1
00:00:00,390 --> 00:00:21,179
He's known as the father of
Australian ornithology, having
catalogued the continent's feathered
inhabitants when it was still being
charted by explorers. John Gould also
lent his name to the gold league,
which saw thousands of children
introduced to the beauty of bird
life, but an astute business mind lay
behind his famous artworks.

2
00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:50,899
G'day, guys and welcome to Aussie
English! My objective here is to
teach you guys the English spoken
Down Under. So, whether you want to
speak 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.

3
00:01:00,709 --> 00:01:32,755
G'day, guys! What's going on? Welcome
to this episode of Aussie English.
I'm all sweaty, I'm all icky, I'm all
gross, I've just finished mowing the
lawn outside, so we've got like a
house inspection coming up, I think
that's in a few days on the fourth,
and so this is where if you're
renting somewhere in Australia,
usually they have once or twice a
year an inspection, where the real
estate agent will come past and check
out the property, make sure it's in
working order and, you know, check to
see if there's anything that needs
repairs, or in this case they'll come
over with the owner of the property
to check out some repairs that we've
requested.

4
00:01:37,053 --> 00:02:07,139
So, yeah, having to get the house all
organised, everything squeaky clean,
everything looking good for the
inspection that is on this Wednesdays
on the 4th, so fingers crossed that
goes well. Meanwhile, Kel has just
buggered off down the street to go to
a baby meet up, her mothers group
down at the local, I don't know if
it's a kindergarten centre, but it's
where you take your baby and there
are children there, so it is a kind
of kinda, but yeah it's much more
than that. Anyway, she's gone off
there for the afternoon to hopefully
meet some also new mothers and make
some friends, but we'll see how that
goes.

5
00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:32,477
So, anyway, guys, welcome to this
episode of Aussie English. This is
the number one podcast for anyone and
everyone wanting to learn Australian
English. If you guys are interested
in the transcripts and the downloads
for these podcast episodes, as well
as unlimited access to all the past
episodes, jump over to
www.aussieenglish.com.au and sign up
for the premium podcast.

6
00:02:36,200 --> 00:03:01,280
You can also get my courses on
Phrasal Verbs, Australian
pronunciation and spoken English on
the website there too, and if you
want to take your English to the next
level and really work on your
Australian English, improve your
pronunciation, learn about culture,
history, as well as all of the
interesting vocab, slang and
expressions that I use in the
expression courses, make sure that
you join the Academy on there.

7
00:03:01,340 --> 00:03:48,310
And good news, I'm still working on
the updated version the Academy 2.0,
but hopefully that will be out
shortly. Anyway, spiel aside, the
intro clip there was from an ABC News
Story on a famous British naturalist,
who ended up coming to Australia back
in the mid 1800s and doing a lot of
work here and finding hundreds of new
species. So, he's actually quite
famous in terms of his work Down
Under and probably more famous here
in Australia than he is back home in
Britain. So, this is John Gould and
we'll be talking about him and his
life, as well as his wife Elizabeth
Gould, and another naturalist he came
out here with called John Gilbert,
we'll be talking about them in the
Aussie facts, so keep an eye out for
that episode.

8
00:03:49,290 --> 00:04:00,714
Alright, so before we get into
today's, I've got a joke for you, got
a joke, ok? And so I was thinking
I've got to find a joke related to
the expression, so I found a joke
that has something to do with the
word 'draw', right? Like drawing, ok?
So, here we go.

9
00:04:03,050 --> 00:04:15,841
How do you draw a crowd? How do you
draw a crowd? Right? A crowd, a group
of people, how do you draw one of
them? How do you draw a crowd? With a
pen!

10
00:04:19,700 --> 00:04:53,360
So, the joke you guys, obviously, you
know the word 'draw' can mean to use
a pen or pencil to make an image,
right? To do an illustration, to
illustrate something, that is to
draw, but you can also use it in
terms of bringing something in a
certain direction, right? So, if you
draw a crowd, that's an expression
for bringing a group of people
together. So, if I went out in the
street and started juggling and a lot
of people formed around me, they
formed a crowd, my juggling has drawn
them in, so I've drawn a crowd, ok?
So, that's the joke here. How do you
draw a crowd? With a pen.

