20 Secrets of American Conversation Can you understand
Vanessa:
I have a little secret. Houston, we have a
problem. We’re not in Kansas anymore. Who are you
going to call? Ghostbusters! Let’s talk about it.
Hi, I’m Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com
and you probably understood the words I just said,
but did you understand what they mean? If
I said that to you in real conversation,
would you say, “Huh? Why did you call me
Houston? And we don’t live in Kansas. And
I don’t believe in ghosts. What are you talking
about?” Today, I want to bring you in to a little
secret of American English conversation.
What’s that secret? Come a little closer.
The secret is that Americans often use pop
culture references in daily conversation.
What’s a pop culture reference? Well, this means
that it’s a famous quote from a movie, TV show,
or a famous person. Even if you haven’t seen the
movie or TV show like me, you can still use the
famous quote. In fact, some of the movies that
I’m about to tell you about, I’ve never seen, but
I still use the quotes and I know what they are.
It’s just like being in the US has infused these
into my brain as a normal part of conversation.
So today’s lesson is like a little shortcut into
American conversations. I’d like to share the top
20 pop culture references in American English.
If you want to sound cool with these quotes in
your conversations, you can download the free
PDF worksheet that goes with today’s lesson. You
will get all of the quotes, the movie references,
the ways to use them, some sample sentences,
so that you can integrate them and also
understand them when other people use them.
And at the bottom of the worksheet, you can
answer Vanessa’s challenge question so that you
can answer this and use what you have learned.
All right, let’s get started with the first
pop culture reference secrets of American
conversations. For each of these quotes, I’m going
to show you how it’s used in daily conversation
first because this is how you will encounter it.
And I want you to guess if you can understand
what it means and then we’ll talk about where
it came from. Well, one day I walked into my
house and my mom was baking some chocolate chip
cookies, and I said, “There’s no place like home.”
You probably understand that I feel very
comfortable and love to be at home because
there’s cookies, and my mom is baking them. But
this reference, “There’s no place like home,”
comes from the movie, The Wizard of Oz. In this
movie, Dorothy gets whisked away to another land,
Oz. And when she wants to go home, she needs to
say this classic phrase. She taps her feet or
her heels together and says, “There’s no place
like home, there’s no place like home.” And you
know what? Sometimes that’s true. You can travel
all around the world, have a great time, and then
when you get home, you feel like, “There’s
no place like home. It’s really the best.”
Number two. When we moved from the quiet
countryside to the big city, I told my husband,
“We’re not in Kansas anymore.” I’ve never lived
in Kansas. In fact, I’ve never even been to Kansas
but I can still use this phrase. Kansas
is a state in the US if you don’t know.
This also comes from The Wizard of Oz. In
this movie, Dorothy says to her little dog,
when they’re in the foreign unusual land
of Oz, she says, “Toto,” which is her dog,
“I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Her
home was in Kansas, and now she’s in a strange new
place. So we often use this phrase, “I’m not in
Kansas anymore,” to talk about a completely new
environment where you feel a bit uncomfortable
and maybe you’re going to have to get used to it,
“We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Pop culture reference number three,
the secret to American English conversations.
One time my husband was cheering for me as I ran
a competition race and he said, “Run, Forrest,
run!” Is my name Forrest? Was I in a forest?
No, this is from the famous movie Forrest
Gump. The main character Forrest has some
physical difficulties with his legs and he can’t
walk well, he definitely can’t run. And then some
bullies are going to try to beat him up. What can
he do? He has to get away. So his friend Jenny
yells to him in the famous scene, “Run, Forrest,
run!” and he’s running away from the bullies. And
this is the first time in his life when his leg
braces fall off and he runs fast as lightning.
And it’s kind of this really emotional scene. And
the line, “Run, Forrest, run!” has often stuck
with a lot of people. So, if you’re running, or
your friend is running, well, or even if you just
see somebody running after their kid, “Run,
Forrest, run!” is a very funny thing to say.
