AEE: Are You Cooking or Are You Cooked?

This is an All Ears English podcast. Are you cooking or are you cooked? Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English?

We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz. and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe.

Have you ever heard a Gen Zer use the phrase letter cook or your cooking? These have a new and updated meaning. Find out what they are and who should use them in English today.

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Hey, Lindsay, how are you today? I'm doing great, Aubrey. I just came off of a weekend in California. You are also on the West Coast over the weekend.

So we are coming back from our mini vacations. Feeling good. When you come back from a vacation, Lindsay, are you just like cooked? So exhausted. I'm cooked.

I am in a way a little bit. I'm actually more refreshed this time because I slept better than I sleep in my normal life because I have a two month old and he keeps me awake a lot. Right. So he wasn't with us.

So I slept much better. Oh, nice. Okay. So you actually came back refreshed. Mm hmm. came back refreshed. Yeah. What about you? Are you feeling refreshed or are you feeling...

I'm okay today. Yesterday we got back and I went, you know, all the time in the sun, on the beach. So yeah, but you may have noticed that I asked Lindsay if she was cooked, meaning exhausted. My children would be rolling their eyes.

They don't love when I use this trendy new slang. They don't want their mom using young person slang. No, because moms can't be cool. No, But I am hearing this more and more like podcasts, TV shows, like it's becoming more and more common.

There's a few different new trendy slang ways we're using cooked and cooking. It's not just for little kids anymore. So my kids need to get used to it. They have to get used to it.

It belongs to you too, right? It belongs to all of us. Language belongs to all of us. So this comes from a question from our amazing listener, Raman Daisuke.

And I'm going to go ahead and read the question. You ready? Yes. Let's see. Should I just read the part in red, Aubrey? No, read it all. The questions in red.

Yeah. All right. I'm an English learner from Japan. Listening to this amazing podcast has been my daily habit since last year. I want to thank you so much because I've learned a lot of idioms and phrasal verbs from you guys, and now I can understand the lines in English movies better than before.

And I have a question. I've noticed several English podcasts using the word cooking or cooked in both positive and negative ways. Cooking sounds like the process of making something good, but cooked sounds like the result that it's not good anymore.

I wonder what's the difference between them. And that's from Ramen Daisuke from Japan. Such a good question. And also thank you for all of this. I love reading reviews like this, all of this amazing feedback that it's a daily habit for a year.

That's fantastic. I can only imagine how much ramen's English has improved. I know. This is fantastic. And so smart that ramen is listening to shows and really picking up on new slang, new things, right?

Yeah. And I am hearing these more cooking and cooked and they do have very different meanings. So I can see how that would be confusing. Yep. It's all about connection when it comes to slang terms, Aubrey.

So this is the way to do it. All right. So let's get into it. But before we get any further into it, guys, hit the follow button right here on All Ears English.

You don't want to miss it. We're gearing up for a great fall season. We're in September now. And you want to be ready to achieve your goals. Everyone's back to school.

This is the time to focus your energy. Okay. Exactly. Yeah. So hit follow right here on the podcast. And yeah, let's dive in with these phrases and how you can use them to connect.

Both of these are very popular among Gen Z. So teenagers and even younger, my kids are 11, they're almost 12. They use these a lot. And you'll see them a lot online.

People will often use them in comments, on social media, in videos. So you're going to be hearing them. There's a lot of content that uses this. Yeah.

I'm glad that you're here, Aubrey. We can always count on you with the Gen Z slang because like you said, it always does start with Gen Z, right? Yes. They love to invent new words.

Or just change the way we always said it. Lindsay and I were chatting before this episode. We used to say cooking with grease, like now they're cooking with grease or just cooking. Now you're cooking.

And that just meant like now you're doing a good job. Our parents still use those. We still use them. The younger kids just like to tweak it a little bit, right?

Right. They tweak it. Right. Exactly. So tell us how we've tweaked it now. How has this changed this word cooking? Yeah. So first we'll talk about cooking.

