Let's Learn English! Topic: Phrasal Nouns! 🧳💾📄
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Well, hello and welcome to this English lesson about phrasal nouns. Now, you might be familiar with phrasal verbs and you might not be familiar with what we call phrasal nouns. Sometimes, they have a variety of names because in English, we

Sometimes when we have something like a phrasal verb, we'll turn that phrasal verb into a noun. So, for instance, Jen and I sometimes like to get away for the weekend. Sometimes we like to go on a getaway. So, the phrasal verb to get away is

can become a noun called a getaway and I'll give you a whole bunch of examples like this in this lesson, this English lesson about phrasal nouns. Some will be directly connected to a phrasal verb and some the connection isn't as clear as you might think. So, once again, welcome to this English lesson about phrasal nouns.

rip off. So, this actually has two meanings and it's interesting because sometimes people will buy a fancy purse or handbag but it will actually be a rip off and we sometimes call it a knock off. That means that it is fake. We also use this verb to describe when you get a bad deal like in the US in the United States, eggs were almost $10 a dozen and that's a rip off.

So this noun can have two meanings. It can refer to a fake item like this is not a Gucci bag. It's a rip off or a knock off or you could say

Um I bought a car from my neighbor and it broke down right away. So, it was a rip off like a bad deal. So, those are the two meanings of rip off. Um I've never bought a rip off or a knock off but I know when I go to Toronto sometimes, there are people selling things like this for really cheap uh and it can't possibly be real. It's definitely a rip off or a knock off.

breakup. So, a breakup is something that happens when two people break up. So, notice I've used the verb form. If two people are dating and then they don't like each other, they might eventually break up. That's the verb but we also refer to it as a breakup.

Joe is going through a really bad breakup right now. So Joe and his girlfriend are no longer together. Um they decided to break up and now they're going through a breakup. So hopefully this is making sense. As I flip from verb form to noun form hopefully you're getting an understanding but you can see these two people look uh relatively sad and

Um and they're not facing each other. So they're probably going through a breakup. They've decided they no longer want to be together. A blackout. So this is a word that we use to refer to a time when there is no power. Sometimes we call it a power outage. You can see that in the picture there. Uh but we also refer to this sometimes as a blackout. Um I was um I

We had something called rolling blackouts once when they were fixing the electricity where we knew that every day for three days we would have a blackout for two hours because they were repairing a large transformer but you refer to something as a blackout when there is no electricity and you have to get out your flashlight in order to see what you are doing. And then there's of course an outburst. So we

You can burst out in laughter but you could also burst out in anger. So, we're flipping the verb form and making a new word called an outburst. This child is having an outburst. I'm going to imagine their parent uh one of their parents said you you could no longer play video games. The time is up and the child is now angry and having an outburst. So, they are not happy um they

with what is happening. So, they are having an outburst. So, again, if you told me a joke, I might burst out in laughter. If you were throwing things at me, I might burst out in anger and then we use the noun version. We kind of flip it and say it is an outburst. That child is definitely having an outburst. A break-in. So, I do have to explain that

Probably the proper form for most of these nouns is to have a dash in it but it has become very common to not do that but some words like break in still require it. So a break in is when someone

enters your apartment or house in order to steal things. So, it is a break-in. So, a thief decides that they want to break in. There's the verb form and then we then refer to it as a break-in. There was a break-in in my apartment building last night. There was a break-in last week at the mall. Someone broke in.

So, there was a break-in noun. Someone decided to break in verb. So, a break-in again is when someone decides they want to, you know, use a tool or pick a lock in order to get into a place they're not supposed to be and then steal things from that location.

giveaway. So a giveaway is when you give things away. So again verb form would be I'm going to give away candy today. But a giveaway would be a little more formal. Like this store is having a contest. They're having a giveaway. Uh if you enter you could win a gift card and then use that to buy things from that store. So a giveaway is the same as a contest. It's a little bit like a

like a lottery but instead of winning money you win something. So sometimes a car dealership will have a giveaway where they they give away a car. So a giveaway is a contest where you can win something. I didn't enter this one. I should have. I could use stuff from the hardware store.

drive-thru. So this is another one. First of all it has two different versions. The top one is like the the quick version and then we have the full version. A drive-thru is a window on the side of a restaurant where you can order food or drinks and then you can pick up the food and drinks. Um by the way that truck there is called a pickup. That's another um

noun. I'll teach that one later. Um by the way, drive through doesn't have to have a dash in it. Um so it can be drive through with or without it. It can be either version of those. Um it's usually the top version. Um so they shorten the word through in order to make it um

guess it fits on the sign better probably but sometimes in the morning it's rare I will go through the drive-thru and get a cup of tea and a breakfast sandwich or something like that. So a drive-thru if you go to a McDonald's if you go to a Burger King they will most likely have a drive-thru and again you can drive through the drive-thru so you could use it both ways. Um and

I try not to go through the drive-thru too much because it's kind of it's kind of expensive. A backup. So if you have a computer and you have important information on your computer you should make sure you have a backup. So

So, maybe you have a little external hard drive. Maybe you um back up to the cloud. I just use the verb form there but it's important to have a backup. If your computer crashes and you need the information, the person who's fixing it might say, do you have a backup? Maybe we can get your files and information from the backup.