Number four, before leaving to go to
the grocery store, my mom would always
say in her best Terminator voice, “I’ll be
back.” Have you ever watched the Terminator?
I have a little secret. I haven’t. But I use this
quote all the time. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s
just part of, “It’s in the air. We have to use
these quotes.” So in the movie The Terminator,
the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is like a cyborg
and he’s trying to get some people and destroy
them, and they’re protected by the police. So he
tells them in a scary dark way, “I’ll be back.”
But if you have watched any movies with Arnold
Schwarzenegger, he has a very strong accent,
very classic accent. And in fact, this is an
example of a time when a foreign accent, a
non-native accent is to his advantage. If Arnold
Schwarzenegger didn’t have his unique accent,
he probably wouldn’t be as cool or wouldn’t be
as unique. So his accent makes him who he is.
So I challenge you to kind of have a similar
mindset. If you feel like you need to completely
get rid of your foreign accents, your accent
that comes from your lovely native language,
just remember Arnold Schwarzenegger.
You too can be The Terminator and say,
“I’ll be back. I’m going to get you people
who I’m trying to destroy. I’ll be back.'.
Number five. When my husband was mowing our grass
and the grass was extremely tall, he said, “Hasta
la vista, baby.” This is a Spanish phrase. Hasta
la vista means see you later. But when we add baby
to it, we know that we are using a quote again
from The Terminator. This is a quote that a child
has taught Arnold Schwarzenegger who’s a cyborg
to be more human. If he uses this phrase, he’ll
sound more human. So it’s usually used in kind
of a silly or dramatic way. So when my husband
is cutting the lawn, the grass is long, and he’s
saying, “See you later, grass. You’re going to get
cut. I’m going to win. Hasta la vista, baby.” You
can also say this as a silly way to say goodbye.
My husband was saying goodbye to the grass but you
could also say goodbye to your friends in a very
silly tone, “Hasta la vista, baby.” And it’s just
like the quote from the movie, The Terminator.
Number six, when I opened the fridge, the
entire container of eggs fell on the ground.
And I said, “Oh, no!” My husband said,
“Who are you going to call? Ghostbusters!”
Why is he talking about ghosts when I dropped
the eggs on the floor? Well, I have a problem.
First of all, I have no more eggs. Second of
all, I have to clean them up. So my husband
is presenting a solution to the problem.
Somebody can come and save me, Ghostbusters.
If you have not seen the movie Ghostbusters,
it’s about a New York group who is saving people
from ghosts. They go into places and rid them of
ghosts. And the famous line now is, “Who are you
going to call?” And someone else may be across the
room might yell, “Ghostbusters!” Or you can say it
altogether like my husband did when I dropped the
eggs, I obviously needed some serious help here
so I needed a team of expert Ghostbusters to help
me clean up my eggs. “Who are you going to call?
Ghostbusters of course!”
Number seven. My youngest son loves
to eat bananas, but when he eats them, he eats
them like this, he eats the whole thing so fast.
So I sometimes say to him, “Eh, what’s up doc?”
Is he a doctor? Do I want him to become a doctor?
No. Instead, this is a reference to the famous
cartoon Bugs Bunny. In Bugs Bunny, the character,
Bugs Bunny is chased by Elmer Fudd. Elmer Fudd
is always trying to catch and shoot Bugs Bunny
but usually Bugs Bunny is very clever and he kind
of makes fun of Elmer Fudd. So he has a carrot,
and he usually gnaws the carrot completely, and
then he says, “Eh, what’s up doc?” He’s making
fun of Elmer Fudd by calling him doc or doctor.
And maybe Elmer Fudd is looking for Bugs Bunny
over here and he’s just casually standing
over here, eating a carrot, saying,
“Why haven’t you looked at me over here? What
are you doing over there?” So usually we use this
phrase when someone has eaten something quickly,
especially a carrot, but some kind of food that
they’re eating quickly. And you just want to
kind of be silly and say, “Eh, what’s up doc?”
