In this mini episode, you will learn a surprising way to use the word “mean.”
Episode 483 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you a surprising way to use the word “mean.” 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 Roza, from Iran, Kurdistan Province. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 483 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—once again—I have...
… a secret of native speakers.
That’s right, this is another example of something that native English speakers know, but other people probably do not. This is not the kind of thing that you will learn in a classroom or in a textbook.
I’m thinking about an unexpected meaning of a common word. The word is mean. Mean. M-e-a-n.
Here, I’m thinking of the adjective form of mean. As an adjective, mean usually means unkind, unpleasant, rude or maybe violent. It has very negative meanings. It has a very negative feeling.
But sometimes you will hear people use the word mean in a very different way. Instead of using it to express all of those negative kinds of qualities or feelings, we can use mean to express the idea of excellent or very skilled or impressive. When we use it this way, we often use it to talk about a physical activity or the act of making or producing something.
This might sound very strange to you, but I think after a couple of examples, you will understand what I’m talking about.
Imagine that you have a friend who is an excellent musician. She is a piano player, and she plays the piano extremely well. When you talk about your friend, you could say, “She plays a mean piano.” She plays a mean piano. That sounds a little bit strange, doesn’t it? She plays a mean piano.
When we say this, we are not saying that the piano is unkind or unfriendly or violent in some way. What we are saying is, she plays the piano extremely well. It is very impressive the way she plays the piano. She is an excellent piano player.
For another example, imagine another friend who is an excellent cook, and his specialty—the thing that he makes the best, the dish that he is known for—is lasagna. And his lasagna is always perfectly delicious. It is excellent. He’s very good at making lasagna. You could say this about your friend, the excellent cook:
You could say, “He makes a mean lasagna.” He makes a mean lasagna. Again, we’re not really describing the lasagna, but we are describing him as somebody who makes lasagna, and we are saying he is excellent at making lasagna. He is very skilled, very impressive when it comes to making lasagna.
We can actually say “a mean lasagna” when we want to express this idea. He makes a mean lasagna.
Now, you are probably thinking, “This does not make any sense. Why are you using the word mean in this way? And why are you describing the thing as mean and not even the person as mean?”
All I can say is this is how we use the word mean when it has this sense or feeling.
You should know two things about this. One is, we always say “a mean thing” or “a mean activity.” It’s not just “mean.” We don’t say, “He makes mean lasagna,” or “She plays mean piano.” It is always “a mean lasagna,” “a mean piano,” or “a mean something.”
The other thing to know is that this is an informal meaning of the word mean. This is an informal way to use the word mean. There is nothing wrong with using it this way, but you should know that it is definitely informal.
By the way, here are another few quick examples of using the word mean in this way:
You could say, “My friend plays a mean game of tennis,” or “That painter paints a mean portrait.” “That tattoo artist tattoos a mean tattoo.”
All of these examples use mean in the same way. They are used to express the idea that someone does something or makes something in an excellent way. Someone is very skilled or impressive when it comes to doing this thing.
And that is this surprising way to use the word mean. And this is another element of English that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 483 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 Roza 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!