whole thing. So go ahead and hit follow if that's how you want to learn. Based on human connection.

[B]

Exactly. All right, so let's get into this word. So what does obscure mean?

[A]

Basically, it can mean that something is not well known. It might be unusual, it might be hard to comprehend. You might hear the term obscure reference. Michelle.

[B]

We hear that sometimes. Right. I feel like that I hear that a lot with the word obscure. Well, that was an obscure reference. I'm proud of myself for understanding it. Right. Somebody might make a reference. I mean, I'm always throwing out something from friends or it could be from it, from anything. It could be a random 90s reference. And if somebody understands it, they could say, oh, well, that was obscure. Obscure, right.

[A]

Yeah. Often you hear people in the dating world saying, oh, I found my match. I. This person gets me because maybe this person Uses very obscure references and that. And, and their date does too. And they feel like they've met their match because, you know, that kind of thing.

[B]

Right, right. You identify with that person's taste and, you know, you get them. What's another example of this?

[A]

You could say this. You could say their teacher's lessons were. Lesson plans were pretty obscure. So the students began to complain.

[B]

Oh, that's not good. So maybe they were hard to get. It was a little strange. I mean, I, I, I feel like I don't hear it as much in this way, but it can be used.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, kind of the negative way of labeling something. Instead of using the word obscure, people would just say weird.

[B]

Right, Right, right. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[A]

But weird has, like a negative connotation to it, right? Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Or you could say some people say, my taste in music is obscure. I take that as a compliment. Right. So. Yeah, exactly. You could kind of put the word weird in there. It's the same idea. Right.

[A]

But it's much better if you're trying to build a connection to say, oh, these are some really obscure references you're making instead of, these are weird things you're saying.

[B]

Right. Weird could. Well, it's funny because some people take weird as a compliment. I mean, there's always. For that we talked about this, like, keep Austin weird and things like that. Weird is cool. Yeah. Right. But still, if you say that was a weird reference and you don't know the person that well, it could sound more. It sounds a little bit more offensive than obscure, which just kind of means unusual, not putting a judgment on it.

[A]

Totally. 100 agree. Here's another example. We found this obscure book in this old bookshop. So that's what I'm reading now.

[B]

Yeah. So obscure book. Yeah, exactly. I mean, Lindsay, is there. Yeah. Something that you like that some may say is obscure?

[A]

Yeah. I mean, like I said, like, I really like Japanese matcha.

[B]

I like.

[A]

Or even. What is it? Mate. It's the Argentine tradition of sipping mate in a certain, like that kind. It's, it's another kind of tea. Have you ever heard of it? It's very obscure, Michelle. It's very, very obs.

[B]

But that's a perfect example, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Have you heard of it? Oh, it's kind of upset. Right. I mean, again, it may not.

[A]

It's a may not.

[B]

What you were saying about the culture, right, is it could be obscure one place and not into another.

[A]

Right. If you live in Argentina or Uruguay or maybe Brazil, it's not obscure to you. At all. But in the US it's kind of obscure. The Mate. The mate tradition.

[B]

Yeah, I would say so. Yes, exactly.

[A]

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[B]

Because I was.

[A]

You got something. You got something. I know it.

[B]

I mean, I'm sure I do. Oh, this is a really good question. Oh, my gosh. This is gonna bother me.

[A]

Keep thinking. Keep thinking about the episode.

[B]

Yeah, but I just. But I do want to bring up a. Another way that obscure can be used. Definition. And this can mean. It can mean to block something. Right. You can't see it, actually. So you could say the car obscured his line of sight, so he honked his horn. So that's a totally different one.

[A]

Interesting. Ex. Yeah, that's totally different. But it. Is it really even related to the other meaning something that is more rare. I guess I can see the link.

[B]

You can kind of. I guess you can kind of link it, but on the surface, not. It sounds totally different. But if you want to try and make a link, you could, you know.

[A]

Yeah, you could. You could. So I hinted that weird would be another way to say this, but there are a few other things you could say.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Unusual. Unusual is like a politically correct thing to say unusual.

