Transcript of AE 1023 - Expression: A Fish Out of Water

G'day, you mob, and welcome to Aussie English. I am your host, Pete, and my objective here is to teach you guys the English spoken down under. So, whether you want to sound like a fair dinkum Aussie or you just want to understand what the flipping hell we're on about when we're having a yarn, you've come to the right place. So, sit back, grab a cuppa and enjoy Aussie English. Let's go.

G'day you, mob. How's it going? Welcome to this episode of the Aussie English podcast, the number one place for anyone and everyone wanting to learn Australian English. Now, I hope, as the introduction says, you guys have grabbed yourself a cuppa, that is a cup of, and it can be tea or coffee. I mean, you can really get yourself a cup of whatever you want, beer, water, whisky. But generally, in Australian English, we mean a coffee or a tea.

So, I've got one here in front of me. I'm going to have a little sip. Because as what usually happens, I make myself a cuppa, do these lessons and then forget to drink it and after the fact, after I finished these lessons it's stone cold. It is incredibly cold after the fact. So, anyway, guys, welcome to this episode. I'm looking forward to hanging out with you guys today, kicking back and relaxing.

It's been a little while since I have batched a few of these expression episodes because I have just been run off my feet. I have been flat out, flat out like a lizard drinking with my kids, my family. We've been in lockdown. There's been no day-care. It's just been- It's been crazy. It has been crazy. So, it's just been a lot of moving parts, a lot of things to organise.

So, at the moment, my kids are all sleeping, and I can record without getting screams or cries or yells or shouts in the background. So, before we get into today's episode, guys remember if you will like all the transcripts for these episodes, all the bonus episodes, the videos that go with some of these episodes like the expression episode that you are either watching or listening to today.

Be sure to sign up for the Premium podcast, so you can find that at AussieEnglish.com/podcast. And don't forget, too, that I have a bunch of courses on the website. So, if you're interested in improving your use of phrasal verbs and mastering these so that you can sound a lot more natural, check out my phrasal verb course. That's a really good way of learning phrasal verbs, and how to use them. Learning the concepts.

If you want to improve your pronunciation, check out my Australian pronunciation course where I teach you all the sounds in English. And then I recently added 25 advanced lessons. I've got a spoken English course in there, too, about reductions and contractions. And a listening comprehension course which is called the real English discussion's course.

So, go check those out. Now, I wanted to mention I have written these four lessons. This is the first of the four that I'm recording, and I have changed the structure a little bit to just see how they go. Okay, so to begin with, let's do a little question and answer. So, today's question comes from @rurrochman: How often do spiders actually come out in Australia? He loves Australia, but he's scared of spiders.

So, this is a bit of a stereotype. In Australia, you are going to see spiders quite often, but typically they're not going to be dangerous spiders. There are only two deadly spiders in Australia, the Redback Spider and the Sydney Funnel Web Spider, and they have not killed anyone since, I think, the 1970s. There's anti-venom for both of those spiders, so if you ever get bitten, go to the hospital.

She'll be right. She'll be sweet. You'll be okay. Okay? But typically, you will see spiders, you know, there are daddy long legs spiders, white tip spiders, huntsman's, they come into the house here. The further north you go generally, you're going to see probably more spiders around the place because there's a lot more wildlife. So, they are here, but typically they're benign. They're not going to harm you.

Just use a cup and some paper, take them outside, let them go on their way. Because remember, they're the things that stand between you and all the annoying insects in Australia. Things like mozzies, the blow flies, everything like that. So, don't go on a spider killing spree, there the thing standing between you and the bugs. All right, so I hope you enjoyed that little question and answer.

I'm thinking about getting audio or video questions from members of the Aussie English podcast or academy, or even you guys listening and letting them ask their questions, letting you guys ask your questions on the podcast in audio, so that you can actually use your English. So, make sure that you let me know what you reckon about that and if it's something you would like to do in the future.

So, now let's get into this week's news story. So, a monster sized flathead has been caught four times. Dan Guilfoyle has ended up with the behemoth fish on the other end of his line for a third time this week. The first time being when this fish was caught and tagged. It's been caught a further three times since it was first tagged at Lake Macquarie in the New South Wales Hunter region in mid-2019.

When asked if he was a particularly talented angler or if the fish was just flat out dumb, Dan said neither. He described himself as a rather persistent fisherman and that the fish are often creatures of habit that, if caught and released, may end up back on the line sooner rather than later.

According to New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, this fish in question, this dusky flathead has been caught and released three further times from where it was first caught within a 500-metre radius. It's grown two centimetres since it was last caught and is now a whopping 85 centimetres in length. The fish have a catch and release survival rate of more than 90%.

Mr Guilfoyle, who doesn't actually eat fish and instead only wets a line for the sport of it, said, he was absolutely stoked to catch the flatty again and see it thriving out there in the wild. So, there you go, guys, and I thought, you know what? We're doing fish today. We're talking about fish and the expressions of "fish out of water". We've got to do a fish joke, right? So, slap the bird and let's get into the joke.

