AEE: These English Phrases Will Not Be Lost On You

Summary

All Ears English Podcast: "These English Phrases Will Not Be Lost On You"
Release Date: March 22, 2025

Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan
Download Count: Over 200 million
Target Audience: Intermediate to advanced ESL learners, professionals, university students, and ESL teachers

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1. Introduction and Listener Engagement

The episode opens with Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan welcoming listeners to the "All Ears English" podcast, emphasizing their commitment to teaching real, conversational American English. Michelle introduces the episode's focus on understanding nuanced English expressions, particularly the phrase "something is not lost on you."

Notable Quote:
Michelle Kaplan [00:09]: "Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection."

2. Listener Question: Understanding "Not Lost on Me"

The hosts address a listener's question from Sajad in Iran, who inquires about the meaning of the phrase "not lost on me at all," referencing its usage in the TV show "How I Met Your Mother."

Notable Quote:
Sajad [03:00]: "What does not lost on me at all mean? I heard it from How I Met Your Mother."

3. Breaking Down the Phrase "Not Lost On Me"

Lindsay and Michelle delve into the meaning of "something is not lost on someone," explaining that it signifies comprehension and appreciation of a particular nuance or gesture.

Notable Quotes:
Lindsay McMahon [04:01]: "Something is not lost on you means you understand or appreciate something in some way."
Michelle Kaplan [05:24]: "It's not lost on me how lucky I am to have my job. I know others have not had as much luck."

4. Practical Examples and Contextual Usage

The hosts provide various examples to illustrate the phrase's application in different contexts:

• Appreciation of Job Security:
  Michelle [05:24]: "It's not lost on me how lucky I am to have my job."

• Understanding Implications:
  Lindsay [05:57]: "His comments were not lost on me. I knew exactly what he was implying."

• Recognizing Kindness:
  Michelle [06:49]: "Her kindness is not lost on me. I do not take it for granted."

They emphasize that the phrase often conveys deeper meanings beyond the literal words, capturing tones, implications, and emotional undercurrents in conversations.

5. Cultural and Nuanced Communication

Lindsay and Michelle discuss how "not lost on me" reflects cultural nuances in communication, highlighting that understanding such phrases demonstrates attentiveness and sophistication in language use.

Notable Quote:
Michelle Kaplan [13:04]: "People have different communication styles, and in different cultures, people say things differently."

6. Role Play: Demonstrating the Phrase in Conversation

To solidify understanding, the hosts perform a role play between friends discussing personal relationships, effectively showcasing the phrase's usage in natural dialogue.

Excerpt from Role Play:
Lindsay [13:43]: "Believe me, it's not lost on me that he's not perfect, but he has a lot of good qualities."
Michelle [13:58]: "I appreciate the fact he was really nice to me when I lost my phone, but his flakiness towards you does not go unnoticed."

7. Advanced Insights: Intensifying the Phrase with "At All"

The conversation extends to enhancing the phrase by adding "at all," making the expression more emphatic. They also touch upon related grammatical structures and alternative expressions conveying similar sentiments.

Notable Quote:
Lindsay [10:48]: "It’s just intensifying it a little bit. No way."

8. Takeaways and Learning Objectives

The episode concludes with key takeaways for listeners:

• Expressing Appreciation and Awareness: Using "not lost on me" to show attentiveness and value.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Understanding how different cultures convey appreciation and recognition.
• Language Nuance: Encouraging language learners to grasp subtle meanings and implied messages.

Notable Quote:
Michel [16:16]: "As a language learning goal for our listeners at the B2, C1, C2 level, setting a goal to catch more nuances in the words that people use."

9. Encouraging Continuous Learning and Engagement

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe, send in their questions, and engage with the podcast's community to enhance their English proficiency through real-world conversations and authentic language use.

Notable Quote:
Michelle Kaplan [15:51]: "If you're watching TV, you hear something and you're like, what is that? Send it to us. We love that."

