845 - Backyard Fun

I want you to know that I didn’t just throw this lesson together. And please, if you’re driving, feel free to turn it up! And if you’re at home, kick back, and enjoy as we dive into backyard fun.

Every week, all summer long, we’ve been looking at how Americans live, relax, and celebrate the season. This is part of my This Week in American Life series—and today, we’re talking about something simple but super common: Backyard Fun. I’m talking about lawn games, grilling, iced tea, lemonade… and just hanging out with friends and family right outside your back door.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I want you to know that I didn't just throw
this lesson together. And please, if you're driving, feel free
to turn it up, and if you're home, kick back
and enjoy as we dive into backyard Fun.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to another Happy English podcast coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
All right, thank you, John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight forty five
Backyard Fun. Hello and welcome. Thanks for joining me for

(00:50):
another episode of the Happy English Podcast. I'm your English
teacher Michael, and I'm so glad you're listening today. Before
we die into today's lesson, I wanted to let you
know that I have set up my all new AI
English Tutor. It's a great way to practice your English,

(01:11):
get answers to your English learning questions and more twenty
four to seven and it's all free. There's a link
in the description where you are listening to this podcast
right now. Check it out and if you like it,
leave me a thumbs up there. Every week, all summer long,

(01:33):
we've been looking at how Americans live, relax, and celebrate
the season. This is part of my This Week in
American Life series, and today we're talking about something simple
but super common, backyard fun. I'm talking about lawn games,

(01:54):
grilling iced tea, lemonade, and just hanging out with friends
and family right outside your back door. The backyard is
a summer hub. Let me explain. In the US, the
backyard is more than just grass and a grill. It's

(02:16):
like a second living room. In the summer, a lot
of people have lawn chairs, picnic tables, and even outdoor
string lights and bluetooth speakers. It's the perfect spot to
host a barbecue or just enjoy the evening. Sometimes people

(02:37):
plan ahead, but honestly, most of the time they just
throw something together. When you throw something together, it means
you organize a social event or make something quickly and casually.
Like the weather was so nice yesterday, we threw together

(02:58):
a little get together with my neighbors. Some snacks, a
few drinks, good music, and a lot of laughs all evening.
That casual style is part of the charm. No stress,
no formal plans, just good food, drinks and good company.

(03:20):
That's throwing something together. And by the way, we also
use the phrase throw something together when we make a meal,
usually a simple meal with whatever ingredients we happen to
have in the kitchen. Like last night, I had some
cherry tomatoes and basil, so I threw together a simple

(03:43):
summer pasta. It was awesome. Of course, the best part
of backyard life is just relaxing, sitting in a lawn chair,
sipping a cold drink, maybe chatting with friends or listening
to music. You might hear someone say, let's just kick

(04:04):
back and enjoy the day. I know that kick is
a powerful word, but when you kick back, it just
means to relax and take it easy. Like it was
a long week, so I'm just gonna kick back in
the backyard with my dog Max. And last weekend we

(04:27):
kicked back in the shade with some lemonade and good conversation.
You know, when I think about all the times I
spent in my backyard and friends' backyards in the summer,
three words come to mind. Food, drinks, and playlists. You

(04:48):
probably know that I'm a musician, but even for my
friends who are just music fans, the one thing you
can almost always find in a backyard in the summer
is music, whether it's classic rock, country or just a
summer playlist on Spotify. Music sets the vibe, and of course,

(05:14):
whenever there's music playing, someone always wants to either turn
it up or turn it down. This set of phrasal
verbs has a pretty basic meaning. Turn up means to
increase the volume, and turn down yep means to lower
the volume. So like whenever I hear a good song,

(05:37):
I instinctively want to turn it up. Of course, you
don't want to bother your neighbors too much, so before
they yell over the fence for you to turn it down,
you should probably keep the music volume at a reasonable level.
When I was growing up, way before the Internet, we

(06:00):
had things called radios and new hits that came out
in the summer became the soundtrack of that particular summer
Sun of the takes big deal time. Yeah, that's how
important music is to backyard fun. Another backyard classic is

(06:23):
lawn games. Have you ever played lawn darts or frisbee? These
are easy to set up games that almost anyone can play,
no matter their age, and some watermelon or ice cream
at the end. And that's just the icing on the cake.
The icing on the cake, this idiot means a little

(06:49):
extra thing that makes something even better when you have
that sugary sweet layer of chocolate on top of a cake.
That's called the icing on the cake, that little extra
thing that makes a good thing better. And it's not
just about food. Like we were already having fun and

(07:13):
then someone brought out water balloons. That was totally the
icing on the cake. The food they cooked on the
barbecued was great, but the fruit salad they had for
dessert was the icing on the cake. And for some
lucky folks, relaxing in the summer means jumping into a backyard.

(07:36):
Swimming pool pools are pretty common in many parts of
the US, especially in warmer states like Florida, Texas, and California.
Even my neighbor in New York had won. Some homes
have small in ground or above the ground pools, but
even if you don't have one, most towns have commune

(08:00):
unity pools where families go to swim and cool off.
It's a great place for kids to play and for
adults to relax without going too far from home. So
that's what backyard fun looks like for a lot of Americans,
kicking back with good food, good music, lawn chairs, swimming pools,

(08:22):
and something cold to drink. You don't need a big
vacation to have a good time. Sometimes the best summer
moments happen right at home in the backyard. How about you.
Do you have a favorite way to relax outside in
the summer. Would you rather jump in a pool or

(08:43):
kick back with a cool drink and some music. Let
me know I'd love to hear about your version of
backyard fun. Well that's it for this week's episode of
This Week in American Life. Next time we'll talk about
summer sports baseball, skateboarding, surfing, and everything in between. Until then,

(09:05):
stay cool and keep in mind. The best way to
remember English like this and any other word or phrase
in English, is to take that word or phrase, write
it in a sentence that's true for you or true
in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Hey, do
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(09:28):
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(09:51):
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podcasts Lesson eight forty five. Remember learning another language is

(10:15):
not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here to
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Speaker 2 (10:23):
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