AEE 2511: Got a Boatload of Work? How to Share in English

Summary

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All Ears English Podcast

Episode 2511: Got a Boatload of Work? How to Share in English
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon & Michelle Kaplan
Date: November 11, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into creative, emphatic ways to express having “a lot of work” or responsibilities in English—particularly for intermediate to advanced ESL learners. Lindsay and Michelle break down colorful idioms, compare their usage, and explain how sharing these feelings can help you connect with others in work and life.

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Key Discussion Points & Linguistic Insights

Why Talk About Having a Lot of Work?

• Both hosts share periods when their lives become particularly busy with professional and personal responsibilities.
• Michelle: “Yeah, I do. Right now I feel… there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of changes with my kids and with school schedules. … I have a lot of things to do to help with my husband’s business.” (03:20)
• Expressing being busy is not just small talk; it’s a way to “commiserate” and connect with people experiencing the same thing.

The Word "Slew" – Definition and Usage

• Introduced as a less common, personality-filled way to say “a lot” or “many.”
• Michelle: “Slew is a lot, right? …But I would say it’s just more emphatic and with more personality.” (04:17)
• Spelling confusion: S-L-E-W, not “slou” or similar variants. (04:40)
• Examples:
  • “A slew of phone calls came in.” (06:10)
  • “We got a slew of RSVPs for my daughter's birthday party. Most are yeses, so a whole bunch came in.” (06:28)

Tone & Frequency of “Slew”

• Not an everyday word, but one you’ll hear from time to time—especially related to work or responsibilities.
• Lindsay: “It’s common when I start to talk about workload, especially like a large onslaught of work. Then it’s very handy.” (06:03)
• Not typically used for physical items like “a slew of grapes”—unless being playful. Mainly for abstract nouns or tasks.
• “Slew” is a noun in this context: “a slew of something.” Not to be confused with other meanings or as a verb (“slew” as past tense of “slay”). (08:56)

Practice Exercise: Using "Slew"

• Michelle prompts Lindsay: “When is your busiest time of year?”
  • Lindsay: “Honestly, I think it’s right now. We have a whole slew of work to do to prepare for exciting events like Black Friday…” (09:37)
• Lindsay to Michelle: “What was it like moving last year?”
  • Michelle: “Oh boy. …I had a whole slew of boxes. More than a slew. And I still have a slew of boxes that need to be unpacked.” (10:03)

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Expanding Vocabulary: Other Colorful Ways to Say “A Lot”

List of Alternatives (with Examples)

1. A boatload (of X)
   • Fun, informal; “I have a boatload of contacts I can introduce you to.” (12:40)
2. Oodles (of X)
   • Playful and even less common; “Check out my collection. Oodles of sneakers. I’m a sneaker head.” (13:08)
   • Can be used for physical objects and food.
3. A mountain (of X)
   • “I have a mountain of worries right now.” (13:34)
4. A stack (of X)
   • Often literal; “I have a huge stack of paper on my desk that I need to get through before I go home.” (13:41)

Preferences and Playful Challenges

• Lindsay: “I like a boatload. That’s fun. I never use it—I should more often.” (14:15)

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Role Play (Sample Dialogue)

(How these expressions fit into real conversation:)

• Michelle: “Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time as I thought. I just got a stack of papers to fill out for my boss.”
• Lindsay: “Oh, no, that doesn’t sound fun. I had a boatload of work yesterday that somehow I finished in time. Sometimes it feels like my boss gives me a mountain of responsibilities.”
• Michelle: “On a Friday.”
• Lindsay: “Oh, yeah. Fridays are when a slew of assignments come in.”
• Michelle: “Oodles!”
• Lindsay: “Yes, oodles.” (14:47–16:17)

Memorable Quote

• Michelle (on repeating Oodles): “Kind of lightening the mood, actually. ... You’re trying to connect, right?” (16:29–16:32)

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Practical Application and Social Insight

• Using these creative phrases can inject personality and warmth into your English.
• Sharing that you have “a boatload of work” lets others open up; it’s “kind of like commiserating … which can build connection.” (17:48)
• These aren’t for daily use, but they add variety, color, and show you can speak beyond textbook English.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:10 – Hosts discuss current responsibilities, setting context
• 04:00 – Introduction & deep dive into the word “slew”
• 06:10 – Example sentences using “slew”
• 08:00 – Tone, frequency, and grammatical usage of “slew”
• 09:20 – On-air language exercise, applying “slew”
• 12:37 – Alternative expressions: “boatload,” “oodles,” “mountain,” “stack”
• 14:44 – Role play incorporating new vocabulary
• 16:29 – Discussion on connection, mood, and affirmation through language
• 17:48 – Takeaway: connection, commiseration, and linguistic creativity

