Learn English with Hercules — DISNEY CLASSIC

From that day forward, our boy Hercules could do no wrong. He was so hot, steam looked cool. Oh, yeah! That's my soul, Herc was on a roll Person of the week in every Greek opinion poll What a pro, Herc was got for show Boy, no matter monster and you're talking S.R.O. He was a no one, a zero, zero Now he's a honcho, he's a hero He was a kid with his act up From zero to hero in no time flat From zero to hero, just like that Ha-ha, yeah! Today, we're going to learn a lot of useful expressions in English that you can use in everyday life with this fun song from Disney's Hercules, Zero to Hero. Now, let's analyze and understand the advanced English that we just heard in this first part of the song. From that day forward, our boy Hercules could do no wrong. He was so hot, steam looked cool. So the phrase, can do no wrong, means that someone is so admired that everything they do is seen as great, even if it is not. For example, if a popular singer like Taylor Swift releases a bad song, her biggest fans will love it anyway because to them, she can do no wrong. So after saving the city of Thebes from the monster Hydra, Hercules earned the respect and admiration of the Thebans, the people from the city. He was so hot, in other words, extremely popular, that even something hot like steam seemed cool in comparison. Like, for example, you might have heard the expression hot topic. It means the same thing, it's a popular topic. What's also funny here, though, is that hot can also refer to being physically attractive. If somebody says they're on a roll, that means they're doing something and having success with it repeatedly, without failing. Like if a soccer player scores four times in a single game, the announcer could say they're on a roll. Check out how these expressions are used in the animation Monsters, Inc. Whoo! Oh, yeah. I've never seen anything like you today. You were on a roll, my man. Another day like this and that scare record's in the bag. That's right, baby. And how is Georgie doing? He's doing great. I love working with that big guy. Keep the doors coming, Charlie. I'm on a roll today. So Hercules was having success after success, defeating every monster he faced. Person of the week in every Greek opinion poll. A poll refers to the process of voting in an election. Now, opinion polls are surveys on the popularity of a specific topic. For example, to decide on who the person of the year is, like the Time magazine does. In the song, they play with that idea and make Hercules the person of the week in the city of Thebes. By the way, I don't know if you know, but the women telling the story here are the muses, who serve as the film's narrators. In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses of the arts and storytelling. And in Hercules, they take on the role of a lively gospel choir. What a pro! Hercules got my show Oh, and I'm at a monster and you're talking SRO Informally speaking, if you say someone stopped the show, that means they got everyone's attention instantly. Like you stopped whatever you were doing and paid full attention to this person. In this case, Hercules. You could also say they are stealing the show or stealing the scene. So whenever he fought a monster, he was guaranteed to draw a huge crowd. SRO means standing room only. It's a term used when all the seats at an event are sold out and the only space left is for people to stand. It basically means the event is super popular and packed. He was a no one, a zero, a zero Now he's a honcho, he is a hero He was a kid with his act, zero to hero, what a hero Just like that So as the muses are saying, Hercules was a no one, a zero, a person completely ignored by everyone. And in no time flat, that is, very quickly or almost instantly, he became the town's top hero, their leader. Honcho means exactly that, the boss or leader. It's more used informally, sometimes humorously. And by the way, you can also simply say in no time if you want to refer to instantly. He was a kid with his act, act, act This line is great for practicing advanced English pronunciation. Notice how many of the words are linked here. This is because of connected speech, the way natives cut, link and morph words in English when they speak. It's the main reason why learners believe natives speak fast when in fact, it's not fast, it's just connected. Let's see how she said this line. So first, she linked the word was with the article A, which sounded like was a with a Z sound. He was a, he was a kid. This particular Z sound has already appeared several times in the song. Herc was on a roll, he was a no one, now he's a honcho, he's a hero. Then she follows, he was a kid with his act down pat. We'll hear the letter D from the word kid connect to the word with to form the sound kid with. And with gets linked to the word his, resulting in with his. And finally, his gets linked to act, again to produce that same Z sound. His act, his act down pat. Now let's listen and repeat after the muse. He was a kid with his act, act, act Now, can you guess what this phrase means? Let's listen to it again. He was a kid with his act, act, act So with his act down pat means to be good looking, skillful at something, down to earth. Yeah, the idiom down pat means to have become so skilled at something, you can do it without thinking. Like if you have a presentation or speech down pat, you don't need any notes to remember it. So this is saying that Hercules had perfected his skills and knew exactly what he was doing. Check out