In this mini episode, you will learn the phrase “beg to differ.”
Episode 348 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the phrase “beg to differ.” 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! This is Lucas, from Chile. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 348 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 idiom. And that idiom is “beg to differ.” Beg to differ.
That is beg—b-e-g, to—t-o, differ—d-i-f-f-e-r. Beg to differ.
What does it mean when someone begs to differ or when someone says, “I beg to differ”?
If I say, “I beg to differ,” that means “I am going to disagree with you.” It’s like I am telling you that I’m about to disagree with you. I’m telling you that I’m going to give a different kind of opinion. I’m going to disagree with you.
For example, if someone is in a meeting at his job, and he is listening to the boss describe something, or he is listening to the boss give his opinion about something, if he disagrees with the boss—if this employee has a different opinion, a different way of looking at things—he might say, “I beg to differ,” and then give his different opinion.
And so “beg to differ” means “I am going to disagree with you,” or “I am going to disagree with that,” or “I am going to give a different kind of opinion.”
Okay. But Why does “beg to differ” mean that? Where does this come from?
First, Let’s look at this strange verb differ. To differ. To differ has more than one meaning. But the meaning that is important here is “to disagree, to have or to give a different opinion.”
What about the word beg? You might have heard the word beg before. To beg means “to ask for something very politely or in a very humble way.” It might mean to ask permission in a very humble or polite way, or to ask for help in a very humble and polite way.
If we put all of that together, it looks like “beg to differ” means “to ask in a very polite or humble way for permission to disagree, to ask if it’s okay to give a different kind of opinion.”
It almost sounds like you are talking to a king or a queen and saying, “Please, give me permission to disagree with you.”
Now, of course, when people say, “I beg to differ,” they are not really asking anybody for permission. This is just a set phrase or set expression that means “I am going to politely disagree with you. I am going to politely give a different kind of opinion.”
And that is “beg to differ,” an interesting and useful idiom that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 348 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 Lucas 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!