So if you haven't heard these new slang terms, you might hear cooking to mean doing really well. So if someone I'll often hear my kids say this, if they're playing a video game and someone they're playing with, or if they are doing really well, they'll be like, I'm cooking, watch me cook. Or like he's cooking. And it means they're doing really well.

Okay. Good to know. Maybe like he's on a roll. Would it be like that? Something like that? Yes. Very similar. Right. We might've said they're on a roll and it depends.

You could say, you could say this about music, right? Oh, that artist is really cooking with like their new album or just, it's often said in the moment, someone's doing something right now. Like you're watching a video and you're commenting about what you're watching them do. Be like, Oh, he's really cooking.

In the moment. So it wouldn't be like if I said like Bad Bunny, I feel like is really popular right now. Right. It wouldn't be like that. It's more like I'd have to be watching him perform.

Is that right? Exactly. Right. So if you're watching the Super Bowl, for example, you'd be like, oh, Bad Bunny is cooking, you know, or like you're like watching them perform.

It is really more in the moment. Yeah. Okay. So that's the key difference from how, difference from how we used it in the eighties and nineties. True.

Right. Because I used to bring home like a report card and maybe it was a good report card. My dad would say, you're cooking, right? Yeah. That just means like, you're doing great.

Yeah. This is different. This is more like in the moment you're on a roll. We'll also say like, you're killing it. And it could be lots of, it could be sports, playing sports, right?

She's cooking. If she's got several good plays in a row, it's more about what's happening right now. Okay, good. All right. Where to go from here, Aubrey?

What else do we need to know? This is good. Well, let's share when you can use it because it is a really fun connection skill to use cooking. You can use it to hype someone up, right?

Just like, oh, you're cooking whatever they're doing right now. If they're doing it well, you could say this at work, but it's very casual, very informal. So more about, you know, someone's telling a story, like tells a really good story and everyone's laughing and you notice they're just kind of, we would say on fire back in the day, man, you're on fire tonight.

Now we might say, you're cooking tonight. I still say on fire. I'm not dropping any of my old slang. Maybe it's not cool, but I'm still saying it. So hyping someone up, maybe again, like you said, critiquing their performance at work in a positive way.

But again, depends on the workplace, of course, right? It's very conversational. You could have a conversation in the break room or at happy hour and use this, but it probably wouldn't be like in a more formal setting in a meeting or something like that, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

Okay. And then like you said, your friend's telling a story and everyone's laughing. Oh, you're just cooking tonight, right? Or if someone is winning an argument, maybe, maybe in like comments on social media or, you know, if someone's chatting and be like, okay, he's really cooking when you're talking about who you think is winning the argument.

Yeah. Or, you know, dancing on TikTok is the big thing now, TikTok. So you could say they're cooking, right? If you're responding to someone's dance, if it's getting a lot of likes or people love it, right?

Yeah. I mean, they're doing a good job. It's good for whatever reason they're cooking, right? But this is even more common to hear, let them cook. Let him cook.

Let her cook. Right. So this is sort of like you want them to keep going. You want them to succeed. And it's often in defense of someone. So if say someone gets up to sing karaoke and you want to support them and someone else is maybe like different song or telling them to sit down, you'd be like, let her cook.

Means like, no, I want her to be able to keep going. You're supporting them. Love it. Okay. I learned something new on this show every day. This is great.

Nice. Yeah. And this is a fun one. And what a great connection skill. If you have a friend, we've all been in that situation where all they need is someone to support them, someone to stick up for them.

And this is a great way to do it. It's because it's fun. It's playful. It's lighthearted. You're not going to actually get in a fight with anyone if you're just like, let her cook.

Right. Got it. Got it. Or maybe someone's crazy about posting a weird viewpoint online, right? A crazy viewpoint. And you just want to see where it goes, right?

He's got some weird ideas, but just let him cook. Yeah, that's kind of like saying like, we'll see. We'll see how this goes. Let him cook. Let's see what shakes out.

All right. See what shakes out. I like it. Anything else we need to know about cook? Let them cook. Yeah. This is interesting. There are so many things about this type of slang that are, it's so specific the way that we use it, right?