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Conclusion

In this episode, Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan expertly dissect the phrase "not lost on me," providing ESL learners with a comprehensive understanding of its meaning, usage, and cultural significance. Through practical examples, role plays, and in-depth discussions, listeners are equipped to incorporate this phrase into their vocabulary, enhancing their conversational English and fostering deeper connections in communication.

Stay Connected:
For more episodes and to join the All Ears English community, visit allearsenglish.com and subscribe on your preferred podcast platform. Embrace the journey of learning English with connection, not perfection!

Transcript

[Lindsay McMahon]

This is an All Ears English podcast. These English phrases will not be lost on you.

[Michelle Kaplan]

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. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe. It's not lost on us how lucky we are to have such loyal listeners. In today's episode. Find out what this phrase means and how native speakers use it to express that they are understanding nuances in English.

[C]

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[Lindsay McMahon]

Hello, Lindsay. How are you?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Hey there, Michelle. I'm doing great. How are you?

[Lindsay McMahon]

I'm good, I'm good. Lindsay, do you tend to get lost a lot?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Wow. Do I get lost a lot? Yes. In a new place? Yes. Thank goodness for Google Maps. I have no internal gps. I. If I go to a strange city, let's say I go visit Detroit or something and I don't know the city. I cannot remember. Like I. Yeah, I'm not good at that.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I'm. I'm the same. I. I am very, very thankful that we live in a good in. In the time with Google Maps. I really don't know where I would be.

[Michelle Kaplan]

How did people do it? I think people just talk to each other more often, I guess. Where can I stopped?

[Lindsay McMahon]

At the gas station, Right. Directions, right? Yeah, right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's true. What does that have to do with today's episode?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Well, the word lost is in the expression that we're going to be talking about today. We're not actually really talking about being lost direction wise, but we are going to get into something interesting with the word loss. And this is based on a really good listener question from YouTube.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, we love good listener questions, guys. Don't forget we have a whole YouTube channel where you can find this episode today and other episodes recorded on video so go over to YouTube and type in all ears English and hit subscribe. All right, Michelle, should I go ahead and read listener question?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Sure, please.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, this is from Ad Blue One Blue. Hi, I'm Sajad. I'm from Iran. First of all, I want to say thank you guys for your amazing podcast. And I have a question. What does not lost on me at all mean? I heard it from how I met your mother. Keep up the nice work. Michelle, do you watch that show, How I met your mother?

[Lindsay McMahon]

