#10- 25 Love & Relationship Slang Words, Phrasal Verbs & Idioms

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It’s time to learn a new type of English! Are you tired of learning textbook English that isn’t used in the real world? When you watch American TV shows and movies, don’t you wish you could understand the jokes, slang, expressions and more? If your desire is to learn English that native speakers actually use, then this is the podcast for you! 

In this episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, you’ll learn 25 phrasal verbs, slang words and idioms all about love and relationships! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, you’ll get real life situations and stories that will teach you how to use each new vocabulary word in context. Discover the meanings behind phrases like slide in the DMs, split up, to have a crush and more! Understand the real life English that Americans use every single day.

This episode's Study Guide includes: 

• Episode transcript so that you can follow along
• Practice activities
• Definitions for all 25 new vocabulary words and expressions
• Example sentences in context

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Today on the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'm teaching you slang words, phrasal verbs, and idioms that are all about love and relationships. Words like "split up," "hit it off," "eye candy," "tie the knot," "to be on cloud nine," and more. Let's go.

Hey there, welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I'm your host Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.

Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in.

Hello? Hello. Greetings from New York City. It's Valentine's Day over here.

Woo-hoo. [00:01:00] This holiday is a big one here in the USA, with everyone from kids to best friends to couples celebrating love. This is one of our most expensive holidays because parents are buying candy for their kids and their kids' classes. Men are buying flowers for their partners and taking them out on fancy dates. And couples are exchanging gifts.

It's also the holiday of chocolate and sweets. It's very typical for people to exchange candy, specifically chocolate, but really all types of candy today.

So it's the perfect holiday for people with a sweet tooth. And if you listened to episode one, that was all about food and drink, you'll know what a sweet tooth is. So go listen to that episode after this one.

Everywhere in the USA today, [00:02:00] there's an explosion of red and pink.

Is it Valentine's Day in your part of the world? I know some countries like Brazil, for example, celebrate Valentine's Day, but at a different time of year. I think Brazilian Valentine's Day is in June. And then some countries even celebrate similar holidays to Valentine's Day, called White Day, like in Japan and Korea, for example, they have Valentine's Day and White Day. Valentine's Day is when women get gifts for men, and White Day is when men get gifts for women. That's a pretty cool idea, right?

Either way, today we are celebrating love. Whether it's the love you have for your romantic partner or for your friends? Or for your family?

Again, [00:03:00] here in the USA, Valentine's Day is for anyone who wants to celebrate love. So for example, before I was married, I used to go out with my friends, male and female, all my single friends. We would go out together and have a good time.

Today's an episode that I am really excited for because this is one of my favorite topics to teach.

The topic of love and relationships is such a big topic here in the USA. You're gonna hear this topic everywhere. If you watch an episode of Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Stranger Things, you'll probably hear some of these terms. But even in everyday conversation here, relationships are such a big topic that you'll often hear these words used amongst friends.

There is so much vocabulary to teach on this topic, and it was really difficult to narrow it down. [00:04:00] Because there are so many words to teach, I had to split up the vocabulary into two stories. One happy story about love and one breakup story.

All right. So let me tell you all the awesome words that you'll be learning in today's episode: to be a catch, to set someone up, a blind date, eye candy, to hit it off, to be into someone, the one, to fall head over heels, to pop the question, get down on one knee, be on cloud nine, tie the knot, slide into someone's DMS, ask someone out, turned down, red flag, have a crush on someone, to be out of someone's league, [00:05:00] trouble in paradise or on the rocks, to hit on, make out, play the field, get cold feet, breakup or split up, and plenty of fish in the sea.

Like I mentioned today, I split up the words into two different stories so that you won't be overwhelmed by one story that has 24 words. The first story is a really happy love story. And the second one is more of a sad breakup story. So let's get into story number one.

Cammie had been single for a while now. She couldn't understand why she just couldn't meet the right person. All of her friends were meeting people and getting married. But she stayed single. Her friends [00:06:00] really wanted her to be happy. They all knew what a real catch she was; she was fun, smart, beautiful, and had a great job.

They decided that they were going to set her up on a blind date with a guy named Mark. Mark was also a great guy who had been unlucky in love despite being nice, attractive, and having a great job.

On the evening of the date, Cammie walked into the restaurant feeling both excited and nervous. She had no idea what to expect. But as soon as Mark walked in, she felt comfortable immediately. He was charming, funny, and definite eye candy. Amazingly, they hit it off immediately, [00:07:00] laughing and chatting very naturally.

As the night went on, Cammie and Mark realized that they were really into each other. By the end of the evening, they were making plans to see each other again. From that night on, they were inseparable, always together. They fell head over heels in love with each other. They both knew that they had met the one.

