In this mini episode, you will learn the very old expression “Lo and behold.” It’s old, but people still use it sometimes.
Episode 325 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the very old expression “Lo and behold.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“This is Im, from South Korea. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 325 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 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 want to teach you a very old expression. I think it’s an interesting expression, and even though it’s very old, you will still sometimes hear people use it.
The expression is Lo and behold. Lo and behold. That’s spelled l-o a-n-d b-e-h-o-l-d. Lo and behold.
What does this very old expression mean? The expression means, basically, “Look at that!” It comes from very old words that mean “look” and “see.” And so, it means “Look at that!”
And the way we use this old expression is to express surprise, or to express the idea that something amazing has happened or that something amazing has just appeared.
This expression is often used when people are telling a story. It’s a way of bringing a little bit of drama to the story. It’s a way of saying, “And then you’ll never believe it.” “And then they saw this amazing thing.” Or “And then this remarkable thing happened.” Lo and behold.
Let me give you an example of a situation where somebody might use this expression.
Imagine that I am telling you about a movie that I saw. I’m telling you the story of this movie. And in this movie, some people are trying to find a treasure. They’re trying to find all of these jewels and all of this gold. And when I get to the end of the story, I say something like this: “And then, the main character found the key. And he put the key in the lock of the box. And he turned the key. And he opened the box. And lo and behold! There was treasure inside. There were jewels and gold coins.”
That’s one example of a situation where somebody might say, “Lo and behold.” But people will also say it in more everyday kinds of situations. It always means “And then this remarkable thing happened,” or “And then this surprising thing happened, or “And then we saw this amazing thing.” Lo and behold!
This is an interesting and very old expression that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 325 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Im 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!