'Trash Talk' and Other Trashy Expressions
2022-01-02
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2At the beginning of a new year, some people like to start with a clean slate.
3They like to start fresh.
4Sometimes that involves simply cleaning your house and getting rid of things you do not need.
5Some things you can give away to others or donate.
6Other things without value or use are trash.
7And so trash is also our topic for today.
8After we talk about some trash expressions, you will hear them used in a conversation.
9In American English, we have other words for trash such as garbage and rubbish.
10They all mean the same thing.
11Sometimes we use them interchangeably in expressions.
12But sometimes we don't.
13Let's begin with this expression: trash talk.
14"Trash talk" is insulting speech aimed at a person or a group.
15Trash talk is very common in sports.
16Members of one team could trash talk to members of another team.
17For example, in baseball, if a player hits the ball poorly, the other team might say, "My 80-year-old grandmother hits harder than that!"
18The term "trash talk" is a set expression.
19So, we do not say "garbage talk" or "rubbish talk."
20Trash talk has another meaning.
21It can mean meaningless or false talk.
22We also call that kind of trash talk a load of nonsense.
23In that case, you could say that trash talk is a "load of rubbish," or a "load of garbage."
24Those all work and sound natural.
25Here is another expression that uses the words rather well: "Good riddance to bad rubbish."
26We say "good riddance" as a way of saying "goodbye" to something bad that will not be missed.
27So, "good riddance to bad rubbish" means it is better for everyone that the person or thing is leaving.
28We could also say "good riddance to bad garbage."
29However, "good riddance to bad trash" does not sound right.
30So, we do not use trash in that expression.
31Now, there are other expressions that use garbage and trash but not rubbish.
32A raccoon is an animal known for getting into people's trash cans and stealing their garbage.
33The black color around the eyes makes a raccoon look like a bandit or a robber.
34So, a funny name for a raccoon is either trash bandit or garbage bandit.
35We do not, however, call it a rubbish bandit.
36Again, it just doesn't sound right.
37The same thing happens when a person uses bad language.
38We say he has a garbage mouth or she has a trash mouth.
39Again, we do not say rubbish mouth.
40Our last expression for today is "garbage in, garbage out."
41This means if something is of bad quality or done incorrectly, it most likely will produce poor results.
42In computing, you might hear an engineer says garbage in, or bad codes, will produce garbage out, or poor computer programs.
43But you can use it for other situations as well.
44For example, we often say "garbage in, garbage out" as a warning to eat healthy food.
45If you put bad food in your body, your energy and physical abilities will be affected.
46For this expression, it is common to use "garbage."
47Others will understand you if you say, "rubbish in, rubbish out" or "trash in, trash out."
48But they don't sound as natural as "garbage in, garbage out."
49Now, as promised, let's hear two friends use some of these expressions.
50A: How was the basketball game last night? Did your team win?
51B: We did! We beat the other team by like 20 points.
52A: Wow. You creamed them! What happened? Did they forget how to play?
53B: They said they didn't practice ... at all. So, you know what they say: Garbage in, garbage out.
54A: Well, win or lose -- it sounds like you had fun.
55B: We did. The second best thing about the game was all the trash-talking. We got very creative with our insults.
56A: Didn't the other team get mad?
57B: Nah! It's all in good fun. They were doing their own trash talking. Soon we were competing over who had the best insults!
58A: That does sound fun, especially if no one takes it personally.
59B: Well ... one guy on the other team did. He kept dropping the ball. So, we called him butter hands.
60A: I'm guessing he didn't like that.
61B: No, he didn't. He actually left the game. But his teammates didn't seem to care. All they said was ... good riddance to bad rubbish!
62A: Now, THAT is really trashy trash talk.
63And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Hopefully using our content at VOA Learning English is not garbage in, garbage out.
64Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2At the beginning of a new year, some people like to start with a clean slate. They like to start fresh. Sometimes that involves simply cleaning your house and getting rid of things you do not need. Some things you can give away to others or donate. Other things without value or use are trash. 3And so trash is also our topic for today. After we talk about some trash expressions, you will hear them used in a conversation. 4In American English, we have other words for trash such as garbage and rubbish. They all mean the same thing. Sometimes we use them interchangeably in expressions. But sometimes we don't. 5Let's begin with this expression: trash talk. 6"Trash talk" is insulting speech aimed at a person or a group. Trash talk is very common in sports. Members of one team could trash talk to members of another team. 7For example, in baseball, if a player hits the ball poorly, the other team might say, "My 80-year-old grandmother hits harder than that!" 8The term "trash talk" is a set expression. So, we do not say "garbage talk" or "rubbish talk." 9Trash talk has another meaning. It can mean meaningless or false talk. We also call that kind of trash talk a load of nonsense. In that case, you could say that trash talk is a "load of rubbish," or a "load of garbage." Those all work and sound natural. 10Garbage and rubbish 11Here is another expression that uses the words rather well: "Good riddance to bad rubbish." 12We say "good riddance" as a way of saying "goodbye" to something bad that will not be missed. So, "good riddance to bad rubbish" means it is better for everyone that the person or thing is leaving. 13We could also say "good riddance to bad garbage." However, "good riddance to bad trash" does not sound right. So, we do not use trash in that expression. 14Garbage and trash 15Now, there are other expressions that use garbage and trash but not rubbish. 16A raccoon is an animal known for getting into people's trash cans and stealing their garbage. The black color around the eyes makes a raccoon look like a bandit or a robber. So, a funny name for a raccoon is either trash bandit or garbage bandit. We do not, however, call it a rubbish bandit. Again, it just doesn't sound right. 17The same thing happens when a person uses bad language. We say he has a garbage mouth or she has a trash mouth. Again, we do not say rubbish mouth. 18Garbage in, garbage out 19Our last expression for today is "garbage in, garbage out." This means if something is of bad quality or done incorrectly, it most likely will produce poor results. 20In computing, you might hear an engineer says garbage in, or bad codes, will produce garbage out, or poor computer programs. 21But you can use it for other situations as well. For example, we often say "garbage in, garbage out" as a warning to eat healthy food. If you put bad food in your body, your energy and physical abilities will be affected. 22For this expression, it is common to use "garbage." Others will understand you if you say, "rubbish in, rubbish out" or "trash in, trash out." But they don't sound as natural as "garbage in, garbage out." 23Now, as promised, let's hear two friends use some of these expressions. 24A: How was the basketball game last night? Did your team win? 25B: We did! We beat the other team by like 20 points. 26A: Wow. You creamed them! What happened? Did they forget how to play? 27B: They said they didn't practice ... at all. So, you know what they say: Garbage in, garbage out. 28A: Well, win or lose -- it sounds like you had fun. 29B: We did. The second best thing about the game was all the trash-talking. We got very creative with our insults. 30A: Didn't the other team get mad? 31B: Nah! It's all in good fun. They were doing their own trash talking. Soon we were competing over who had the best insults! 32A: That does sound fun, especially if no one takes it personally. 33B: Well ... one guy on the other team did. He kept dropping the ball. So, we called him butter hands. 34A: I'm guessing he didn't like that. 35B: No, he didn't. He actually left the game. But his teammates didn't seem to care. All they said was ... good riddance to bad rubbish! 36A: Now, THAT is really trashy trash talk. 37And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Hopefully using our content at VOA Learning English is not garbage in, garbage out. 38Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo! 39Anna Matteo wrote this for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 40________________________________________________ 41Words in This Story 42clean slate -n. a person's record (as from a school or a job) that shows no evidence of any problems, broken rules, etc. : a clean record 43conversation -n. a talk between two or more people : the act of talking 44interchangeably -adv. capable of being used in place of each other 45load of nonsense -n. large amount of words or ideas that are foolish or untrue : a lot of language that has no meaning 46bandit -n. a criminal who attacks and steals from travelers and who is often a member of a group of criminals 47code -n. instructions for a computer (as within a piece of software) 48cream -v. to defeat (a person or team) easily and completely