Transcript of AE 1418 - Expression: A Leopard Can't Change Its Spots

You ever meet someone who says, Nah, mate, I've changed! And for some reason you believe him. Maybe your mate swears he's finally organised now. Your ex says they've matured. That bloke at work reckons he's way more chilled these days. And then two days later, he's absolutely losing it because somebody borrowed his stapler.

And slowly the old habits creep back in. The lateness, the drama, the same weird behaviour they've always had. And you just sit there thinking, Yeah, righto.

Honestly, I reckon everybody knows at least one person like this. And today I'm going to teach you the perfect Aussie expression for that exact situation.

G'day you mob. Welcome to Aussie English. I'm your host, Pete, and my objective here is to teach you guys the English spoken Down Under. So whether you want to sound like a fair dinkum Aussie, or you just want to understand what the flipping hell we're on about when we're having a yarn. You've come to the right place. So sit back, grab a cuppa, and enjoy Aussie English. Let's go.

All right, before we get into it, I've got a joke for you. So today's joke. Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? Are you buckled in? Don't fall out of your chair laughing, okay? It's gonna be a pisser. Here we go.

Why did the leopard stop playing hide and seek?

Why did the leopard stop playing hide and seek?

Because everyone could spot him!

Do you get it? Because everyone could spot him, right? A leopard has spots.

And to spot someone. To see. Someone to find someone to notice. Someone to spot someone. Ah, there you go. Another one to add to the, to the bag of jokes that I've given you over the years. Why did the leopard stop playing hide and seek? Because everyone could spot him. Oh.

G'day, guys. Welcome back to the Aussie English Podcast. I'm your host, Pete, and this is the number one place for anyone and everyone wanting to learn Australian English. I hope you have had an amazing week. I'm starting to come down with something. I can tell, I've got that scratchy throat.

My daughter's been coughing like a maniac, you know, she's been. She's brought something home from school and I am almost certain it is upon me. It is something that I'm about to come down with as well. But fingers crossed it's not too bad. All right. Fingers crossed.

So today's expression, today's expression is "a leopard can't change its spots". Remember, before we get into it, there will be a free downloadable PDF that you can grab. So you can download this PDF for free. The free. The link will be in the description, so you just click that. Or you can go over to the Aussie English website. It'll help you review the vocab, the pronunciation and example sentences from today's episode.

And if you want extra listening practice, check out the Premium Podcast membership where you'll get over 1400 episodes, their transcripts, you'll have bonus episodes, and you'll also get the premium podcast player and that nice warm, fuzzy feeling inside knowing that you're supporting Aussie English.

So go check that out. It's over at Aussie english.com.au/podcast, or you can click the link in the description.

Okay, so first things first. A leopard is one of those big cats covered in spots. It's fast, stealthy, absolutely not something you'd want to bump into while camping.

And the spots are the dark markings on its fur. Literally. The idea is pretty simple. A leopard can't remove or change its spots. They're permanent.

And figuratively, humans can be a bit like that too, right? People usually end up slipping back into the same old habits they used to have. Same behaviours, same problems, same personality traits.

And that's when people use this expression. Usually when someone keeps making the same mistakes they've always made, when somebody says they've changed, but clearly they haven't, or when you're a bit sceptical that they'll ever really change. Deep down, I bet someone popped into your head immediately when I said that too, didn't they? Hmm.

All right, let's go through some examples of how to use the expression "a leopard can't change its spots".

Example one: workplace behaviour. Imagine this. Dave Swayze's finally going to start arriving on time for work Monday morning rolls around. 9:15, coffee in hand. Same excuse as always. Oh, traffic was insane, mate. What would you say here? Yep. A leopard can't change its spots. See, people never change.

Dave said he was going to do something different. Dave's just Dave. He's not gonna change. A leopard can't change its spots.

Example number two: relationships. Your friend gets back together with their ex and you're like, wait, isn't that the person who cheated on you twice before? And your friend goes, No, no, no, they've changed. They've totally changed!

Mmm. Three weeks later, same drama all over again. What expression would you use? Can you say it out loud? Yep. A leopard can't change its spots. This person cheated on you twice in the past. Once a cheater, always a cheater. They were always going to do it again. A leopard can't change its spots.

Example number three: friendship and personality. You've got that one friend who always cancels plans at the last minute. I have one of those every single time, right? And somehow you still believe them when they say, No, seriously! Seriously! This weekend I'm definitely coming. I'm totally coming.

Then Saturday afternoon rolls around and you get the typical text message. Oh, sorry mate, something's come up. And you think I should have known? A leopard can't change its spots.

All right, let's go through a little quick, natural dialogue. Try and shadow this with me. Okay, so just imagine in your head two people talking to each other. Okay.

"Has Dan finally stopped gambling?"

"Mate, he was at the pokies last night."

"Oh, no."

"Yep. Leopard? Spots."

Notice how native speakers sometimes shortened expressions like this in casual conversation. Once everybody already understands the meaning.

So you can simply just say "Leopard, spots". And it's sort of obvious that you're saying a leopard can't change its spots.

