In this mini episode, you will learn an interesting way to use the word “catch.”
Episode 396 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you an interesting way to use the word “catch.” 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 Theodore Freeman, from Toronto, Canada. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 396 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 way to use a common word.
The word I’m thinking of is catch. Catch: c-a-t-c-h. Catch.
What is this interesting way to use the word catch? Usually, the word catch is a verb, and it can mean lots of similar things. Catch can also be a noun, and when it is a noun, it can have some very different meanings.
Sometimes, we use the word catch to mean “a person who would be a good boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife.” We can look at somebody who we think is just great because they have so many good qualities. Maybe they are very attractive—they’re very nice to look at—they’re very friendly, they’re smart, they’re educated, they have a good job. They have all of these good things. We can describe somebody like that as “a catch.”
Maybe you have two friends, and you think that your two friends should start dating each other. And you tell one of your friends, “Oh, you should date my friend John (or my friend Susan). He is a real catch (or She is a real catch).”
When you say that, you are saying that this person would be a great partner: a great boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife. This person is a great catch. This person is really, really great.
Why do we use the word catch to mean this? I think it comes from fishing. Why do I think that? When we talk about fishing—when we talk about getting a fish, pulling it out of the water—we often use the verb catch.
That’s why we say that somebody is trying to catch a fish. Or “Last week, somebody caught a fish.” (Caught is the past tense form of catch.)
We can also use the noun catch to mean “something that you catch, a fish that you catch.” If you go fishing and you catch many fish, we could say you had a good catch because you caught a lot of fish. So your catch was good. Or if you catch a big fish, I guess someone could say that your catch was good.
And so when we describe a person as “a good catch” or just “a catch,” I think we are saying this person is like a big fish that you caught. This person is like a special or valuable thing that you caught, that you were able to get.
Now, when we call somebody a catch or a real catch, we are not usually thinking about fish. But I think that is where this comes from. I think it comes from the idea of fishing.
And that is this surprising way to use the word catch, an interesting thing about English that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 396 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 Theodore 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!