After only six months, Mark knew he wanted to pop the question. He bought the ring, planned out what he was going to do, and even planned a small engagement party afterward with all of their close friends and family. One warm summer night on a romantic evening walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, Mark got down on one knee and asked Cammie to marry him. She smiled, [00:08:00] laughed, cried from happiness, and said absolutely, yes. They were both on cloud nine. They tied the knot six months later, surrounded by the people they loved most. Looking back on their beautiful love story, they always thank their friends for bringing them together.

Wasn't that such a beautiful love story?

All right. So let's talk about the words that you just heard in the story.

Firstly, they described Cammie as being a catch or a real catch. This is a person who has qualities that are desired in a romantic partner. So anyone who dates this person is going to be extremely lucky because they have a lot to give, a lot to offer in a relationship.

Next, we [00:09:00] have set someone up. To set someone up means to be a matchmaker or to be someone that arranges a meeting or a date between two people. So you're responsible for getting them together. So Cammie's friends set her up with Mark.

Next, we have a blind date. I think some of you listening maybe know this out of experience, blind dates are really popular in many different cultures. A blind date is a meeting or date or some kind of social engagement between two Next, we have "set someone up." To set someone up means to act as a matchmaker or to arrange a meeting or date between two people. So, you're responsible for getting them together. Cammie's friends set her up with Mark.

Next, we have a "blind date." I think some of you listening may know about this from experience. Blind dates are popular in many different cultures. A blind date is a meeting or date, or some kind of social engagement between two people who have never met before. Maybe they've spoken on the phone or online, but they've never met in person.

The next expression is "eye candy." Cammie describes Mark as being eye candy. Eye candy is a slang expression that means someone who is very physically attractive. It's like candy or a treat for your eyes just to look at them because of how attractive they are. So, we know from this expression that Mark was very good-looking.

The next expression is "hit it off." To hit it off with someone means to have some kind of social or romantic chemistry; you get along really well with someone from your very first meeting. You can hit it off with someone in a romantic way, or you can hit it off with someone in a more friendly way. For example, my best friend and I hit it off the first time we hung out together, and we've been best friends ever since.

The next expression is "to be into someone." You've probably heard this before when talking about hobbies and interests. We say "to be into something." For example, it's very common in American culture to say, "What are you into?" and someone might say, "I'm really into yoga." To be into someone is to be romantically interested in that person; you want to have a relationship with them.

Next, we have the expression "the one." "The one" means the one person who is your perfect match, your soulmate, the person that fate brought into your life.

The next expression is "to fall head over heels" or "to fall head over heels in love with someone." This means to become deeply in love with someone in a very quick and intense way. It's a love that develops rapidly, like Mark and Cammie falling deeply in love almost immediately, and it's very intense. Not everyone will experience falling head over heels in love in their lifetime.

The next one is "to pop the question." This is to propose marriage to someone, to ask someone to marry you. "Popping the question" is asking the most important question of all.

Similarly to "pop the question," which is a verb, "to get down on one knee" is a gesture associated with proposing marriage to someone. Traditionally in American culture, it's the men who get down on one knee, but it could be anyone.

Then we have the expression "to be on cloud nine." This is to be extremely happy because of something that just happened in your life. We often use this when people get engaged to be married; we say, "Oh, they're on cloud nine," meaning they're in an extremely euphoric, happy state, living in a dream.

And lastly, we have "to tie the knot." This expression means to get married. We often use this when people are getting married; we say, "Are you ready to tie the knot?" The origin of "tie the knot" comes from a past tradition where couples' hands would be bound together, but if you ask most Americans why it's called "tie the knot," they have no idea.

Before we continue, I just want to remind you to get the study guide for today's episode. Getting the study guide and practicing with it will ensure that you remember everything you learn in this episode and get to practice. The study guide has the transcript from the episode so that you can follow along. It also includes all of the vocabulary plus explanations and new definitions. Additionally, it has practice exercises that you can use to test your knowledge. If you want to get that free study guide, go to the episode description and click on the link.

Alright, as promised, here we go with a breakup story.

Samantha and Alex met in college at a friend's party. Samantha was attracted to Alex right away, but she wasn't interested in dating him because he drank a lot and flirted with all the girls at the party. Surprisingly, a few days after the party, he slid into her DMs and asked her out on a date. She turned him down at first because his behavior at the party seemed like a really big red flag. Alex didn't give up, though. He sent her another message that said, "I've had a crush on you since the night we met. I know you're out of my league, but if you give me a chance, I can make you happy." Samantha decided to give him a chance; it's only one date, she thought, what could happen? They went out on a date and had a great time. They started hanging out a lot and eventually decided to become a couple. They were happy for a while; they spent a lot of time together on campus and had a lot of fun together.

Six months into the relationship, though, there was trouble in paradise. They were arguing constantly, and things were always on the rocks. Samantha felt like Alex was hiding something. Despite Samantha's concerns, she tried to make things work. One night, they went out with friends, and Alex got very drunk. Samantha saw him hitting on another girl at the bar. Then, a week later, one of their friends caught him making out with a girl at a party. Samantha was upset and heartbroken. When Samantha confronted Alex, he admitted that he had been feeling unsure about their relationship for a while; he was getting cold feet about being in a committed relationship and just wanted to play the field for a while. Samantha was hurt, but she knew it was time to break up. She knew that there were plenty of fish in the sea and that she would find love again someday. And she did.