Number eight. When I was promoted to CEO of the
company, this is just a dream. When I was promoted
to CEO of the company, my father told me, “With
great power comes great responsibility.” This
quote has come through history from various
translations, but in modern times, it’s most
famous from the Spider-Man movie where somebody
tells Peter Parker, “With great power comes great
responsibility.” And you know what? It’s pretty
true. When you have a lot of power, you have a
lot of responsibility to do something good with
that. Hopefully you’ll choose something good.
Number nine. When I discovered that I left my
car windows down during a rainstorm, I said,
“Houston, we have a problem.” Is my friend named
Houston? No, this comes from an actual historical
event but a lot of people know it through a movie
that is depicting the historical event. And that
movie is called Apollo 13. And it’s about the 1970
Apollo 13 NASA Space launch. And during that space
re-entry, there was a malfunction in the system
and the astronauts said the famous line, to the
people, on the ground, to NASA who was located in
the Texas city of Houston. They said, “Houston,
we have a problem.” And this is a very famous,
very tragic line actually, because they had such
a problem with their, I won’t spoil it for you. I
guess I spoiled a lot of movies in this video so
far. But they say, “Houston, we have a problem.”
So in their situation, it was very serious
but in daily conversation, we often use it
for lighter things like, “My windows are down.
My car is so wet. Houston, we have a problem.”
Number 10. Okay. Don’t watch any further if you
have never seen Star Wars, please turn this
off. I do not want to give you the biggest
spoiler for Star Wars. But my brother-in-law,
he had a dream, this was his vision in life.
When his son was born, he wanted to pretend like
he wasn’t the father for his son’s first couple
years so that one day he could come to his son and
say, “I am your father.” And his son would say,
“What?” It was of course just a joke because his
son knows that he’s the father, but this line,
“I am your father,” is one of the most famous
movie quotes of all time. And we use this in
a very fun, joking way in daily conversation.
If someone says, “I’m not going to listen to you,
why’d you tell me to do that?” I might say,
“Well, I am your father. You have to listen
to me.” Even if you’re not the father, you can
still say that. And in the Star Wars movie,
somebody, well, I guess I’ve already spoiled
a lot, says, “Luke, I am your father,” and
it’s such a pivotal moment in cinematic
history. So you can use this wonderful quote.
Number 11. When my friend was going off
to her important interview, I told her,
“May the force be with you.” A good
return to that is, “And also with you.”
May the force be with you. What does this mean?
It means good luck. From the movie Star Wars,
this is often what characters, Jedis, would
say to each other, to wish them good luck.
“You can do it. Use the force. This is the power
in that world, in that universe. May the force
be with you.” I hope that you have great
power to be able to do the important things
that you’re going to do. So if your friend is
going off to have an interview, you can say,
May the force be with you.” It’s a very silly
and lighthearted thing to say but it can
help them in that moment of stress to think,
“ALL right, that was a fun quote. I got this.”
Number 12. If I don’t call my mom for a couple
of days, she’ll send me a text message that says,
“E.T. phone home.” Am I E.T.? What is E
.T. ? E. T. stands for extra terrestrial,
which is an alien, someone who lives in
outer space. The famous movie E.T. Is about
an alien or an extra terrestrial that comes to
earth, and he’s trying to get back to his home
planet. And he often says, “E. T. Phone home.” So
if you use this in spoken conversation, it’s good,
or you will hear other people use the voice of the
character. It’s kind of crackly, it’s kind of old,
“E.T. phone home.” And they’ll use their finger
like this because it looks like the character.
So you can use this line, “E.T. phone home.”
When someone asks, “Hey, what are you doing?”
instead of saying, “I’m calling my mom,” you could
say, “E.T. phone home.” Very silly thing to say.
