In this mini episode, you will learn the very strange idiom "as all get-out.”
Episode 482 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the very strange idiom "as all get-out.” 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 Ilahe, from Azerbaijan. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 482 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 very strange idiom. The idiom is “as all getiout." As all get-out. That's spelled a-s, a-l-l, g-e-t-hyphen-o-u-t. As all get-out.
The reason I say this is a very strange idiom is because of that word get-out. Get-out.
What does that mean? Well, I don't know what it means. I don't really know how to describe this word. And I think the only place you will ever see this word is as part of this idiom, “as all get-out.”I think that is the only place anyone ever uses this word, as part of this idiom, “as all get-out.”
What does this strange idiom mean? Well, the meaning is not very hard to understand. The meaning is “extremely” or “to the highest degree.”
“As all get-out" is really just another way of saying “extremely” or “very much” or “to the highest degree.”
You might be wondering, Why does this idiom mean that? How does this idiom mean that? And I do not have an answer for you. I don't know why this idiom means that. It's very strange! It's mysterious.
All you need to know is “as all get-out” means “extremely” or “to the highest degree.”
Let me give you an example of a situation where somebody might use this strange idiom.
Let's say that you and I are talking about a friend of ours. And you would like to have this friend join us for dinner one night. And I say, “I don't think she will be able to join us.
As you know, she is busy as all get-out.” She is busy as all get-out. That means "She is extremely busy.” “She is as busy as somebody can be.”“She is busy to the highest degree.”“She is the most busy a person could be.”
You could also say to somebody, "Did you experience that storm last night? It was windy as all get-out.” It was windy as all get-out. In other words, “It was as windy as it could be. It was extremely windy. It was the most windy."
What you will notice about this expression and how we use it is that it always comes after an adjective or an adverb. She is busy as all get-out. Or it was windy as all get-out. You cannot use it before an adjective or an adverb. You have to use it right after an adjective or adverb.
And that is the very strange idiom “as all get-out," an interesting element of American English that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 482 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 Ilahe 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!