In this mini episode, you will learn the useful phrase “You name it.”
Episode 444 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the useful phrase “You name 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 Mohadeseh, from Iran. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 444 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 interesting phrase. The phrase is “You name it.” You name it. That’s spelled y-o-u, n-a-m-e, i-t. You name it.
What does “You name it” mean, and when do we use it?
We use “You name it” when we are giving a list of something. When we use “You name it,” we are saying, “Anything you could name or suggest is probably on this list.” In other words, “This list includes everything.” Or “This list includes everything important.” “It includes everything you could want, everything you could name or suggest.”
For instance, let’s say that somebody is talking about the vacation that he just came back from. He went to a resort, and he is telling his friend about everything that the resort had. He might say something like this:
“This resort had everything. They had two swimming pools, a beautiful beach, they had many restaurants and nightclubs, and they had a golf course. You name it.”
You name it.
When he ends the list by saying, “You name it,” he is saying, “Anything you could name is on this list. Anything you could think of or suggest is probably on this list. This resort has everything. Everything you could think of is on this list.” And so, he ends the list by saying, “You name it.” Anything you could name is on the list. The list has everything.
You might also hear “You name it” used in a situation like this:
Imagine that one person is suggesting an Italian restaurant to go to for dinner. And the other person asks, “What do they have on their menu? What kinds of Italian foods do they have?” The first person might say, “You name it.” In other words, “Anything you could name—anything you might suggest—is probably on this list. The list has everything.”
I want to say that you might hear a variation of this in a slightly different situation.
Sometimes, instead of saying, “You name it,” people will say, “Name it.” Here is the kind of situation where you might hear that:
Let’s say that my friend comes to me and says, “Can I ask you to do a favor for me?” I might answer by saying, “Name it.” In other words, “All you have to do is name the favor. All you have to do is tell me the favor—any favor—and I will do it.” This is another way of saying, “All you need to do is ask. Anything you say or suggest, I will say, ‘OK.’”
And that is “You name it,” a very common and useful phrase that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 444 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 Mohadeseh 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!