Um so it's always important to have a backup. If you can, you should have two backups. I always have two. Uh I have two backups uh of every video that I've made um because I think it's important um in case one backup fails, I have the other one. So, one backup here and one off site. So, somewhere else. But yes, a backup would be um

when you decide you want to have a second copy of your data, you will have a backup. You will backup your data. There's the verb form. You will backup your data. Uh carry on. When you go on a plane, you bring suitcases and

you have to check some of the suitcases because they're big but you're also allowed to have what's called a carry-on. You're allowed to take one small suitcase and take it on the plane with you. Um the last time I was on a plane, Jen and I each had a carry-on. So, it's from the verb to carry on. Like you can carry it on the plane. And

And so, we've now made a noun to describe these small suitcases and we call it a carry-on. Um and it has certain uh certain size. I think it's actually smaller now for some airlines. I think they've decided that it can only be nine inches by forget the exact nine. Is it nine by fourteen by

I don't know by 19. Maybe someone knows. You guys all probably use metric but a carry on is a small suitcase that you can take on a plane. Brent is actually in Mexico right now. Brent from American English with Brent and I'm sure that he has a carry on with him that he took on the plane. A checkout. So when you are done shopping you need to go to the checkout to pay for the things that you purchased.

checkout is the place where there is a cashier, a cash register and then you have all of your items scanned and then you pay for them. So again, we can flip with this one from verb form to noun form. When it's time to check out, you go to the checkout. So, when you have all of the things you need when you're in a grocery store, for example, you think, okay, I have everything. I will now go check out and

I'm going to go to the checkout and they are going to tell me how much I need to pay. So, a checkout is basically, you know, right by the entrance exit of the store. That's where you go when you need to pay for things. A getaway. So, Jen and I sometimes um

we're overworked and we need a small vacation. Jen and I do not go on very long vacations but sometimes we need a getaway. A getaway is another name for a vacation, okay? Um so someone at work might say, oh, I'm so stressed. I have some, I have vacation days coming and I'm going to go on a getaway. So, a getaway is when you get away. So, you literally leave where you are and you go somewhere to enjoy uh yourself and

in Canada, it's very common for people if they go on a getaway to go somewhere warm in the winter. You can see a cruise ship in the distance here and beautiful blue water and it's obviously somewhere warm because he's wearing shorts. So, um a getaway. Uh the same as a vacation, the same as a trip. A handout. So, in my class, I often do

before class will go to the photocopier and make handouts

handout is a piece of paper usually that a teacher will give you. Although if you go to a meeting at work your boss might have handouts as well. So a handout it has a few meanings but in this situation it means a piece of paper or several pieces of paper from the teacher. Now just so you know flipping back to the verb form this teacher is handing out handouts. So this teacher decided to make handouts and

then when he went to class he decided he was going to hand out the handouts. So kind of fun. You can flip it around but yes a handout. Um we also use this word to talk about free money from the government. Like the government gave that business a handout because the economy wasn't doing well. So it would mean free money from the government.

makeover. I've never had one of these but a makeover is when you decide you would like to explore a different look or

someone will help you. So if I had a makeover they might say you should start wearing suits and a tie. Maybe grow your hair out. Grow your beard a little bit longer. Um maybe wear a necklace. I don't know. A chain and you might say that. Um but I'm not interested in having a makeover. This person is getting a makeover so she has gone to a professional. Um

Maybe she's going to use maybe she's going to have her hair dyed or done in a different way and wear makeup that's more complimentary to her features and her natural hair color. I don't know. I have no idea but a makeover is when yeah you just decide you want a new look. You want to look different. I don't think I think I would probably look pretty dapper if

wearing a suit and tie all the time especially if it was tailored and really nicely made but I'm going to just keep wearing the blue plaid shirts and cutting my hair like this for now. I don't need a makeover. I'll pick up.

So, this is technically a pickup truck. This style of truck in North America is called a pickup truck but we have shortened this to just say a pickup. Does your friend have a pickup? Yes. I'm moving next week. Do you know anyone that has a pickup? Because I would love to be able to put my couch in the back um because it doesn't fit in my van. So, this we call the shortest version of the term is to just say a pickup.

