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Introduction
You had me at free English resources! This is a fun expression to say that nothing more needs to be said because you are convinced. Learn how to use it in this programme with Georgie and Feifei.
Transcript
Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them, too! I'm Feifei, and I'm joined by Georgie. How are you?
Georgie
I'm fine, thank you Feifei. How are you?
Feifei
I'm very well, thank you.
Georgie
Now, I've got an idea. If we can finish everything on our to-do list by 4pm today, I say we finish work early and check out that new shop that's just opened by the office.
Feifei
You had me at early finish!
Georgie
Really? No more convincing needed?
Feifei
Nope! I guess if we've done everything we need to do, there's no issue.
Georgie
Great. Well, that is the expression we're learning in this programme – 'you had me at'. You said, 'You had me at early finish', which means you were totally convinced by my idea as soon as I mentioned finishing early.
Feifei
Exactly. So you can say 'you had me at', then whatever noun or noun phrase it was that convinced you. Time for some more examples.
Examples
They invited me to a cat cafe. I'm not really a coffee person, but they had me at cats.
My friend tried to convince me to go on holiday tomorrow because she found some cheap flights. But, to be honest, she had me at holiday.
I got invited to a party and I didn't really want to go, but they had me at karaoke. I really love singing.
Feifei
So, we're learning the expression 'you had me at'. It's quite an informal expression, isn't it?
Georgie
Yes, it's very conversational, and often meant to be quite funny. It makes it sound like you're only interested in that thing, whether it's free food or finishing work early. And there are a few similar expressions, aren't there?
Feifei
Yes. One we've covered on this programme before is 'say less', which means you don't need to say anything else to convince me.
Georgie
Yes, or 'I'm sold!' All of these mean something similar to 'I'm convinced'.
Feifei
OK, let's recap. If you say 'you had me at' followed by a noun or a noun phrase, it means you were totally convinced after hearing that word or phrase. See you next time.
Georgie
Goodbye!
Feifei
Bye bye!
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