Quick tip! Now this expression can sound a bit harsh if you say it directly to someone's face. Like if somebody says, I'm really trying to change and you reply, Yeah, nah, leopard can't change its spots. That probably won't go down too well.

So usually this expression gets used jokingly, sarcastically, or when talking about someone rather than directly to them. That's social nuance is really important.

Okay, so it's time for a speaking and pronunciation exercise. We're going to try something a little bit different from what we normally do here. Okay. I have been trying to work out how to jazz these episodes up a bit and make them more effective and more advanced for you guys.

Okay, so all right, let's practice this naturally. Repeat after me. I'm going to say a series of sentences using different tone in English. See if you can match the tone as well as the sentences that I say out loud. Okay. Listen and repeat after me.

All right, so the first one here, frustrated tone.

He said he'd change. He said he'd change.

Now, skeptical tone.

Yeah, but a leopard can't change its spots. Yeah, but a leopard can't change its spots.

Now, disappointed tone.

I gave him another chance. I gave him another chance.

And lastly, a realising tone, right? You're realising something.

A leopard can't change its spots. A leopard can't change its spots.

Now let's do some full sentences. Okay, so repeat after me.

He said he'd change. But a leopard can't change its spots.

I gave him another chance. But a leopard can't change its spots.

She promised she'd be different. Yeah, but a leopard can't change its spots.

Deep down, people stay the same. A leopard can't change its spots.

Okay, so now let's go through a little pronunciation tip. So listen to how Aussies squash all this together in fast speech.

Instead of hearing "a leopard can't change its spots", you'll often hear something more like "/ə ˈlɛpəd/ can't change its spots".

So notice how "a" gets reduced to /ə/. /ə ˈlɛpəd/ can't change.

You'll hear that T at the end of the word "can't" get softened or even muted. /kænt/ change.

And you'll hear "change" link to "it's" because the word "it's" starts with a vowel. /ʧeɪnʤ ɪts/.

And in fact, I'd probably reduce the vowel sound to a schwa. /ʧeɪnʤ əts/ /ʧeɪnʤ əts/.

/ə ˈlɛpəd kænt ʧeɪnʤ əts spɒts/. /ə ˈlɛpəd kænt ʧeɪnʤ əts spɒts/.

Try it again. Naturally. Repeat a few times after me.

A leopard can't change its spots.

A leopard can't change its spots.

A leopard can't change its spots.

Good job! All right, now it is time to get into the Australian fact of the day.

So, did you know Australia has one of the world's strangest, long running animal mysteries? The so-called "phantom panthers" or big cats said to roam the bush?

For decades, people across Australia have reported sightings of large black cats in the wild, especially around places like the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Gippsland in Victoria and parts of Queensland.

People describe them as looking like black panthers, leopards or cougars way bigger than ordinary feral cats. Some witnesses reckon they've seen cats the size of German shepherds crossing roads late at night or moving silently through the bush.

Farmers have blamed mysterious livestock deaths on these creatures as well. And every now and then, blurry photos or footprint casts pop up online as evidence.

One of the most famous legends is the Gippsland Panther from eastern Victoria. Stories about it have been around for more than a hundred years, and some locals absolutely swear it's real.

So where did the stories come from? Well, there's a few theories. One idea is that exotic cats escaped from travelling circuses, private zoos or animal collections years ago and somehow survived in the wild.

There are even rumours that American soldiers stationed in Australia during World War Two brought big cats over as mascots and released them before heading home. No solid proof, though.

The more likely explanation? Australia has massive feral cats. Seriously, some of them get enormous because there are very few predators and there's heaps of prey. At darkness, distance, fear and a bit of imagination, and suddenly a giant feral cat turns into a panther.

Scientists are still sceptical because nobody's ever found a verified body, clear DNA evidence or proper footage proving wild big cats exist in Australia.

But despite that, the sightings never really stop. And honestly, Aussies love this kind of mystery. Spooky bush stories, weird outback legends, strange creatures people swear they saw just over that hill somewhere.

So whether it's giant feral cats or something more mysterious, nobody really knows. But if there is a leopard hiding somewhere out there in the Aussie bush, well, a leopard can't change its spots.

And hopefully after today's episode, you'll never forget this expression. The next time somebody says, Trust me, mate, I've changed. Remember, you can always reply if you want to be a little cheeky, mate. A leopard can't change its spots.

All right. So thanks for joining me today, guys. Don't forget to grab today's free PDF download. You can grab that to review the vocab, pronunciation, and example sentences from today's episode. It'll be in the description if you want to support the podcast whilst levelling up your English, check out the premium podcast membership at aussieenglish.com.au/podcast.

And besides that, thanks for listening guys. If you enjoyed the episode, leave a rating or review, share the podcast with a friend learning English and I'll chat to you in the next episode. Catch ya.

All right, that's it for today. If you found this one helpful, leaving a quick review really does help other learners find the podcast. And if you know someone who's learning Aussie English, feel free to share this episode with them too, mate. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you in the next one!