Number 13. When my sister was getting dressed up
and getting ready to go to prom, it’s a special
dance that happens in the US, she looked in the
mirror and said, “Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who’s the fairest one of all?” This famous line
is actually quite different from the original
quote in the movie, Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs, but it has the same meaning. In the movie
she says, “Magic mirror on the wall, who’s the
fairest one of all?” But for some reason in daily
conversation, we usually say, “Mirror, mirror on
the wall.” And if you are looking into the mirror
and you want to be a little bit silly
and you think, “I look so great today,”
or you’re looking at someone else and you
want to say that, “Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who’s the fairest one of all? Who
is the most beautiful, one of all?”
Well, you can use this quote because in the movie,
the queen, the evil queen looks into the mirror,
a magic mirror, and she hopes that the
mirror will say she is the most beautiful one
but it doesn’t always say that. So we
can use this just as a silly way to say,
“I hope I look all right today. Mirror, mirror
on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all?”
Number 14. When I have a bad day and I just
need to make a little progress to feel good
about myself, I just say, ‘Just keep swimming.
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming." Am I
really swimming in the water? Am I a professional
swimmer? No. Instead, this quote comes from the
famous movie, Finding Nemo. Maybe you’ve seen it.
There is a character Dory who is the blue fish and
she’s not super smart, but she says one line that
is very important throughout the whole movie,
“Just keep swimming.” When Nemo’s dad is trying
to search for him and he has so many troubles,
Dory’s encouragement, her advice is,
“Just keep swimming. I know it’s tough,
but you will reach your final destination. Just
keep swimming.” So maybe for you, if you’re
having a tough day, or you feel like, I’m just
not improving in English the way that I want to,
think about this line, “Just keep swimming,
just keep swimming. You can do it.”
Number 15. When I was a kid and my dad was
reading the newspaper and I came in and said,
“Hey, do you know where the remote is? Do you
know where my book is? Hey, what are you doing?”
And my dad didn’t respond for a minute, and
I said it again, and then I said it again.
He would look up from his newspaper
and say, “You’re talking to me?
That’s not the way that my dad usually speaks.
So what was he saying? Well, this is a quote from
the movie Taxi Driver. Something interesting is
I’ve never seen this movie, but for some reason
I use this quote, maybe it’s because my dad used
it. I’ve heard other people use it, but it is a
silly and lighthearted way to say, “I know that
you are probably asking me those questions, but
you’re kind of being annoying. Maybe you should
be a little more polite. You’re talking to me?”
Or maybe you’re not even sure if someone
is talking to you. There’s a lot of people
and they just keep saying, “Hey, where’s the beer?
Hey, where’s the beer? Hey, where’s the beer?” And
you’re talking to someone else. And then you
turn to them and say, “You’re talking to me?”
You can use that quote to say, “I didn’t realize
that you were addressing me.” But instead you can
use that funny quote, “You’re talking to me?”
And it’s based off of a New Yorker so we often
use kind of a New York accent, “You’re talking
to me?” I don’t really know how to do a New York
accent but we use that type of voice to imitate
the character. So even if you’ve never seen the
movie like me, you can still use this quote.
Number 16. When I was walking down the sidewalk,
a bird flew right in front of me and I had to step
back for a moment. And I said, “I’m walking here!”
Obviously I am walking on the sidewalk, but
what does this quote, “I’m walking here!” mean?
This is another New York accent quote, it’s from
the movie Midnight Cowboy that I haven’t seen, but
another instance where I still
use this quote. I don’t know why.
It’s just part of American
culture, I guess. So in the movie,
the main character is walking down the street
and a taxi driver cuts in front of him and he
slams the hood of the car and he uses this famous
quote and says, “I’m walking here! I’m walking
here! What are you doing? Get out of my way.” So
we use it in that same type of New York accent,
it’s kind of you’re upset but it’s kind of fake
upset. You’re not really upset, you’re just trying
to be a little bit humorous perhaps. “I’m walking
here. What are you doing bird? Get out of my way.”
