In this mini episode, you will learn the expression “to throw someone under the bus.”
Episode 285 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the expression “to throw someone under the bus.” 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.)
Intro
“Hello, everyone! This is Miso, from South Korea. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 285 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you a very interesting—and maybe violent—expression. And that expression is “to throw someone under the bus.” To throw someone under the bus.
That’s throw—t-h-r-o-w—someone under the bus—b-u-s. To throw someone under the bus.
The literal meaning of this expression means “to push somebody down or throw somebody down in front of a moving bus, in front of a bus that is coming toward them and is going to hit them or continue driving right over them.”
That’s why I say it’s a little bit violent. But that’s not how you will usually hear this expression used. Because people don’t usually really push or throw other people down in front of moving buses. Thankfully, that is not something that happens very often.
When we use this expression, here is what we mean: We mean “to criticize or blame somebody for something so that we will not be criticized or blamed.”
If somebody does not want to be blamed or criticized or punished for making some mistake or doing something wrong, he or she might throw someone under the bus. And that means that they will try to get someone else blamed or criticized or punished instead.
When you throw someone under the bus, you try to get that person criticized or blamed instead of you. You are trying to avoid punishment or blame or criticism by making somebody else look responsible for the problem.
Throwing somebody under the bus is never a good thing to do. It’s not good when we mean that expression literally. And it’s also not good when we mean that expression figuratively—when we don’t mean it literally, but instead we mean “to make someone else look responsible for a problem.”
And that is “throw someone under the bus,” an interesting and useful expression that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 285 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments or suggestions for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Miso recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode, and until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!