This mini episode presents another Secret of Native Speakers: the interesting way we use the word “squat.”
Episode 131 of the Everybody ESL podcast reveals another Secret of Native Speakers. This one’s about an interesting way to use the word “squat.” Find other Secrets of Native Speakers in episodes 66, 69, 81, 102, and 117. And send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Today I am going to teach you . . . a Secret of Native Speakers. That's right: I'm back with another of these fun secrets of native speakers. These aren't really secrets. But these are things that you might not know about English and that you probably will not find in a textbook.
And today's Secret of Native Speakers is the way we use the word squat. Squat: s-q-u-a-t. You might be familiar with the verb to squat. That means “to crouch down low, to stand or crouch in a very low position with your feet apart and your knees bent all the way.” That is squatting. But we also use squat as a noun in this very interesting way. We use the noun squat to mean “the smallest possible amount, or nothing.” Let me give you a couple of examples, and I think you will understand this interesting way of using the word squat.
I could say this about my friend: “He is so smart, but he doesn't know squat about math. He is so smart, but he doesn't know squat about math.”
What does that mean? That means my friend is so smart, but he doesn't know even the smallest thing about math. He doesn't even know the first thing about math. He knows nothing about math.
Here's another example: “You told me that you would clean the house today, but now I see that you didn't do squat. You told me that you would clean the house today, but now I see that you didn't do squat.” In other words, you told me that you would clean the house today, but now I see you didn't do even the smallest thing. You didn't even do the first thing when it comes to cleaning the house. You didn't do anything. You did nothing!
So, if you say that somebody didn't do squat or doesn't know squat, you are saying they didn't do, or they don't know, even the smallest thing. They don't know even the first thing. They didn't do even the most basic thing. That's what it means to say that somebody didn't do squat or doesn't know squat.
I think this is an interesting expression, and I also think that it is . . . a Secret of Native Speakers. And that means if you use this expression, I think your English will sound very natural.