Number 17. When I was cleaning the attic,
there was so much junk, I just didn’t want to
be there. And I said, “Beam me up, Scotty!” Who is
Scotty? Who am I talking to? Well, this comes from
the Star Trek TV series, it’s quite famous.
The way that they would go from the planet
to the spaceship was a type of fantasy technology
that would beam them up. So it would kind of take
particles of the person and it would take them
up into the spaceship. So the famous line,
“Beam me up, Scotty!” is please take me away from
this place, I want to go back to the spaceship.
Please take me away from this messy attic, I want
to get to another place, anywhere. But we can also
use this if you are ready to be picked up, maybe
your mom is driving to your friend’s house to
pick you up. You’re at your friend’s house and
your mom’s picking you up. You can send her a
text and say, “Beam me up, Scotty!” It’s a silly
way say this. This means, “I’m ready. Come pick
me up. Please. I’m here. I’m ready for you to
take me to another place. Beam me up, Scotty!”
Number 18. When I got my college
diploma, I yelled, “Freedom!”
I’m sure many people throughout history have said,
“Freedom,” but this quote became much more popular
in pop culture recently with the movie Braveheart.
He doesn’t say just, “Freedom,” he has a little
bit of a longer quote. He says, “They may take our
lives, but they’ll never take our freedom.” Very
inspiring quote. So maybe for you, the next time
that you are allowed to go eat at a restaurant,
you can shout, “Freedom! Finally, I
can live a normal life again. Nobody
is stopping me from doing things that a
free person would be able to do. Freedom!”
Number 19. My biology teacher used to say
before every test, “Let’s get ready to rumble!”
Have you ever had a teacher who was kind of
overly excited about tests or exams or they
wanted the students to feel really excited
about it? It’s kind of annoying but it’s
also kind of funny. Well, this quote is from a
guy called Michael Buffer who’s a professional
wrestling announcer. So, before wrestling matches,
he would say, “Let’s get ready to rumble!”
And I’ve never really watched wrestling but I
use this in daily conversation maybe before a big
task, before a big test, before a big challenge,
and you’re trying to like encourage yourself,
or pump yourself up. “All right, we got this. All
right, let’s get ready to rumble! We can do it!”
as a form of encouragement.
And finally, number 20,
our 20th pop culture reference, which is like a
secret to American English conversation. Let me
give you an example. When my husband picked up his
socks and put them in the laundry basket, finally,
I said, “That’s one small step for man, and one
giant leap for mankind.” What do you think this
quote is from? It’s not from a movie, it’s not
from a TV show, it is from a famous American
astronaut, Neil Armstrong, the first person to
walk on the moon. He said, when he stepped on the
moon, “That’s one small step for man,” because
he just had a small step, it was nothing huge.
But he said also one giant leap, which is
like a big jump for mankind, for humanity.
So the idea that we have enough technology to
go to the moon, we have enough know-how to be
able to do this, enough resources, that’s a
big deal. That’s a giant leap for humanity.
So it’s a very clever quote and you can use this
in your daily life. If there is a simple thing,
putting your dirty socks in the laundry
basket, and it feels like a big deal to
you. It’s just a little thing, but it feels
like a big deal, you can use this quote.
Congratulations! You are now on the inside
because you know the secrets to American
English conversations. I hope that you’ll be
able to use these famous quotes. Don’t forget
to download the free PDF worksheet to go with
this lesson. All of the quotes, the meanings,
the movies, the sample sentences and you can
answer Vanessa’s challenge question at the
bottom of the PDF to help you use what you have
learned, never forget it, and master conversations
so that you can speak confidently. Forget fear.
Well, thank you so much for learning English with
me today, and I’ll see you again next Friday
for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.
May the force be with you. Bye!
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