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Notable Quotes

• Michelle: “Slew is a lot, right? ... But I would say it’s just more emphatic and with more personality.” (04:17)
• Lindsay: “It’s common when I start to talk about workload, especially like a large onslaught of work. Then it’s very handy.” (06:03)
• Michelle: “It’s a very human thing to have seasons of your life when you are just really under a pile ... of papers. Right?” (17:32)

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Takeaways

• Slew, boatload, oodles, mountain, and stack are all creative ways to describe “a lot,” especially in work contexts.
• Sprinkling in these phrases makes your English more vibrant and natural and helps you build connections.
• Letting others know you’re busy encourages them to share, creating camaraderie and connection in social or work environments.

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For More:
Check out Episode 2502: “Does Don’t Ask Really Mean Don’t Ask?” for another deep dive into everyday American expressions. (16:40)

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Theme:
Connection, Not Perfection—using personality-filled English to connect and communicate honestly.

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Transcript

[A]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2511 got a boatload of work. How to Share it 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 All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward/app.

[B]

We all go through periods where we have a slew of work to do. Whether you're a university student or a professional. Today, get new ways to say that you have a lot of work or responsibilities and see how you can use this to connect.

[A]

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[C]

Out of the ordinary.

[B]

Hey Lindsay, how are you doing?

[A]

Great, Michelle, how are you?

[C]

How's it going?

[B]

Yeah, everything's good over here. Lindsay, do you feel like you have a slew of responsibilities right now?

[C]

I would say at work I do.

[A]

At home, not as much. Not as much.

[C]

Things are pretty chill right now. So yeah. What about you? Do you feel like you do?

[B]

Yeah, I do. Right now I feel I. I think that this month in particular, there's a lot going on. There's a lot of changes with my kids and with school schedules. There's a lot of. Yeah, I, I have a lot of things that I'm doing to help with my husband's business. I have a lot of, you know, so there's a lot of things going on, even things that I'm helping my friends with. So there's a lot going on. But. But it's good. It's all good things. But it does happen to be a, a busy month.

[C]

It's month.

[B]

Yeah, it's a busy month, but it's a good. It's a good thing. So today we are going to talk about this word. Lindsay, what is that word that I, I used when I asked you a question?

[A]

Yeah, an interesting word that might actually.

[C]

Be new for a lot of our listeners. So you said, do you have a slew of responsibilities right now? It's kind of.

[A]

I feel like it only comes in certain chunks.

[C]

You know, it only shows up in chunks.

[A]

But what does this even mean?

[C]

What is, you know, this word?

[B]

Yeah, slew is a lot, right. Basically, it's many. Yeah. But I would say it's just more emphatic and with more personality.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because many and a lot, they're pretty neutral. But slew is a little more emphatic. But Lindsay, how do we spell slew? Is it sl, O, O?

[C]

No, it's not. Believe it or not. It's like, it's kind. It's like stew, Right? A stew. You make a stew spelled similar to that. So slew. S L, E U S W E. Sorry. S L, E, W. I saw the W and I said, you. What is going on with my mind these days? I don't know. So scratch that, guys. S L, E, W. Good.

[B]

S L, E, W. All right. So, guys, before. We're going to talk more about this in just a minute, but be sure that you hit the follow button so you never miss anything from all ears. English.

[C]

Great. All right. So, yeah. Do you feel like you use this word in your daily conversations, Michelle?

[B]

I wouldn't say it's a daily word. Right. I would say many is a daily word. A lot is a daily word. But I wouldn't say slew is it. Right. So that's why this stood out to me. I think I recently heard it. I was watching TV and I heard it. I can't remember exactly where I came up with this, but I realized, oh, wait, that's a good one. Right? That's a little Bit unique, so it's not a daily thing, but it is useful and you absolutely will hear it. And I've even heard it since I've planned this episode. What about you, Lindsay? What do you think about this word?

[C]

Yeah, I also agree. I don't think it's every day. I think it's. It's common when I start to talk about workload, you know, especially like a.

[A]

Large onslaught of work.

[B]

Ah, yeah.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Then it's very handy.

[C]

So let's give some examples.

[A]

So here's the first one for our listeners. I thought I was going to leave.

[C]

Early, but then a slew of phone calls came in. Oh, that's not good.

[B]

Yeah, like, ready to get out the door? Just ticking. The clock is ticking down. It's a Friday and.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, no.

[B]

Yeah, a slew. So. Or we got a slew of RSVPs for my daughter's birthday party. Most are yeses, so a whole bunch came in. I like what you said, Lindsay. That word onslaught, it's kind of like it's all coming at you, right?