I was on the phone to my grandma the other day and we were discussing how my grandpa was getting on in the nursing home. I said, how is he coping, getting on alright? And she replied, oh no. He's like a fish out of water. So, I said, oh, is he finding it quite hard to adjust? And she replied, no, he's dead. So, a bit of a dark joke there, guys, a bit of a dark joke. But I thought it was funny and had to share it with you guys.

I love those sort of diversions, right? You're expecting it to go one way and then all of a sudden it goes a dark sort of black humour way. So, the joke here is obviously that if you feel like "a fish out of water", we'll get to that in a bit. It's sort of to be uncomfortable, right. But here she says, no, he's dead, like a fish out of water would die because it can't breathe. Its gills don't work. So, there's the joke.

All right. So, today's expression is "a fish out of water", often used as like "a fish out of water", right. You're comparing one thing or a person to a fish being out of water, where a fish is going to be pretty uncomfortable. So, let's go through and define the words. We'll define the definition of this expression. We'll go through the origin and then we can go through some examples.

We'll go through a pronunciation exercise and then I've got a little surprise for you at the end of today's episode. So, "a fish", I'm sure you'll know what "a fish" is. It is a limbless, cold blooded vertebrate animal with gills and fins that lives wholly in the water.

So, the fisherman loves catching "fish". Or he's got a few "fish" in his pond, a few "goldfish" maybe. Maybe a- What are they called again? A few "koi fish". The Japanese- "Koi fish". What am I smoking? What am I smoking? "Koi fish". They're "koi fish"

"Out". If you're "out" of something you are not in, you are not within that thing. So, the dog might run "out" of his kennel, right. He's exiting his kennel. Or the kids came "out" of the yard. They exited the yard. They're not within it anymore. And lastly, "water", again, something you're going to know if you speak English well enough to understand these episodes.

It is that colourless, transparent, odourless liquid that forms seas, lakes, rivers and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms like you and me, and like fish. So, humans are 60% or more "water". So, the definition of the expression "a fish out of water" or to be "like a fish out of water", it is where a person is away from his or her usual environment or activities, right.

So, someone is confronted with a particular situation that causes anxiety. That person is uncomfortable. They are in a new and unknown environment. They are "a fish out of water". Now the origin, according to knowyourphrase.com, this phrase was written down by an English poet named Geoffrey Chaucer in a work of his from the year 1483. Look at that, 530 years ago. Crazy.

"A huge man, uncouth, a master of vessel and knew all the ports. Not ride well, like a fish out of water as sat on his horse." Now it sounds pretty weird to me, but that's probably because this is sort of the turning point between middle English and modern English.

So, some of the words that are used there, and the structure of those sentences are a little bit strange. But nonetheless, he used the expression "like a fish out of water" when sat on his horse. So, he's obviously talking about this guy being really good on any vessel, he knows all the ports, he's really good at sea. But the moment he gets on a horse he feels "like a fish out of water", right, he feels uncomfortable. So, yeah, insane.

This is another one of those English phrases that is just hundreds and hundreds of years old. Really cool. So, now let's go through some examples of how I would use the expression "like a fish out of water" in day-to-day English. So, imagine number one, you start a new hobby, maybe you go rock climbing or you start learning to scuba dive, or maybe you even start a martial art like karate.

If you feel like you're really uncomfortable in that activity, you know it's a new environment, it's very unnatural for you. You feel "like a fish out of water". So, if you just started rock climbing and you've never done anything like this before, you'd barely have any idea what you're doing, right. You don't have the foggiest idea how to rock climb. You will definitely feel "like a fish out of water".

Example number two, imagine you're at work one day and you have to go to a meeting with everyone, right. Suddenly, your boss pulls you aside before the meeting and says, you know what, instead of today me running the meeting, how about you run the meeting?

If this is something that you've never done before and, you know, the thought of having to stand up in front of a crowd and be in charge, public speaking, all that sort of stuff sends chills down your spine. You're probably going to feel "like a fish out of water", right. So, it's not something you're comfortable with. It's a new, unknown environment or activity. You definitely feel like a complete "fish out of water".

Example number three. So, when I was at high school, some of the kids were lucky enough to go overseas to a foreign country for 6 to 12 months. So, this was an exchange trip that many students went on, you know, maybe in year 11 or year 12. So, they'd be lucky enough to live with a family in these countries, I remember some of my friends went to places like France and I think Sweden.

They would have lived with a family. They would have done everything with the family. They would have learnt the language, the culture, gone to school with the kids, everything like that. So, imagine if you are one of these kids going on this kind of exchange. I imagine the moment you get there, you feel "like a fish out of water", right. There's new food, there's a new language, there's a new culture.

You see that the environment is completely different. Everything is so uncomfortable, it's different, you have to get used to it. So, initially you "feel like a fish out of water". So, hopefully, guys, now you understand the expression "a fish out of water, like a fish out of water, to feel like a fish out of water". This is where you feel like you're really uncomfortable.