I did watch it, yeah. How about you?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I never really got into it, but I. It's always on TV now. I always see it on tv, so sometimes I'll just catch like a rerun or something.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I never watch it now, but I did watch it, like, towards the end of when the show was on. So, yeah, I. You know it, but it's not. It's not a show I'm an expert on.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, for sure, for sure. This is. Did you hear this expression recently?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes, I actually heard it just this past weekend. So I know. I love it when I plan an episode and. Or I'm about to plan an episode, and I think, oh, I just heard that. And that's how I know that. That's a really good question.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's how we know we're teaching real English right here on this show. Guys, go ahead and hit the follow button for that exact reason. Because we teach you real English. We don't really go back and change these conversations. By the way, a lot of podcasts do edit out things we don't really edit. We have a wonderful editor. Gaspar's amazing. Shout out to Gaspar.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Thank you, Gaspar.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, thank you. And we don't change the little utterances that we make. We don't go back and change our mistakes because we want to show you real English.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And that is one reason that Allers English is different from other podcasts and one reason to hit that follow button. Right, Michelle?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Definitely make sure you hit follow wherever you're listening to Allers English. So you never miss an episode.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, love it. Okay, so, Michelle, let's just make sure we're super clear for our listeners. What is the expression we're talking about today?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay, so it's something is not lost on someone. So. And then this listener added at all on it, which we can touch on, but we're really going to mostly just talk on to something is not lost on someone. So if you say not lost on you, okay, something is not lost on you. That means you understand or Appreciate something in some way. So you recognize something thing. Now that sounds maybe a little confusing, so let's do some examples. Lindsay, do you want to do the first one?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, Here we go. It's not lost on me how lucky I am to have my job. I know others have not had as much luck. Right. And we often realize this when, you know, we go into a recession. For example, if people lose their jobs and we still have our job, we feel very grateful. Right. It's not lost on me. Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right. So you can appreciate it. You recognize it. It's not, it doesn't just go over your head. You, you see it. Or. Here's another one. His comments were not lost on me. I knew exactly what he was implying. So.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Sounds like there was. So this is, I love this phrase because it really gets at the fact that, that, you know, a lot of communication is not necessarily in the exact words literally of what we're trying to say. It's the undercurrent, it's the, it's the implications, it's the analogies that we use. It's the tone of voice, Michelle.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes, exactly. There's so much more than the actual word. So I knew exactly what he was implying. So maybe he was saying something. Fine. But you, but you knew what it was really about.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, I love that. Now our listeners are going to have a way to articulate this. Here's another one. Her kindness is not lost on me. I do not take it for granted. So this one is not as much about, you know, underhanded like other ways of saying things. It's some someone is being kind. But we're saying we actually notice that life can get really busy and we can take people for granted.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right, right, right, exactly. So I was thinking of an example from my life, and I could say it's not lost on me how lucky I am to have lived in New York. So I, I, I appreciate it. I notice it, I'm aware of it. It doesn't just go over my head.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah, that's, that, that's perfect. I love that. Michelle. Yeah. You are lucky to have lived in New York, too.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Do you have any. Is not lost on you.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, I think for me, it's not lost on me how great my upbringing was, my childhood, my parents were amazing. I was a happy kid. I feel like I, you know, I was able to do a lot of things as a kid, and I feel grateful for it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So great, great example, great example.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So this is also another way to express gratitude for things in our Life isn't. Isn't it, Michelle?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yep, exactly.

[Michelle Kaplan]

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[Lindsay McMahon]

Right. Yeah, exactly. Like Lindsay just said, when we're thankful for something, we're grateful. It's not lost on me how great my upbringing was. It's not lost on me how lucky I am for xyz. And another thing that I just like about that is it shows that we're paying attention.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

It sounds smart. It sounds like we. We are aware of what's going on. We're with it. We're, you know.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So it's, It's, I think, also very important today because as Lindsay was mentioning, you know, everything is kind of go, go, go and busy. But if you say, oh, something isn't lost on me, you're saying, yeah, maybe things are busy, but I know this to be.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. You've taken the time to observe and to understand that something's going on. And you need a way to say that. And this is perfect for that. Yes. Right. Or when we understand that something is important or difficult.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Maybe you're having a conversation with a friend. You need a way to show that you really understand what they're going through. Okay, this could be useful in that in that case.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. And it could also be used at work or in your personal life. So what about. What about adding at all? And we could do a whole episode on that. But you know, our listener was asking about something is not lost on me at all. Yeah, I think it's just intensifying it a little bit. No way. Right, so.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yep. In no way. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And that would be fine too.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. I think he was just, you know, quoting the movie line. And. And you can add, you know, we actually. Michelle, have we done an episode on adding at all?

[Lindsay McMahon]

I don't think so. And I think we should.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's insane. I can't believe it. We need to do that episode, guys. Hit the follow button so you don't miss that episode. Coming up soon. We'll cover that in another episode. All right. But basically, what Michelle said is perfect. It's intensifying what you're saying. Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. So do we ever say something is lost on us? Right. We are talking about, oh, it's not lost on me. Do we ever say, oh, that's lost on me?