11
00:04:55,450 --> 00:05:22,397
Alright, so the expression, guys, the
expression is 'to draw a blank'. 'To
draw a blank' or 'to draw a blank on
something'. Now, this was suggested
by Hussam, who's in the Aussie
English Facebook group, it's now
open, guys. So, if you want to join
and get involved I'm trying to put in
articles and videos and exercises in
there to keep you working on your
Australian English, just search for
the AE Facebook group and you'll find
it and click join.

12
00:05:22,426 --> 00:05:27,375
Let's go through the definitions of
the words in the expression 'to draw
a blank'. 'To draw a blank'.

13
00:05:28,512 --> 00:05:38,949
So, as we sort of said during the
joke, if you draw something, you're
producing an image or a diagram or a
picture, right? You're making lines
or marks on paper with a pencil or a
pen or something, you're drawing.

14
00:05:41,876 --> 00:05:52,117
But it can mean a few other things
too, right? So, it could mean to draw
something towards you or away from
your, right? To take in a certain
direction and then also we can use it
to mean to extract something.

15
00:05:53,798 --> 00:06:09,914
So, I guess it's kind of the same as
drawing, to take in a certain
direction, but you can use it to
extract an object from a container or
receptacle, right? You draw something
say a coin out of a jar or a ticket
out of a hat, right? You draw that
thing out, you take it out.

16
00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:49,612
A 'blank'. So, in this case, a blank
is an empty space or period of time,
especially in terms of a lack of
knowledge, right? Or lack of
understanding. So, if I have a blank,
it's that I can't think of the thing
I'm trying to think of, right? Or I
can't understand the thing I'm trying
to understand, my mind has gone
blank. But in this sense, the
expression 'to draw a blank', 'to
draw a blank on something', it means
to fail to recall a memory or to fail
in some speculative effort, right? If
someone asks you 'can you speculate
on this thing? Can you tell me about
this thing? Can you try and make me
understand this thing?' and you can't
think of it, you're there going....
You've drawn a blank, right? So, it's
to fail to produce an answer for
something or fail to remember
something.

17
00:06:58,554 --> 00:07:35,792
So, I looked at where this expression
came from and apparently it's pretty
old, so at least in terms of England,
right? In English. It's come from a
Tudor English in the year 1567, when
the first National Lottery was
created by Elizabeth Queen the First,
and so what would happen is the
lottery would take place by placing
slips of paper with names on them
names of the participants, of people,
into a pot and there would be an
equal number of slips with prizes
written on them put into another pot,
except a lot of those slips would be
blank, they wouldn't have anything
written on them, ok?

18
00:07:36,420 --> 00:07:58,813
So, that when they were drawn out
there would be a prize or there would
be a blank, right? So, pairs of
tickets would be drawn out, the name
out of one pot and a prize or lack
there of out of another pot, and
unfortunately for most people more
often than not a blank slip was drawn
out and the participant got bugger
all, they got nothing, they got jack
squat, so they drew a blank, right?
They pulled a blank card or slip out
of the pot, they drew a blank.

19
00:08:02,904 --> 00:08:07,755
Alright. So, let's go through some
examples of how I would use this
expression in everyday English.

20
00:08:09,014 --> 00:08:41,400
So, imagine that you meet someone at
work one day, so you get introduced
to them, maybe they're getting hired
to do a bunch of different jobs and
as a result they've got their fingers
in many pies, right? They're wearing
many hats and you'll have to get them
trained up for one or two different
areas that are your speciality, ok?
So, you've met this person, you know,
they introduced themselves, 'g'day my
name is so-and-so',  'oh, hey, my
name is Pete', then after you've
trained them you go out for lunch
and, so you go out with some mates
and you happen to find this person
out there too, see you meet them
again just a few hours after you met
them for the first time.