You're in a new environment, you're doing a new activity, you're confronted with a particular situation that causes anxiety. You "feel like a fish out of water". So, as usual, let's go through a little listen and repeat exercise.

So, this is a speaking exercise. You could consider it a shadowing exercise, pronunciation exercise. Use it however you desire so that you can level up your pronunciation, but focus on my rhythm, intonation, everything like that, the connected speech, you know, all that good stuff. Are you ready? Let's go.

"A. A fish. A fish out. A fish out of. A fish out of water. A fish out of water. A fish out of water. A fish out of water. A fish out of water. I feel like a fish out of water. You feel like a fish out of water. He feels like a fish out of water. She feels like a fish out of water. We feel like a fish out of water. They feel like a fish out of water. It feels like a fish out of water." Great work, guys. Great work.

Now before we get into the final bit. Let's talk a little bit about what was going on there in terms of pronunciation, connected speech and emphasis, right, intonation. So, you'll notice in just the phrase "a fish out of water". If I were to say all these words separated, you'll hear two T's, right. Especially if I enunciate the "T" in the word "water". "A fish out of water".

You'll also hear the F or the V sound, "F" in the spelling in the word "of". So, "a fish out of water". But when I put it together, there are lots of sound changes that happen all at once. Firstly, I don't say the word "A" as "A". I use the schwa sound because it's reduced. I say, /ə/, "ə fish out of water, ə fish out". I link the "SH" at the end of the word "fish" to the word "out", which starts with a vowel sound.

"ə fishæɔt, ə fishæɔt of water". The "T" in "out" turns from a true-T into the T-flap because the word "of" starts with a vowel. So, there's a vowel either side of that "T", "ə fishæɔt ɔ, æɔt ɔ, æɔt ɔ" instead of "out of". "Of" loses the V sound, the "F" in the spelling and just becomes another schwa, "ə, ə fishæɔt ɔə, ə fishæɔt ɔə water". And the "T" in "water" becomes a T-flap as well.

So, there are so many changes going on. But the key here is to becoming aware, becoming conscious of these connected speech pronunciation changes so that when you hear people speaking English naturally and quickly, you will be able to understand them. This is the key to understanding quote fast spoken English. It's just getting used to these sound changes that happen when these words all get mushed together. Okay? "A fish out of water".

So, when you go back and do this exercise, pay attention to how the pronunciation changes. "A fish out of water, a fish out of water. I feel like a fish out of water". So, there you go. All right, now to finish, I wanted to try a different little section here instead of the Aussie facts section. You guys have been whingeing, moaning, you know, in a positive way. You've been asking me to talk about Australian TV shows.

So, I have decided to do a little activity here where I'm going to play a sample, a little clip or line out of a TV show or movie. And I want you to listen to this, I'm going to play it two times, obviously you can rewind, you can pause, you can do whatever with the podcast or the video. But I want- I'm not going to show what this is on screen, right.

You're going to see the video in the video and you're going to hear the audio in both the podcast and the video. But I want you to pay attention and see if you can listen and understand to what's what's being said, right. Listen to and understand what's being said. So, I'm going to play this two times. This is a clip from the TV show SeaChange, this is from season three. SeaChange is a really beautiful TV show. It was filmed where I grew up.

I get very nostalgic when I watch this TV show. It's a drama, you know, melodrama. There's a lot of stuff with relationships going on. People were in conflict. And I think it's a really good TV show if you want to learn about Australia, Australian culture, as well as the English that's used because it's full of colloquial English slang terms, expressions. And because it's a drama, it's people talking all the time.

So, it's just chock a block full of dialogue. Anyway. SeaChange, go check it out. So, I'm going to play this two times, okay. I'll play it the first time right now. Are you listening?

How does it happen that some people behave really badly and get away with it, and others try and do the right thing and it never gets noticed?

All right, now, it's time to play it a second time. Are you listening?

How does it happen that some people behave really badly and get away with it, and others try and do the right thing and it never gets noticed?

Good job. Remember, just rewind if you want to hear that again. Obviously, you can listen to the entire episode multiple times if you want. But if you want to focus in on this. Get a piece of paper out, get a pen out, listen multiple times. You can obviously adjust the speed if you're using the premium podcast player. This is probably available on other podcast players, too.

So, you can slow it down, you can have it at normal speed. But use this as a sort of targeted listening comprehension exercise where you try and write out exactly what you hear. And then to check your answer, either download the free PDF that comes with this episode or make sure to get the transcript for this episode if you sign up to the Premium podcast, because that will have the transcript of the exact phrase that was used.

Okay, so I hope you enjoyed this episode, guys. Give me some feedback on what you thought of these two different sections that I've added now, the Q&A section, as well as this sample clip section at the end instead of the Aussie fact. I may not do this every time, but I thought I would try it to see what you reckon. Anyway, thanks for joining me. See you next time.