In this mini episode, you will learn the useful phrase “When you get right down to it.”
Episode 340 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the useful phrase “When you get right down to it.” 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
“Hi, everyone. This is Mobina, from Iran. And you are listening to this amazing podcast, Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 340 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 am going to teach you an interesting and useful expression. And the expression is “When you get right down to it.” When you get right down to it. That’s when—w-h-e-n, you—y-o-u, get—g-e-t, right—r-i-g-h-t, down—d-o-w-n, to—t-o, it—i-t. When you get right down to it.
What does “When you get right down to it” mean?
“When you get right down to it” is a way of introducing a conclusion or an opinion. And it means, basically, “When you consider the most simple things” or “When you consider things in the most accurate way.” I think it also has the additional meaning of “When you ignore all of those things that don’t really matter, when you ignore all of the things that are not important.” So it has the feeling of stating something that is very simple and basic.
Let me give you an example of how somebody might use this expression.
Let’s say that two people are talking about things they would like to do in the future, or things that they are excited about, or the kind of life they would like to have. And after talking about all of these different things that they might like to buy or different places they might like to visit, one person says this: “When you get right down to it, what’s most important is being healthy.” When you get right down to it, what’s most important is being healthy.
In other words, “When we consider the most basic thing, or when we consider this in the most accurate way.” And it has the feeling of saying, “Let’s ignore all of those things that don’t really matter. Let’s focus on the most basic, accurate thing.” When you get right down to it.
When you get right down to it, everyone just wants to be healthy. Or “When you get right down to it, health is the most important thing.”
And that is “When you get right down to it,” an interesting and useful expression that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 340 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 Mobina 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!