In this mini episode, you will learn the common expression “off the top of your head.”
Episode 439 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the common expression “off the top of your head.” 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
“Hello, everyone. This is Damon, from Nanjing, China. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 439 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 a common and useful expression. The expression is “to know something off the top of your head.” To know something off the top of your head.
What do you think that means? What do you think it means if we say that we know something—or don’t know something—off the top of our head?
When we say that we don’t know something off the top of our head, we mean that we don’t know this thing easily. Or we don’t know it without thinking about it. Or we don’t know it without checking or looking up the information. We usually use it to mean that we don’t already know something. Or we don’t have something stored in our memory. Oe, if it is stored in our memory, we cannot easily get to it.
When we say that we don’t know something off the top of our head, we mean that we don’t have this information handy. We don’t know it without thinking hard about it or without checking somewhere.
Let me give you an example of the kind of situation where you will hear people use this expression.
Let’s say that you and your friend are going to the movies. And as you are driving there, your friend asks, “Do you know the address of the movie theater?” And you say, “I don’t know the address off the top of my head. But I know where the theater is.” That means “I don’t have that information in my mind. I don’t already know the address of the theater. I know how to get there. I know where it is. But if you’re asking me to tell you the address, I cannot do that. I don’t have that information handy. It’s not easy for me to get that information. I can check on the internet. Or maybe I have it in my phone. But without checking? I don’t what it is. I don’t know the address of the movie theater.”
Or imagine if somebody asks you, “Do you know the population of the United States?” (I’m not sure why somebody would ask you that, but just imagine that somebody asks you that question.) You might have an idea about the population of the United States. You might be able to estimate that number. You might be able to give a number that’s close to the real answer. But you probably don’t have that information right here in your mind, easy to express. Probably, you don’t know the exact answer. You could say, “I don’t know that off the top of my head. I think I can give you a good estimate for the population of the United States. But I can’t tell you that number off the top of my head. I can’t tell you off the top of my head. I can’t tell you easily. I don’t already have that information just ready to find and give to you.”
One thing I should tell you about this expression is that we really only use it in the negative—when we say that someone doesn’t know something off the top of their head—and we also use it in questions: “Do you know this off the top of your head?” That sentence works.
There are many expressions like this in English that really only work in the negative and in questions. I’m not sure why that is, but this is one of those expressions. So you will hear someone ask, “Do you know this off the top of your head?” And you will hear someone say, “I don’t know this off the top of my head.” But you will almost never hear someone say, “Oh, yes, I know that off the top of my head.” I really cannot tell you why, but it just sounds strange. It’s something that we use almost always only an negative forms and in questions.
Andthat is “off the top of your head,” an interesting and common expression that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 439 of Everybody ESL. Remember: If you have any 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 Damon 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!