All Episodes

October 17, 2025 1 min
Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to another Happy English, Phrasal Verb Friday.  I’m here every Friday with a quick, one-poi nt English lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak.

Today’s phrasal verb is flake out.  When you flake out, it means you agree to do something - like meet up, help out, or join an event - but then you don’t show up or don’t follow through. Basically, you cancel or disappear at the last minute.
  • Like last weekend. My friend Jake said he’d help me move the pianos,  but he totally flaked out.
  • And then the next day, Jenny promised to come to dinner, but she flaked out and texted an hour before saying she was “too tired.”
  • And honestly, I’ve flaked out before too, totally not something I’m proud of at all. 
And here’s a little pronunciation tip: flake out - flay-kout. The K sound at the end of flake connects right into out. Fla......kout.  flay-kout!

So how about you? Has a friend ever flaked out on you? Or maybe you’ve flaked out on someone before? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next week’s Phrasal Verb Friday. Thanks for listening - and until next time, keep learning and keep it cool.

Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here: https://www.myhappyenglish.com/plsg
Visit my website for over 3,000 free English lessons: https://www.myhappyenglish.com/
My AI English Tutor is HERE https://chatgpt.com/g/g-687344c0706c819184e8bda28d7582d9-ask-michael-your-english-teacher
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there, it's Michael here and welcome back to another
happy English frasal verb Friday. I'm here every Friday with
a quick one point English lesson to help you learn
a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak.
Today's frasal verb is flake out. When you flake out,

(00:25):
it means you agree to do something like meet up,
help out, join an event, but then you don't show
up or don't follow through. Basically, you cancel or disappear
at the last minute, disappointing. Right like last weekend, my
friend Jake said he'd help me move the piano, but

(00:48):
he totally flaked out. And then the next day Jenny
was supposed to come to dinner, but she flaked out
and texted an hour before saying, oh, I'm too tird.
Honestly I flaked out before too, totally not something I'm
proud of at all. And here's a little pronunciation tip.

(01:10):
Flake out is usually pronounced as flake out. The K
at the end of flake connects right into out, so
flake out flake out. How about you? Has a friend
ever flaked out on you, or maybe you flaked out

(01:30):
on someone recently. Leave a comment below and don't forget
to follow or subscribe so you don't miss the next
Happy English podcast and next week's phrasal Verb Friday. Thanks
for listening, and until next time, keep learning and keep
it cool.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.