21
00:08:42,200 --> 00:09:04,304
And you might draw a blank on their
name, right? You can't remember their
name, you can't remember it for the
life of you and, so you might have
one of those awkward situations where
they remember your name, 'g'day Pete
how's it going?', and you're like
'Hey... Mate!', you know, in an
awkward kind of situation because you
can't remember their name. You've
drawn a blank on their name.

22
00:09:05,270 --> 00:09:38,541
Example number two: so, I grew up in
a little town up in the Dandenong
Ranges called Kallista, this is sort
of the north east of Melbourne, in
Victoria. And, so it was a mountain
range, lots of wet eucalyptus forest,
lots of animals, some of the world's
tallest trees, rained all the time,
once it snowed there, which was
pretty cool, I remember that as a
kid, and I remember as a kid going to
school for the first time, and my
parents had me memorize the house
phone number, so that if for whatever
reason I got lost or I needed to call
home, I could remember the phone
number and dial it or maybe I could
tell someone, you know, can you dial
this number for me, wherever I was.

23
00:09:43,643 --> 00:10:15,025
So, today, though, 27 or so years
later, if you asked me to remember
that number for you and write it
down, I would totally draw a blank on
it, for sure, I would draw a blank. I
would not be able to remember that
number for the life of me, there's no
chance, it's been so long, it's been
donkey's years since I've used that
number. So, I would draw a blank on
what the phone number was, which
might be a real kick in the guts for
my parents, you know, might upset
them, they might be annoyed because
they can remember and yeah, but I
don't know, I still live there for a
very long time.

24
00:10:15,094 --> 00:10:39,692
Example number three: so, you have to
book your annual check-up at the
local medical practice, right? To go
see the doctors. So, you call up a
few weeks in advance, you want to
schedule it on a day that will work
for you, you know, the best time that
day that'll suit you best, and so a
few weeks go by after you've booked
it and while you're at work one day
you suddenly remember that you've got
an appointment coming up, but I can't
remember exactly which day it's on
and at what time it's scheduled.

25
00:10:42,275 --> 00:11:03,296
So, you drawing a blank on the
appointment and you might have to
call up the doctors practice and talk
to the receptionist there and say,
you know, like 'I'm worried I'm going
to miss the appointment and I know
that that's not going to go down a
storm with you guys, I know that
you'll be upset, so can you please
remind me what the appointment was,
what day it was, what time it was
because I've drawn a blank. I can't
remember.

26
00:11:04,594 --> 00:11:19,245
So, there you go, guys. Hopefully,
now you understand the expression 'to
draw a blank' or 'to draw a blank on
something' if you want to talk about
the thing on which you've drawn a
blank. It means to fail to recall a
memory or to fail in some speculative
effort, right? So, I've forgotten
something.

27
00:11:22,872 --> 00:11:38,490
So, now let's go through a little
listen and repeat exercise, guys,
where you have your chance to
practice your pronunciation, ok? So,
go through the expression 'to draw a
blank on something' and then I'll go
through the sentences 'I've drawn a
blank on it', 'You've drawn a blank
on it', ok? So, let's go.

28
00:11:47,769 --> 00:11:48,398
To.

29
00:11:48,399 --> 00:11:48,848
To draw.

30
00:11:48,849 --> 00:11:49,059
To draw a.

31
00:11:49,060 --> 00:11:49,396
To draw a blank.

32
00:11:49,397 --> 00:11:53,629
To draw a blank on.

33
00:11:56,610 --> 00:11:58,860
To draw a blank on something.

34
00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:05,261
To draw a blank on something.

35
00:12:05,554 --> 00:12:13,740
To draw a blank on something.

36
00:12:18,700 --> 00:12:20,121
To draw a blank on something.

37
00:12:20,391 --> 00:12:28,140
To draw a blank on something.