[C]

Yep. That one's a bonus for today for sure. Be sure to get the transcripts or be a premium user in the app, guys. So you can see the spelling of this because these spellings can be challenging, for sure. Here's another example.

[A]

There's a whole slew of things I need to do before I leave for.

[C]

My trip that can feel overwhelming. If you're preparing for a trip or some kind of retreat where you have to literally go away from society. You know, you have to let everyone know you're going and then you answer any mail, any. Pay any bills, things like that. Right.

[B]

It's funny because the preparing for the trip is. Can be sometimes very stressful. And it's so funny because it's. It's just totally. You're preparing to be relaxed. But yeah, preparation is a lot sometimes.

[C]

But then it's the best when you're like, on the plane, you're like, I've done everything and you can just relax at that point.

[B]

Yeah. But do you ever have that feeling? It's like a home alone kind of feeling, like, oh, man, I. I hope not.

[C]

Gosh. Terrible. Leave your child at home.

[B]

No, not that.

[C]

Not that.

[A]

But that.

[B]

That you did forget something. I don't know if you.

[C]

That.

[B]

But, like, I'll have that. But once I feel like once I reach the plane or once I reach my destination, I'm like, okay, it's over.

[C]

Right, right, right. Whatever you forgot, there's something you can do yes, totally.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Would you say this is formal or informal, in your opinion?

[B]

Yeah, I would say that this could be either. I think it's more about this adding personality, being emphatic. You know, Again, it's not. It's not used all the time. It's not as neutral as some of the other ones. Like, I wouldn't say, oh, I have a slew of grapes in the fridge.

[C]

Right, right, right, right.

[B]

It just doesn't sound quite right. I mean, you. You could do that, but you would be being funny. Oh, gosh, I got a slew of grapes. Come on, Lindsay. Let's go eat a lot of grapes. You know, it's not so much about.

[C]

Physical objects that you have a lot of objects or.

[B]

Or.

[C]

Or items or pieces of food. Right. It's really about workload, isn't it?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. So a slew is a noun, right? So a slew of something, you know, because you might have also hear like, you know, sleigh and slew, but that's not this context.

[C]

Okay, different verb. Different verb. Totally.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

To slay is. Well, we'll do that another day. That's. That's also become kind of a fun little slangy thing that. That people are saying. So we could do that a whole other episode. So sleep, slay, and slew. Slew being the past tense of slay. But, guys, that's not what we're talking about today. Right? We're talking about a noun here. Okay?

[B]

So I thought we could do a little exercise. We could ask each other one question, and we have to use the word slew in our answers.

[C]

Nice. I love it. Yes.

[B]

Okay, so first one, you're up first.

[C]

Okay. Okay.

[B]

All right, Lindsay, when is your busiest time of year?

[C]

Honestly, I think it's right now. We have a whole slew of. Of work to do to prepare for exciting events like Black Friday. That's coming up very soon, by the way. So September through November, I would say, is by far our busiest time of year. Michelle. Yeah.

[B]

Okay, Very good. Good news.

[C]

Slew of work. So as I said, a slew of work.

[A]

And Michelle, what was it like moving last year?

[B]

Oh, boy. Yeah, I had. It was crazy, you know, just gathering everything up. Like, I had a whole slew of boxes. More than a slew. And I still have a slew of boxes that need to be unpacked. Well, it's been a while, but there's. There's, you know, not everyday items. It's like a box of books or something. But.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

It Was a lot.

[C]

But yeah, I remember we did an episode, Michelle's Topsy Turvy Summer.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Was that lesson. Yes.

[B]

I should listen to that. That would probably good. Oh, my gosh. Wow. That brings me back. Yep. That was a topsy turvy summer.

[C]

Topsy Turvy summer with a slew of boxes everywhere. I love it.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Good examples.

[B]

Yes. Nice.

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[C]

Okay, Michelle, we're back. So there are other ways to say this. For sure. You can show more personality or less personality. One of them shows more personality. A boatload.

[A]

A boatload.

[C]

For example, I have a boatload of contacts that I can introduce you to if you're interested. So are we upping our personality there a little bit? I would say.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I would say. I would say all of these are. Well, most of them are kind of upping it a little bit. Yeah. Boatload. I love that one. This one is. This next one is very informal. You know, you're not going to use it all the time, but this one is Oodles. Have you heard this one, Lindsay?

[C]

Yeah, I've heard this. For example, hey, check out my.

[A]

Here, check out my collection.

[C]

Oodles of sneakers. I'm a sneaker head. I feel like there was a brand name or something like Oodle or maybe a product. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So when there's just a lot of something. Right. And this would work for food items, Quantity of food, right?