Okay. So one thing we would not recommend is to ask, like, did I cook? Was I cooking? If I said that, I would say that to mortify my children. Like if I did that, they would just be like, no, mom, don't like, that's absolutely not right.

So it's interesting. But you can the biggest way I would recommend is the let him cook or let her cook. I hear people my age saying that a lot. We're kind of taking this Gen Z slang and using that.

And it's fun. It's playful. I like that one a lot. I like it. Good to know. Good to know. So we're not asking for validation. That's not cool. Right. Be cool.

Be cool, guys. Be cool. We're trying to help you guys be cool. All right. We'll take a quick break and then we'll be back to talk more. All right. In your first language, you have personality.

You joke, you interrupt, you push back, but in English, you might feel smaller, more careful, less expressive than you really are. If English feels like it's filtering your personality, it may be time to understand why.

Our free two-minute fluency quiz helps you see what's holding you back from speaking freely and naturally and connecting. Plus, you get your current English level. Is it B1, B2, or C1? Find out today.

Take the quiz now at allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E. Okay, Aubrey, where to next? What else do we need to know here?

All right. So now we're going to talk about cooked, which is very different. It's like the opposite meaning, right? If you hear cooked, for example, I didn't study for the test.

I'm cooked. What do you think that would mean, Lindsay? You can probably tell from context. Probably you're in trouble, right? Yeah. Exactly. Oh, it's going to be a disaster.

Exactly right. Or if we miss this deadline, we're cooked means things are going to go badly. It's going to be a disaster, which is the opposite of cooking. Okay.

If you're cooked, you're not cooking. Yeah. Interesting. Good to know. Sometimes we have that in English. The slang seems very similar, but can mean the complete opposite.

So it's all about context. So again, guys, To be cooked means to be in trouble or totally unprepared for what's coming next. Ooh, that's the worst feeling.

Remember when you were in school and you would show up and you realize there's like a quiz or something and you didn't prepare? Ugh, it was horrible. Yes. And this is the most common thing to say right now, especially Gen Z, which would be like, I'm cooked.

We're cooked. Okay. And they do this funny thing where they'll say, am I cooked chat? And it's like, they're saying it to me. My kids will say this to me.

And I had to ask them at first. It's like, that's what they would type on a video game or on social media to the chat. Like if someone's on a live stream. So everyone out there, if you're familiar with all of that, I was like, what do you mean?

Why are you calling me chat? Yeah. Wow. It is so interesting how Gen Z slang now really involves being online. It's integrated into the words. That's fascinating.

Their lives are so much online, right? A lot of their social networking is online. So it makes sense. They're pulling that into the slang. Wow. So when would we use this again, Aubrey?

Yeah. So anytime you're talking about a negative situation, whoever is cooked is in trouble. Something's going badly, right? It can be serious or really joking, depending on your tone.

So again, this is informal. It's conversational, right? You would not usually hear this in the workplace unless it's like at happy hour or really casual conversation. Yeah.

So for example, maybe your phone dies and you realize you're lost. You say, oh no, we're cooked. That's perfect. Yes. I would totally say that. And this is more, sometimes cooking is really more younger people that are saying it.

But this one is really getting adopted everywhere for all ages. I think it's going to become more and more popular. Okay. Or maybe an exam is much harder than you expect it to be.

You'd say, uh-oh, I think we're cooked. Or maybe you run out of gas somewhere in the West, right? Right. We're cooked. You'd be like walking for 10 miles looking for gas.

Or if someone gets caught in a lie, you could say they're cooked. Or if you get caught in a lie, I'm cooked. Just me. It can mean like I'm caught. I'm in trouble.

Like something's not going well. Okay. All right. Let's bring this into a role play so we can really see how it comes to life. Aubrey, what are our roles in this role play?

Okay. So we are young friends. We're Gen Z here. So we would be using all of this slang. You just posted a TikTok sharing a controversial viewpoint and you're asking me about it.