Alright, so you just heard a breakup story, and this vocabulary is really important because breakups, tensions, and problems like these happen all the time. So let's talk about these words and what they mean.

The first one is one of my favorite slang expressions. Do not forget what this means because I promise you're going to hear this from Americans; you're going to hear this in the media; you're definitely going to hear this: "slide into DMs." First off, DMs are direct messages on Instagram. Technically, I guess this could apply to any social media platform, but specifically, this is known to happen on Instagram quite often. So, to "slide into someone's DMs" means to privately message someone with romantic intentions. Anytime you send a private message to someone with a romantic flavor, we say you're "sliding into someone's DMs."

The next one is a phrasal verb, and I'm pretty sure you've heard this before because it's extremely popular: "ask out." "Ask out" simply means to invite someone on a date. For example, Alex asked out Samantha means that he asked her to go on a date with him.

Then we have "turn down." This is another phrasal verb. It means to reject or decline an invitation. So when someone asks you something, makes a request, an offer, or invites you to do something and you say no, you turned them down. So, Samantha turned Alex down at first.

The next expression is "a red flag." A red flag is some kind of warning sign or something that indicates a problem or issue that might exist or arise in the future. In the story, Samantha first noticed red flags about Alex at the party. These were small signs that something could go wrong in the future, but she decided not to pay attention to the red flags.

The next one is an expression that's really popular, and it's "to have a crush on someone." Having a crush on someone means to have very early stages of romantic feelings for someone. It's like your first interest in another person, and it typically starts out small. It's not love; it's very simple. These are like the early stages of having feelings for someone. Oftentimes, when we say that someone has a crush, it means that they don't know if the other person feels the same way. You can say they have a crush, or they have a crush on a specific person, and you can just put their name.

The next expression is an idiom, and it's "to be out of someone's league." Alex believed that Samantha was out of his league. This is when someone is considered to be too good to be in a relationship with someone else. So maybe they're much more attractive than the other person, much more educated, or maybe they have much more money than the other person. Either way, it seems like one person is above the other person.

The next idiom is "trouble in paradise." Now, we use two similar expressions here. The first one is "trouble in paradise," and the second one is "to be on the rocks." Both of these expressions refer to a period of time in a relationship where there are a lot of problems, difficulties, and tension. So maybe at this stage in a relationship, it's uncertain whether the relationship will continue or end. So we can say there is "trouble in paradise" or "they are on the rocks." Sometimes we also say the word "rocky," like, "Hmm, things are rocky right now," and we use "rocky" as an adjective.

Next, we have two phrasal verbs. One of them is "make out." "Make out" is a really popular phrasal verb. It has a few different meanings, but anytime you hear someone using it in a romantic context, they're talking about kissing and kissing in a passionate way. For example, she saw him making out with or kissing someone else.

The other phrasal verb is "hit on." To hit on someone is similar to flirting with someone. It basically means to show romantic interest in someone. So hitting on someone or flirting could be anything from complimenting their looks to even touching them or using body language as well.

Next, we have an idiom, "to play the field." This is a really good one. To play the field is to date a lot of people, and usually, it's when you want no commitment. So if someone breaks up from a long-term relationship, usually, they say they want to play the field. They want to have a few small, uncommitted relationships.

The next one is "to get cold feet." The expression "to get cold feet" is when you suddenly feel scared or nervous about some kind of commitment. We use this a lot for marriage, but it can be used for a lot of different decisions, usually big decisions. Like maybe you want to quit your job to start your own business, but then you get cold feet, suddenly you feel scared, and you hesitate. In this context, Alex was getting cold feet about being in a relationship with Samantha.

Our last phrasal verb is "break up." We can also say "split up." They mean the same things. And "break up" and "split up" are to end a romantic relationship. "Break up" and "split up" can be used at the end of a sentence; you don't have to put an object after. So you can say they broke up, they split up. You don't say they broke up the relationship or they split up the relationship. That's a common problem, a common mistake that I hear students making.

And the last idiom is a really cool one: "There are plenty of fish in the sea." This is a really cool idiom, and what it means is that there are many other romantic options or romantic opportunities available in the world. So when people break up with someone and they're really sad about it, we often say, "Don't worry, there are plenty of fish in the sea," meaning there are so many options for you in the world.

So guess what? You just learned some awesome new vocabulary that you can start using right now when you speak English to a native speaker. Remember that hearing all of these words one time won't be that beneficial. What will really be beneficial is if you study these words and find opportunities to use them. So don't forget to get the study guide by clicking the link in the episode description.

Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of the RealLife English with Gabby podcast. Be sure to download today's study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning. Also, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a review. Thanks so much for tuning in.