[B]

So my taste can be a little unusual. So not everyone understands me.

[A]

Yeah, that's. That's the politically correct form of weird. Right. Instead of saying weird, it's politically correct to say unusual.

[B]

Vague.

[A]

I like vague. The way you present. Your opinion is pretty vague. I'm a little unclear on what you mean. Yeah, I could see how these are. These are interrelated. Yeah. They don't mean exactly the same thing, but they're interrelated for sure.

[B]

Right. Vague is more the idea of being unclear rather than right. But yeah, again, you can link. You can really link everything together if you try, actually.

[A]

And the other one would be rare.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Rare.

[B]

Right.

[A]

For the first definition. Oh, it's such a rare kinds of wine that you're into. How did you learn about them?

[B]

Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. And then, of course, there's the second way. The. I mean, I guess vague. I guess we kind of talked about three ways and actually. But the other way about blocking something. Right. So you could just say block. Right. The sun was blocked by the clouds.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Or what. What's the other one you could use?

[A]

The hat obscured his. Oh, mask.

[B]

I meant mask.

[A]

To mask as a verb. Right. So this is the second definition we talked about, guys. Meaning something covers or makes something hard to see.

[B]

Right.

[A]

To obscure. So again, the hat masked his face, so the teacher asked him to remove it. It's really hard to say the word masked because I. I end up replacing the K with a T. The hat masked his face because it's really hard to say masked. Masked.

[B]

You just got to work on it. Lindsay.

[A]

Or something.

[B]

Yeah, so. So. But yeah, these. These are really useful words. All of them. And so let's do a role play. We're not going to use every single one, but we'll use most of them in this roleplay. You are driving me to our book club. Club.

[A]

Oh, we have a book club.

[B]

Fun.

[A]

Okay. Yeah.

[B]

Here we go.

[A]

All right, so I'm excited for tonight. They are getting wine and cheese.

[B]

That's good. Do you even read the book?

[A]

Oh, no. It was so obscure. I didn't really like it.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, gosh. Do you need sunglasses?

[A]

Yes, please. The sun is super bright. It's blocking my vision here.

[B]

Yeah, I felt some of the chapters of the book were kind of vague.

[A]

Yeah. And, you know, this is very typical in conversation. And this is what I want our listeners to be ready to do. And I'm sure they do this in their languages, which is move in and out of topics.

[B]

Right.

[A]

We're talking about the book and how. How obscure it is. And then you're. You're blocked with your vision and you're getting sunglasses, you know, so it's important to be able to do this. Weave in and out of ideas and come Back to them, pick them up seamlessly.

[B]

Right. That's the thing is that happens when you're driving. Do you ever. When you're driving, you've got the sun in your eyes and you just need to take a second. I mean, there's always these little adjustments. Adjustments we're making. Oh, my, you know, my bag fell. This, you know, is some sort of physical adjustment. A lot of the times that we're making, we need to just take one second and then jump right back into the conversation like nothing ever happened. So that's a real skill.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I think in the car situation, anything physical is a good example. But some people talk like this. Even just if you're sitting talking to someone in a coffee shop, they'll run three topics in parallel, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, it happens. It happens. And we want to be able to keep up and connect, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, we should come back to that topic another time, Michelle. Guys, hit the follow button and we will try to address that. I have a feeling that's a pain point for some of our listeners, right?

[B]

Yeah, for sure. So, guys, also Check out episode 2457 was can you relate how to speak up with confidence in a meeting?

[A]

All right, so today, guys, in for the takeaway. We've gotten a lot of interesting ways, especially the word obscure. But then we had some other ideas to say to talk about maybe your interest and your. The things you like being different, being interesting. So throw that in to build the connections and we'll come back to the parallel topics idea another time.

[B]

Yeah, love it. All right, Lindsay, this was fun. Thank you to our listener for this question and keep them coming.

[A]

All right, Michelle, talk soon.

[B]

Bye. Bye. Foreign.

[A]

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.