But yeah, the official name would be a pickup truck and then of course, it's called a pickup because you can use it to pick stuff up. A tip off. If you watch police TV shows or movies, sometimes someone will give the police a tip off. They'll call the police and they'll say, there's a robbery that's going to that's going to happen tomorrow at the bank. That is a tip off. When someone is

phones the police before a crime happens to tell them it's going to happen, we would call that a tip off. Um and I think this is the only time we use this word in that kind of situation. Like, I'm thinking if I was planning a surprise party, I could give my friend a tip off but I don't think we would call it that. I think it's mostly used to

Um the police must love it when someone calls and says there's going to be a crime tomorrow at 8 AM at the park. Be there. That's a that's a tip off and they know to go and look for illegal activity. A warm up and a workout. So I didn't know this but a warm up is what you do before you exercise. Sorry I knew that.

warm up is what you do before you exercise but I didn't know apparently you're not supposed to stretch too much before you exercise. You're supposed to do some mild activity um like if you're going to run you might walk briskly for five minutes before you start your run. You might um rotate your joints. You know you might just uh

do some movement to warm up. So when you warm up you're getting ready to exercise. Um I was stretching the other day before I played badminton and then my son said you're just supposed to warm up. You're supposed to stretch after you exercise. So I need to do a little bit of reading but uh this is my picture for a warm up. This person is getting ready to exercise. They are doing a warm up in order to warm up their muscles. So

then a workout. So when you go to the gym, you go there to do a workout. This guy is doing bicep curls.

I've never used a bar like that. I wonder if that helps. Maybe your wrists are a little turned in. I should try that someday. I don't have one. Um anyways, a workout is something you do um to be in better shape. It's something you do in order to exercise. Um so when you go to the gym, you go there to work out

but you go there to do a workout. So, you can use the noun form if you want. So, a workout, something you do at the gym. Um and it doesn't just have to be lifting weights. Like you could your workout might involve running on the treadmill. Maybe you do uh like a Pilates class and then you lift some weights and that's your workout for the day. You go to do a workout. A workaround. So, a workaround is

like a way of fixing something that does fix it but it's not perfect. So here's a good example. This person it looks like the mirror on their vehicle broke. This is not my red band by the way. The mirror on their vehicle broke and instead of buying a new mirror they decided to tape it as a workaround.

So they decided to use what we call duct tape to fix their mirror and that's the workaround. Sometimes at work you might be on a project and there's a problem and maybe you can't get a certain part or something's missing and then you figure out a workaround. You figure out a way to do what you need to do um and

by not having the ideal situation. So, this is definitely a workaround. Um I would probably do this if the mirror broke on my van um because I'm not sure how much a replacement mirror is but that is definitely a workaround. A kickoff.

So, at the beginning of some sports games, there is a kickoff where someone does the initial kick of the ball and we've taken this term and we use it in other places as well. If your business or you're at work, you are launching a new product, you might have a kickoff and

where it's the first day it's for sale. You might have a meeting to talk about the launch of that new product and it might be called a kickoff meeting. Uh we use it to talk about the beginning of the school year. Uh we might have a small barbecue for all the parents and students. The first week of school and we call it a kickoff. We're gonna kick off the new year. So I flipped from noun to verb there. So basically a kickoff is the beginning of something. Uh

Um and again, we borrowed this term from the sporting world. Uh kickoff. A flashback. I'm hoping that some of you are having a flashback right now. So, a flashback is when you vividly remember the past. When I see cassette tapes and I see a little boom box like this, it gives me a flashback. It helps me remember the past.

the late 80s and early 90s this is how we listened to music. Um for me as a teenager this is how I listen to music. I had a boombox and I had cassette tapes. My brother and I my brother had actual albums and we would record the albums onto cassette. So like he had the big black albums and then we would make what's called a mixtape. So hopefully this is giving some of you a flashback. Some of you are too young for this. But

Um but uh a flashback is a sudden vivid memory of the past.

checkup. So sometimes you want to know if you're healthy. Maybe something's not right. Um maybe you've had like your shoulder's been sore for a while and so you go in for a checkup. Maybe you're going to the dentist because you just need a checkup. You need your teeth clean and you need to have them look if there's any cavities. You go for a checkup. Um so sometimes people will say this in English. Someone will say oh

Um oh I was gone yesterday. I had a doctor's appointment and someone might say, oh, is it something serious? And you might say, no, it was just a checkup. Um I go for a checkup every few years. So, a checkup is when you go to the doctor or dentist and they just kinda have a look. They they try to figure out if there's anything that you anything wrong with you. A washout. So, this is a pretty major washout.