this clip with this expression being used where a girl has mastered the Australian accent or Australian twang in no time. Her parents are still learning English, although May has got the Aussie twang down pat. When I speak, they say I'm like an Aussie and they can't understand me. Hey, let me stop you right here and ask you something. What do you do to remember all these new words and expressions that you're learning with our lessons? Like the ones we've been seeing in no time flat, can't do no wrong, to have something down pat. And this is just with the beginning of the song. We're going to be seeing many more advanced words today. Will you be able to remember and use all of these when you need them? Well, I'm saying this because I know it's quite frustrating when you get into a conversation in English and suddenly all the vocabulary that you've been learning disappears from your mind. And that is exactly why we created the RealLife English app to help you become a confident, natural English speaker by practicing with these lessons the best way possible. So on the app, every lesson like this one with movies, TV series and podcasts, it comes with a full transcript and flashcards of the most advanced expressions. And by practicing just 10 minutes a day, you'll be able to remember the words and expressions you're learning forever. Now, this happens because of the technology that we developed that is scientifically proven to help you actually retain knowledge. Can you imagine being able to use all this vocabulary when you speak? Well, this is what you can get with the RealLife app. And you can unlock this lesson with Perkly's completely free if it's your first one. And it comes with all these great resources by clicking the link in the description below. Or you can simply search for RealLife English on Google Play or the App Store. But the link in the description below will take you straight to the lesson. So come on, let's continue watching it over there. All right, now let's listen to the second part of the song. And he smiled, the girls went wild with And they slapped his face on every face On every boss Come on, here is speed and royalties Our heart had cash to burn Now, new Mauritian flavors He could tell you what the Grecian art Oh, and by the way, if you are new here and you haven't subscribed yet, you should know that every single week we make lessons with your favorite movies and TV series to help you understand fast speaking natives without getting lost, without missing the jokes and without subtitles. So if this is something that you want to be able to do, subscribe and hit the bell down below so you don't miss any of our new lessons. And they slapped his face on every face The line, and they slapped his face on every face, means that Hercules became so famous that his image was put on faces, much like real life Greek pottery is commonly decorated with scenes of gods, heroes and important events. The word slap here means to casually place something onto a surface, often in a way that seems effortless or mass produced. So it sounds like they were imprinting his image onto pottery, similarly to how modern celebrities have their faces slapped onto mass produced posters and magazine covers. And about the pronunciation of the word vase, we hear it being said two different ways, both correct. Vase is a British pronunciation and Americans would say vase. Appearance fees and royalties Our heart had cash to burn Just like modern celebrities, Hercules is said to make money from appearance fees and royalties. When stars show up at events to promote a product or business, they get paid for that public appearance. For that, they charge an appearance fee. And royalties are payments that someone earns when others use their work or image. For example, when one of Coldplay's songs is played on the radio or used in a movie, they earn royalties, even years after the song has been written. When you have a lot of money which you can spend, especially without worrying, you could say you have cash to burn. It's like having extra money for fun, luxury or even splurging that is spending freely on things you don't really need. Check out this example. Look, you're a little old. This is a class for teenagers. Well, I can take them. I'm not afraid of kids, sir. And my mom, she doesn't charge me rent, so I just got a lot of cash to burn. My nouveau riche and famous He could tell you what the Grisham earned Nouveau riche is a French expression that means new rich. He refers to people who have recently acquired wealth in a way that contrasts with old money, that is, the families who have been wealthy for generations. This expression can carry a negative or snobby connotation, implying that the newly rich spend their money extravagantly or lack the refined manners of those born into wealth. My nouveau riche and famous He could tell you what the Grisham earned If you've never heard of the word Grisham, it's because it was created for the song. It's just a combination of the words Greeks and citizens to create the humorous term Grisham. Now let's listen to the rest of the song. Say amen Say it over again So Hercules is so awesome that folks or people simply line up just to watch him flex. To line up is to form a line like this. Now flex is an interesting word. When used informally, to flex means to boast or to show off. But the literal meaning is to tense or move a muscle, like Hercules flexing his biceps. Or if you flex your finger, you bend it like this. Here's an example from Kung Fu Panda. The Wushi finger hold. Now