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's a great question. I don't think we do. What do you think?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, I mean, I guess you could say something like, oh, her explanation was lost on me. Right. You could, but it's not very common. It's not really. I would say this is very common in the negative, less so in the positive.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. There are other things that you might say if you're looking for the positive. Like, for example, completely went over her head.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right, right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Or she missed the cues, things like that. So, yeah, grammatically you could say it was completely lost on me, but it's just not used as much.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Yep, exactly. So but what are some things that you could say that are a little bit similar?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, you could say it. It did. It does. Or it did not go unnoticed. Something didn't go unnoticed. His generosity did not go unnoticed. He got an extra large tip. Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Or just appreciate. You know, you could say, I appreciate his words, but his actions don't seem to match.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I like the word appreciate. It means so many things. Right. It's like, you see that it means to see something, to value something. It's kind of a. A multi layered word.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is. It is. So, yeah, I just think that this is really good for connection. This whole idea, again, we talked about just showing you're paying attention. You're not letting things just slide. You're. You're actually actively paying attention to what's going on in your life and you or you're thankful for something.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. And you need to be able to express that.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Because, again, people have different communication styles, and in different cultures, people say things differently. Sometimes things are said more through eye contact or through body language rather than the words. We're a culture where the message is really often in the words themselves, but that's not true around the world.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So there's so many nuances involved with connection, Michelle.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, good point. Let's put it together in a role play. So here we are, friends, and I'm complaining to Lindsay about my boyfriend, but also I'm making excuses, so.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, complicated situation. Okay, here we go.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Complicated. Here we go. He could be nicer, but I really do like him, Michelle.

[Michelle Kaplan]

He's no good.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Believe me, Lindsay, it's not lost on me that he's not perfect, but he has a lot of good qualities.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I appreciate the fact he was really nice to me when I lost my phone, but his flakiness towards you does not go unnoticed.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Maybe you're right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And this is the number one job of a friend, isn't it?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

It's a tough love.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Tough love help people not fall into their blind spots when it comes to love and romance especially.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

We've all got them. Yep. Good. So what did you say first to me, Michelle?

[Lindsay McMahon]

I said, believe me, it's not lost on me that he's not perfect. Now, that's a little complicated.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, double negative here.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, yeah, it's not lost on me. So I'm aware.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

That he's not perfect. So, yes, I'm aware that he's not perfect, but he has good, good qualities. So I'm trying to make excuses for him.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly. Exactly. And then I said, I appreciate the fact that he was nice to me when I lost my phone. So I'm giving him that. I'm saying I appreciate something. I, I saw something, I noticed something. Right. But his flakiness towards you does not go unnoticed. Okay, so that's interesting because we're speaking in the passive voice there. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So who. It doesn't. Right, good. Exactly. It is passive. So who does it not go unnoticed by?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, so by me. Right. I'm saying I, I, I do not miss. I do not notice. I do not not notice his flakiness. And sometimes we do do that double negative, which could be another great episod, Michelle.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Double negatives. Yep.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I don't not notice. So we won't teach that one today, but there is something to show our listeners there for another day. But, yeah, so basically I'm saying I do notice it. Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Definitely. Definitely. Oh, my gosh. This is. This is really fun. And again, this was such a good question. Very good to be paying attention. Definitely. If you're watching tv, you hear something and you're like, what is that? That.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Send it to us.

[Michelle Kaplan]

We love that. We love that. Send in the line or whatever it is, and we'll answer your question and we'll shout out your name on the show. All right, there's another episode, Michelle, where our listeners might want to go. Shall I let them know?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Please let them know.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, it's 2366. Just scroll back to 2366. Don't blow off this English vocabulary episode. Good stuff.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, takeaway for today. I would say show people, people you're listening. Show people you're paying attention by using this expression. It's going to kind of elevate you and show that you're. You're smart, you're with it, you're.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

You're looking for other cues other than things that people just say and that are just easy and direct.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly. And as a language learning goal for our listeners at the B2, C1, C2 level, setting a goal to catch more nuances in the words that people use. Right. Because sometimes people select words that might have double meanings if they're trying to say something. Right. There's so much nuance behind the language. And once we get into the C levels, C1, C2, we can start to catch those. So that's where we're all headed as we're listening to this podcast. Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Love it. All right, well, thank you again for this question. And. And, guys, give it a try.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Give it a try.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Conversation.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, sounds good, Michelle. Hit the follow button, listeners, and we'll see you next time. All right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, bye.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Take care, Michelle. 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.