The English We Speak: Main character moment
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Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too.

I'm Faye Faye and I'm joined by a very colourful Georgie. Yes, I'm wearing all the colours of the rainbow today. I definitely feel like I'm having a bit of a main character moment in the office. And main character moment is the expression we're looking at in this programme.

Now, we know main character in the usual sense. It's the person, animal or fictional being that a story centres around, often the most important character in a story. Exactly. But in the last few years, people on the internet have been using main character to describe real people –

If you call someone the main character, it just means they stand out or grab people's attention in some way. And yes, you definitely look like the main character today in that very colourful outfit, Georgie.

Now, having a main character moment is when you feel like the protagonist of a film. Maybe because you're wearing something eccentric or something about your environment or situation is dramatic. Yeah, so for example, I remember when I was little being in the car with my parents and I was looking out the window at the raindrops falling down the window and feeling very dramatic. I was having a real main character moment. Let's hear some more examples. ♪

Yesterday, I got my hair, my nails, my makeup done. I felt great walking down the street. It was such a main character moment.

I had a main character moment at the weekend. I played a board game with my friends and I delivered such a motivating speech to my teammates. I felt really cool. So we went out with colleagues recently and I did a dance solo in the middle of the dance floor. Everyone was watching and cheering. It was such a main character moment. MUSIC

As you heard, main character moment is mostly used to describe positive situations. You wouldn't use it when something negative is happening to you.

Yes. Now, another expression you might hear is main character energy. You could say someone gives off main character energy, and it means they're showing confidence and charisma that a main protagonist in a film might have. Yes, you are giving off big main character energy today, Georgie. Wow, Feifei, so many compliments.

OK, let's recap. We learned a main character moment, which is what happens when you feel like the protagonist of a film. And thanks for joining us. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to Learning English Conversations. Have you tried our Learning English Stories podcast? In each episode we tell a different classic story in English you can understand.

The story I'm going to tell you is one of broken promises and revenge. Be frightened by Frankenstein. Go into the woods with Hansel and Gretel and learn the story of the Pied Piper. Amazingly, the cottage is made out of sweets and cakes. But his biggest idea is to bring a dead body to life. Search for Learning English Stories in your podcast app to listen.