the Wushi finger hold. Oh, you know this hold? Developed by Master Wushi in the Third Dynasty, yes. Oh, then you must know what happens when I flex my pinky. And again, there's some nice connected speech in this line. Listen to it one more time. Just to watch him flex. So the T from just morphs into the T sound from two and two is reduced to a simple T. So we hear just a, just a. And in the next two words, the H in him gets dropped and the C-H from watch is linked to the following vowel. Watch him, watch him, just to watch him. And we also hear a line that sounds like a tongue twist right here. But first, try to read this. That's a great one to practice the plosive P sound. Perfect package, peck the pair of pretty pecks. Listen to how she says it. And this perfect package. Anyway, but what does this sentence mean? We can see the muse is holding a small figure of Hercules flexing his muscles. Perfect package means you have it all. Talent, looks, charisma. Another way to say it would be the full package. Now when she says peck the pair of pretty pecks, she's referring to Hercules' muscular chest. The word pecks is short for pectorals or chest muscles. Just like Julius Caesar, he sees, he conquers. This is a reference to Caesar's famous quote, I came, I saw, I conquered. To go bonkers is another informal way to say to go crazy with excitement. I'm your host, Dani Fernandez. Nobody knows who's making them, but the whole world is going bonkers over a series of truly bizarre videos starring 80s era bad guy, Wreck-It Ralph. Epoxy, brains and spunk. These words stand for courage, intelligence and enthusiasm. They describe Hercules as not just strong, but also smart and full of spirit. Punk is an informal way to describe a muscular, attractive man. The literal meaning of the word hunk though would be a big piece of something, like a piece of meat. In this example, Alf doesn't know the informal meaning of the word hunk, so he's confused by the compliment. Check it out. Come on, we're going to be late. Well, how do I look? Like a real hunk. A hunk of what? Come on, we're going to be late. No, really, a hunk of what? Can you guess the meaning of who the thunk? That's a playful shortened way to ask who would have thought. Thunk is a made-up version of the verb to think in the past. The correct way to say it is thought. But because of the pattern we see in other verbs like drink, drunk, sing, sung, shrink, shrunk, one could imagine that the past form of think is thunk. But it's not. Still though, it may be used playfully in everyday speech. Check out this example. And with only seven days until the election, her campaign might be in the pits. Wow, who would have thought that such a small trivial detail could be the thing to take Bill down? Yeah, who'd have thunk it? Who knew? Gladiator Hercules Who's down to eat a great theater Hercules There are so many references to Greek and modern pop culture in this song, some I think are really funny. For example, they put Hercules' face on a credit card that looks a lot like the American Express card. Also, they made a drink called Herculade in reference to sports drinks like Gatorade, which are commonly marketed as the go-to drink for athletes and champions. And how about the Air Herx? Have you ever heard of Air Jordans? The sneaker line associated with basketball star Michael Jordan. Is he bold? So much freedom Is he sweet? My favorite flavor, Hercules We also see references to Greek mythology, especially the famous Twelve Labors of Hercules, a series of challenges which Hercules, the actual mythical figure, faced. In the music video, we see several monsters he had to fight, which are the same ones described in the original mythology. And how about the letter X for the number 10 here? Anyway, these are just some cool things I noticed. Now, are you ready to test your comprehension by listening to the song a final time without subtitles and also answering some questions? This is a more challenging one that we're getting into today, but if you practice enough, I bet that you could even sing along. So let's do it. From that day forward, our boy Hercules could do no wrong. He was so hot. Steam looked cool. Oh, yeah That's my soul Herc was on a roll Person of the week in every Greek opinion poll What a pro Herc could stop a show Boy, no matter, monster, and you're talking SRO What does the acronym SRO stand for and when would we use it? It stands for Standing Room Only, and we would use it when all the seats at an event are sold out and the only space left is for people to stand. He was a kid with his act up Zero to hero You're not a hero Just like that When he smiled, the girls went wild with And they slapped his face on every face On every balls Come on, here is speed and royalties Our Herc had cash to burn What does she mean by appearance fees? The money earned from selling personal merchandise or the money celebrities charge to attend an event? He could tell you Grecian art Say amen Say it over again What's the best word to describe a bodybuilder displaying their muscles? To flex Herc, he comes, he sees, he conquers If the crowd goes bonkers, it Starts arguing with each other Becomes extremely excited Becomes speechless and just watches Ah yeah, great job Now remember to go and practice what you learned today on the RealLife app You will find a special link in the description below that will take you straight to this lesson over there Looks like such a beat-up, worthless piece of junk Hey, I think there's something written here, but It's... It's hard to make out