Let's do this. Okay. Did you see my latest video? Yes. I loved it. You're definitely cooking lately. I can't get enough. Thanks. I wasn't sure about this latest post.

People are popping off in the comments. The first few replies were pretty intense. I was like, uh-oh, am I cooked? Am I going to get canceled here? Ooh, I know.

But anything controversial is going to get some hate. I told them, let her cook. You've got a point after all. Thanks for the support. I appreciate that.

Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, this is interesting. So though we're younger here, we can go through this, right? All of this, definitely Gen Z would say. I would say these to friends, right?

I probably wouldn't say you're cooking. Someone our age is still going to be like, you're doing awesome. You're doing amazing. You're killing it. We'll use those phrases.

And this is the one exception that I feel like that like, oh, you're cooking, they're cooking is anyone that's Gen Z will listen to this podcast and their ears are gonna be like bleeding because that's still mostly used by Gen Z cooking like. Okay. Got it. Got it.

Got it. So we did do another episode last year or something about killing it, crushing it. Do you remember that one, Aubrey? I'm not sure if I did that with Michelle.

Yes. And all of those phrases. That was me. And we use all of those much more often than cooking anyone who's over like the age of maybe 18. Okay. So it is a generational divide here, isn't it?

Interesting. But it depends on the words, right? It depends on, because some of these, like the let her cook, let him cook, that is being adopted by all ages more. I'm hearing that a lot.

I recommend saying that. It's fun. It's getting adopted more widely. This like, I'm cooking or she's cooking. That's being, that's kind of, it's like six, seven.

Those phrases that really just stayed with younger kids. Yes. Yes. For sure. I never tried to say six, seven. I think by the time I sort of understood it, it was gone.

And that might be like cooking like this, right? By the time anyone older is trying to say it, the kids are going to be over it. Yeah, for sure. All right, cool.

So we started by saying, I said, did you see my latest video? And you said, yes, I loved it. You're definitely cooking lately. And that's the one we're going to reserve for John Z.

But then you did say, am I cooked? And this you could say, like either of us could say this, right? I'm cooked. It means like I'm in trouble. Something's not going well.

Yeah. And I'm asking, am I going to get canceled? Is this not going to come off well? Right. And then you said, I know, but anything controversial is going to get some hate.

I told them just let her cook. Right. So I'm saying that I commented that, right? We're talking about a video you posted and there were some negative comments.

So I commented, let her cook. And yeah, this is the best way to support and be like, you know, say that you agree or you think someone should be doing something. Wow. Okay.

This is great. So I think it's so important to know what words and phrases are common for what ages, who's using what, when, and how, right? Exactly. Right.

You're going to hear all of these. It's a question of what you can use and when. They are playful. They're fun. They're lighthearted. They're great for connecting in English, but you may, all of this kind of slang, we feel silly sometimes when we use it, if it's mostly younger kids using it, right?

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Guys, go check out 2676, yours or mine, using possessive words to talk about homes. I think that was Michelle and I that did that one.

We talked a lot about Australian English and how it's a little bit different. It was fascinating, actually. So go check out that episode. Aubrey, what's our final note on connection when it comes to connection?

Yeah, slang is so tricky. It is one of the best ways to connect to get casual, bring down that wall of formality was trendy new slang. But it can be there is a chance that there will be some kind of weird interaction where someone who's young. gives you a look like, why are you saying that?

Because they think they own that slang. But like Lindsay said, language is for all of us, right? Use it if you want. And you can laugh together with a kid.

They might just roll their eyes at you. That's okay. They can do that. It's fun. Have a little fun with it. Be lighthearted. Maybe if you have a teenage kid, right?

It's fun. Okay. That's another way to connect, right? That's a way to find connection with your teenager, maybe, right? Yeah. Yes. Right. And a lot of these are just really fun.

Let her cook, let him cook. That's a great way to support, to show support for someone. So I say use that one for sure. All right. See you next time, Aubrey.

Take care. Awesome. Thanks guys. Bye. Bye. See you next time.