[B]

Yes, yes, exactly. But again, this one is much less common than even the others. Then the next one is a mountain of. Right. So you could say I have a mountain of worries right now. I'm having trouble sleeping.

[C]

Yeah, that's not good. Or a stack of. I usually think of a stack of bills, a stack of papers. Right. Something physically piling up on your desk is what we think of here. I have a huge, huge stack of paper. Literally, your example is on my desk. I have a huge stack of paper on my desk that I need to get through before I go home. Oh, not good. That's like thinking of an account. Any of our listeners are probably accountants during tax season, right?

[B]

Yes, yes, yes, for sure. So, Lindsay, what do you like? What do you like from these?

[C]

What do I like? What do I like? I like a boatload. That's fun. Yeah, it's kind of.

[B]

I like, too.

[C]

Yeah, it's fun. I never use it. I should more often, though. I really should.

[B]

All right, that's it. We should have, like, little games with each other where then I say, oh, you have to use it today. And then you have to tell me what you did.

[C]

I would say we record a boatload of episodes at all years English every week, Michelle.

[B]

Like 10 or something crazy. So let's do a role play. Let's put it together, show how it looks.

[C]

All right, here we go. So we're friends. We're catching up at lunchtime.

[B]

Here we go. All right, here we go. Unfortunately, I don't have as much time as I thought. I just got a stack of papers to fill out for my boss before the end of the day.

[C]

Oh, no, that doesn't sound fun. I had a boatload of work yesterday that somehow I finished in time. Sometimes it feels like my boss gives me a mountain of responsibilities.

[A]

Right.

[C]

On a Friday.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Fridays are when a slew of assignments come in oodles. Yes, oodles.

[C]

I never use it either, but I should. I should. Yes. All right, so we said a bunch of things here. You basically said, I just got a stack of papers. So again, we're imagining that stack of papers. It doesn't have to be on your desk. It could be on the floor if there's so many papers. But we often do, like a stack of something on your desk.

[B]

Yep. And then you said, I had a boatload of work yesterday that somehow I finished on time or I finished in time.

[C]

On time. In time.

[B]

Both would work in time. Yeah.

[C]

We could do an episode about that, Michelle, you guys hit follow if you like that idea. What's the difference anyways between in time and on time? There's a subtle difference.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. We'll have to think about it. Then you. I said, sometimes it feels like my boss gives me a mountain of responsibilities.

[A]

Right.

[C]

On a Friday.

[B]

Oh, and then I said, oh, yeah, Fridays are when a slew of assignments come in.

[C]

Just a ton of them. Just a ton of them. Right. And then I agreed with you by just simply saying oodles.

[B]

And I said, yes, oodles, because why do you think I repeated it?

[C]

I just think you're having fun here. You're trying to affirm what I said. Yeah, it's a good one. Oodles.

[B]

Kind of lightning. We're kind of lightening the mood, actually.

[C]

Yeah, we're connecting here. I mean, ultimately you're trying to connect, right?

[B]

Yep, yep.

[C]

What's another great episode for our listeners, Michelle?

[B]

Check out episode 2502. That was. Does don't ask really mean don't ask? That was another one of don't ask. I think I did that one with Aubry.

[C]

With Aubry.

[B]

Yay.

[C]

Good guys. Go check that one out. And that one sounds thought provoking. Right. Really interesting. What's our takeaway for today? Talking about loads of work. Right. Boatloads of work.

[B]

These are the. I mean, these are for the most part, you know, the little. Showing a little extra personality. They're not necessarily the daily ones. I mean, a stack, a stack of paper that's pretty neutral, but a slew, a boatload. Right. These are words that show personality. You're not going to use them every single day, but they just add something. So they're very useful and good to just. Just throw out them, you know, once in a while and see how it goes. Yeah.

[A]

And I also think it's a very.

[C]

Human thing to have seasons of your life when you are just really under a pile of. Of papers. You just have a lot of work to do. I mean, we.

[A]

It goes back to our days in college, university.

[C]

We have final exams. That's the same thing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So seasons.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So if you share this with a friend that you have a boatload of work right now, they'll probably be more free to let you know when they have a lot of work to do. And I don't know, it's kind of like commiserating a little bit, which can build connection.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

You know, true.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. So love that. Being able to do it is a big connection skill.

[A]

Right there.

[C]

So guys, hit the follow button if you want more great stuff from allers English.

[B]

All right, all right, all right. Thanks for talking about this with me today, guys, and we'll see you next time.

[A]

All right? Bye bye. Thanks for listening.

[C]

To all ears. English.

[A]

Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to 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.

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