38
00:12:33,140 --> 00:12:40,102
Good job, guys! I hope you're paying
attention to the connected speech
there too because there's some
interesting stuff we'll talk about
towards the end here.

39
00:12:40,103 --> 00:12:58,061
So, we're going to conjugate through
the present perfect, ok? So, you
know, 'have drawn', and just remember
that draw is actually an irregular
verb, so the past participle is
'drawn' but the past tense is 'drew',
ok? Drew / have drawn. Let's go.

40
00:12:58,820 --> 00:13:00,350
I've drawn a blank on it.

41
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:06,840
You've drawn a blank on it.

42
00:13:06,874 --> 00:13:13,430
He's drawn a blank on it.

43
00:13:13,464 --> 00:13:20,190
She's drawn a blank on it.

44
00:13:20,224 --> 00:13:26,890
We've drawn a blank on it.

45
00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:33,610
They've drawn a blank on it.

46
00:13:33,630 --> 00:13:40,370
It's drawn a blank on it.

47
00:13:45,350 --> 00:14:27,450
Good work! So, there's quite a few
things going on there, ok? I'll go
through the first exercise, where we
went through 'to, to draw, to draw
a'. So, there were a few things
connected speech wise, you'll notice
that 'draw a', the words 'draw' and
the words 'a' are linked with an R
sound. So, even though there's no R
at the end of the word 'draw',
there's a W and a W sound there for
the vowel, because it's the vowel
sound or if we're linking to another
vowel after it in Australian English
we have to insert an R sound to link
them. 'Draw_a', right? The same way
you would say the word 'drawing',
'draw_a', right? Vowel after '-aw_a',
'draw_a', draw a'.

48
00:14:28,030 --> 00:14:54,980
The other thing there as you might
notice that 'blank on', 'to draw a
blank one'. So, I would say the word
'blank', but I take the K from the
end of the word 'blank' and I put it
at the front of the word 'on'. So,
quite often in English if you have a
word ending with a consonant, K in
this case, and then a word after it
starting with a vowel sound, the
consonant at the end of the preceding
word will go to the front of the next
word to start the syllable, right?
'Blank_on', 'to draw_a blank_on',
'blank_on', ok? So, that's connected
speech there.

49
00:15:03,836 --> 00:15:41,255
Now, in the second exercise 'I've
drawn a blank on it', 'you've drawn a
blank on it', 'he's drawn a blank on
it', you'll notice there that 'drawn'
is now ending with an N and we say
'drawn_a'. So, that same rule
applies. We take the last consonant
at the end of the word 'drawn' and we
put it at the front of the next word
'a' to start that syllable.
'Drawn_a', 'drawn a', And you'll see
the same rule apply for 'blank_on'
and 'on_it', right? 'On_it',
'blank_on', 'on_it'. I've drawn_a
blank_on_it,  you've drawn_a
blank_on_it.

50
00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:46,371
Alright, so let's go through that
second exercise one more time and
we'll finish up.

51
00:15:47,100 --> 00:15:48,506
I've drawn a blank on it.

52
00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:54,910
You've drawn a blank on it.

53
00:15:54,929 --> 00:16:01,050
He's drawn a blank on it.

54
00:16:01,074 --> 00:16:07,360
She's drawn a blank on it.

55
00:16:07,370 --> 00:16:13,560
We've drawn a blank on it.

56
00:16:13,608 --> 00:16:19,820
They've drawn a blank on it.

57
00:16:19,839 --> 00:16:25,720
It's drawn a blank on it.

58
00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:56,520
Good job, guys. Keep working hard. I
hope you really enjoy this episode.
Hope you're getting a lot out of it.
Make sure that you check out my
content on the website
www.aussieenglish.com.au If you want
the podcast, if you want courses or
if you want to join the Academy go
check them out. And aside from that,
I will see you in the next episode,
we're we'll be talking about the
amazing British naturalist Down Under
John Gould, ok? So, I'll see you
then.

59
00:17:00,498 --> 00:17:39,929
G'day, mate! Thanks for listen
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