Um there can be small washouts and large washouts but this happens when water

erodes an area. So, this road is closed because there's a washout, okay? Um this can happen in a variety of places. This can happen on a path in the woods. Maybe there's a path you like to hike and there's a washout and so you have to kind of, you know, go through it safely but whenever running flowing water,

especially during a really really big storm when it hits a road or a path or any kind of area there might be a washout where it destroys the road or the path and then you have to figure out um a different way to get around. You need to figure out um you have to have a workaround. A printout. So, when a printer prints something, we sometimes call it a printout.

usually use it in this situation. I can send you a screenshot or I can send you a picture or do you want an actual printout? And then the person might say, oh, could you like bring me an actual printout? Sometimes at work,

if if you print out something on really big paper if you have a printout of it it's easier for people as a group to all see the information. So sometimes for my class even I think okay I'm going to I think I'm going to make a printout of this and I'll make like a poster size printout and I'll put it on the wall so more students can see it at the same time. So basically whenever a printer prints something

We call it a printout. Um and you can also use the verb, right? I'm going to print this out so that I have a printout, a permanent copy of it. A buildup. There are two pipes in this picture and one pipe has a buildup. So, sometimes when your sink stops draining, it's because there's a buildup in the sink. Maybe you put a lot of grease and

waste and maybe you put a lot of things down the sink that maybe you shouldn't have and now there is a build up in the pipe. You can also have this in your veins and arteries. More likely in your arteries where someone will go and get their heart checked out and the doctor will say you have a lot of build up in your arteries. You can also have a lot of build up on your teeth. We have something called plaque that forms on our teeth and you can have a lot of plaque and we'd say oh there's a lot of build up.

So, this is the best visual example. The pipe closest to me has no buildup and the pipe far away has a lot of buildup. When the buildup eventually closes the pipe though, we call it a clog. The pipe has a clog. An outcry. So, when people are really really upset, they will sometimes protest. There will sometimes be an outcry. So, let's say the government said taxes are going to go up 10%

would probably be an outcry from the public. They would protest. They would write letters to the newspaper. Uh they would write letters to government officials. There would be an outcry. It basically means a whole bunch of people all annoyed at the same time and then doing something about it. Um the last time there was public outcry in my area it was because I'm trying to think. I think it was during COVID. I

when the first lockdown, there was an outcry. Like people just didn't want to stay in their houses. So, an outcry is when a lot of people get upset at the same time about something. A hangout. So, verb and noun, if you want to hang out, you might go to a hangout. Um this might be their regular hangout. Um so people,

We say people are creatures of habit. People like to do the same things all the time. Most people. So let's say these four guys are friends and they all work at different places but every Friday they go to their regular hangout to just sit and talk and eat some cheese it looks like. Um so a hangout is a an informal term to refer to a place where you meet with friends quite regularly.

order to hang out. You go to a hangout to hang out. A setup. So, you can see behind me. Um well it's kind of dark but that's my setup. So, we use setup to talk about how

You can use it to talk about your regular, if you work at a desk, then you have a regular setup. You have your laptop and maybe you have a tablet and pictures of your family and a mouse and a keyboard and that's your setup. As a YouTuber, I also have a camera. That's part of my setup and I have a light over here. You can turn the light off. It gets very dark but ooh, I'm super glowy.

So, the light, the camera, the computer I'm using, this is part of my setup and then again, you can go to the verb form because I set up this desk because I needed a work area. So, this is my setup. Um a tune-up. So, sometimes your car isn't running well. Maybe it makes funny noises. Maybe something's wrong with the engine and you might go to the mechanic for a tune-up.

So, the mechanic will make sure that all cylinders are firing. He'll probably check to make sure there's no build up in some of the hoses. I don't know if that actually happens with cars but a tune up is when you take your car to a mechanic so that he can make it or she can make it run smoothly and really really well for you because you don't want to break down.

So, a breakdown occurs when your car stops working. If you're driving along and all of all of the sudden, the engine starts to sputter like like it it starts to turn off and on and then you pull over to the side of the road. We would call that a breakdown.

And then you would call a tow truck and say, um yeah, hey, my car broke down. So, that's the verb form. I'm on the side of the road and uh I have a breakdown. Can you come and get me? Can you come and pick my car up and help me? A breakaway. So, a breakaway is when in a sport, someone has the puck or the ball or whatever and they are ahead of everyone else.

They're ahead of their entire team and the entire opposing team. When you get a breakaway in a sport, it means there's no one between you and the goalie. There's no one between you and the net. There's no one between you and the it's just you and the keeper and the goal or you and the basketball net or you and the hockey net and you're on a breakaway and hopefully uh

you have the skills needed to score a goal. So, this we would call a breakaway. It's very common in hockey. It's not always common in every sport. Um but uh yeah, you get the ball or the puck and you you just go. You're the only one. Hi, Bob the Canadian here. Thank you for listening to this English podcast lesson. If you would like to support me in the work that I do as an online English teacher, please visit Patreon.com slash Bob the Canadian.