The video shares an amusing and educational lesson centered around an iconic scene from the American TV show, Seinfeld, where Kramer receives vanity license plates with the term "Ass Man." This segment stimulates discussions on cultural nuances pertaining to customizable license plates in the United States and uses humor to introduce the audience to terms and expressions embedded in American culture. The clip serves as a tool to explore pronunciation, vocabulary, and expressions that capture the essence of everyday communication for English learners.

The video is valuable for English learners as it utilizes humor to make complex language concepts accessible. By dissecting dialogue and cultural references, it helps non-native speakers understand American colloquialisms, connected speech, and the dynamic use of language in casual contexts. By engaging with this enjoyable segment, learners can improve their English comprehension skills in an entertaining and effective manner, allowing them to grasp the cultural subtleties encapsulated in humor-driven scenarios.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. vanity plates [ˈvænəti pleɪts] - (n.) - Custom license plates that bear a unique combination of numbers and letters chosen by the vehicle owner. - Synonyms: (personalized plates, custom plates, unique plates)

Well, we call these vanity plates.

2. mix up [mɪks ʌp] - (n.) - A mistake or misunderstanding where things are confused or incorrectly arranged. - Synonyms: (confusion, muddle, error)

We're going to have a lot of fun seeing how Kramer resolves this mix up today

3. emphatically [ɪmˈfætɪkli] - (adv.) - In a forceful way that expresses strong emphasis or assertion. - Synonyms: (assertively, firmly, decisively)

However, the clerk here pronounces R emphatically.

4. colloquial [kəˈloʊkwiəl] - (adj.) - Used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary. - Synonyms: (informal, conversational, vernacular)

Much like a tree, Kramer is using it as a colloquial way to say sit down and stay there.

5. proctologist [prɒkˈtɒlədʒɪst] - (n.) - A doctor specializing in the diseases of the rectum and anus. - Synonyms: (anal specialist, rectal doctor, colorectal surgeon)

Or it could be a proctologist.

6. relating to a person or organization [rɪˈleɪtɪŋ tu ə ˈpɜːrsən ɔːr ˈɔːrɡənaɪˌzeɪʃən] - (phr.) - Considering the perspective, rules, or opinion of a specific entity. - Synonyms: (pertaining to, concerning, with regards to)

When someone says as far as someone or something is concerned, they mean from that person or organization’s point of view.

7. a million to one shot [ə ˈmɪljən tuː wʌn ʃɒt] - (phr.) - An event that is very unlikely to happen. - Synonyms: (long shot, slim chance, improbable event)

Every proctologist story ends in the same way. It was a million to one shot, Doc.

8. admit [ədˈmɪt] - (v.) - To confess to something; to accept or acknowledge the truth or reality of something. - Synonyms: (confess, acknowledge, concede)

Finally, if you admit something, you say or confess that you did it.

9. connected speech [kəˈnɛktɪd spiːʧ] - (n.) - The smooth and efficient flow of speech where words are linked together naturally in a conversation. - Synonyms: (fluid speech, seamless speech, natural speech)

In fast natural speech, we natives blend our words together. This is called connected speech.

10. million to one [ˈmɪljən tu wʌn] - (phr.) - Describes an event that has a very low probability of occurring. - Synonyms: (highly unlikely, rare chance, remote possibility)

It was a million to one shot, Doc.

Learn English with SEINFELD — Funniest 1990s TV Series

I'm here to pick up my new plates. My name's Kramer. Cosmo Kramer. Kramer. All right, all right. Sign right here, please. All right. Thanks, Ass man. No, no, these don't belong to me. I'm not the ass man. I think there's been a mist. What's your name again? Cosmo Kramer. Cosmo Kramer. You are the Ass Man. No, I'm not the ass man. Well, as far as the state of New York is concerned, you are. Oh, my God.

The scene that we're learning with today is just hilarious. I really can't wait to teach you a bunch of vocabulary, pronunciation, and American culture with one of my personal favorite series, Seinfeld. Take, for instance, this license plate that Kramer got here. In your country, do license plates, which is the thing that you put on your car showing that it's registered and has permission to be on the road, do they sometimes have personalized names? Well, we call these vanity plates. And I've lived in quite a few countries outside the usa, but that's the only place that I've ever seen these. So. So it can be quite funny or even fascinating when you're driving along in the United States and you see one of these on someone's car. And this series Seinfeld is absolutely packed with aspects of American culture like this. We're going to have a lot of fun seeing how Kramer resolves this mix up today.

By the way, we're saving all of the most important everyday expressions like vanity license plate and mix up that we've just seen over on the Relay Finish app. This is the absolute best experience that you can have with these lessons, and it's free to get started. All you have to do is click the link down in the description below. But I'm going to tell you more about that in a little bit. So for now, let's have a lot of fun learning English with this hilarious clip from Seinfeld.

So, did you get your new plates? Oh, yeah, I got my new plates, but they mixed them up. Somebody got mine and I got their vanity plates. What do they say? Ass man. Ass man. Yeah, Ass man. Jerry, I'm Cosmo Kramer, the ass man. Who would order a license plate that says Ass man? Maybe they're Wilt Chamberlain's. It doesn't have to be someone who gets a lot of women. It could be just some guy with a big ass. Or it could be a proctologist. Yeah, proctologist. No. Come on. No doctor would put that on his car.

Have you ever met a proctologist? Well, they usually have a very good sense of humor. You meet a proctologist at a party, don't walk away. Plant yourself there because you will hear the funniest stories you've ever heard. See, no one wants to admit to them that they stuck something up there. Never. It's always an accident. Every proctologist story ends in the same way. It was a million to one shot document. million to one. Where's my phone? Kramer.

Alright. Alrighty is a more playful or casual way to say all right. It's used to acknowledge something or transition to the next part of a conversation. Think of it as another way to say okay, but with a little bit more personality. You might hear someone use it when they're about to get something done or move on to the next step in a situation. Fun fact. The phrase alrighty then was made famous by Jim Carrey in the movie Ace Ventura Pet Detective. So if you hear someone use it in an exaggerated way like this.

Now you know why. May I tell you what I think happened? Alrighty then. And I wanted to let you know that if you are new here, every single week we make fun lessons like this that help you to actually understand fun, fast speaking natives without getting lost, without missing the jokes and without subtitles. So why don't you join over 10 million learners who are doing just this every week by clicking that subscribe button and the bell down below. And that way you won't miss a single new lesson.

Ass man. Oh no, these don't belong to me. I'm not the ass man. I think there's been a mistake. If something belongs to someone, it means that something is theirs. It's their possession. For example, this phone belongs to me means it's my phone. But when Kramer says these don't belong to me, he means these plates are not mine. They were given to him by mistake.

Cosmo Kramer, you are the Ass Man. Usually in a statement like this, we would reduce R and contract it. You're the Ass man. However, the clerk here pronounces R emphatically. Why did she do that? Now she does it to make this statement stronger and contradict Kramer's claim that the plates don't belong to him. In English, when we stress words like are, we usually expressing disbelief, surprise or confirmation. For example, wait, you are the winner. I didn't expect it. So you are coming to the party. Just making sure. In this scene, the emphasis on are also makes it funnier because it sounds like she's officially declaring Kramer as the ass Man. Want to sound more natural In English, try playing around with emphasis in your sentences. It can totally change the meaning and tone.

Well, as far as the State of New York is concerned, you are. When someone says as far as someone or something is concerned, they mean from that person or organization's point of view or according to their rules or opinion. In this case, the DMV or Department of Motor Vehicles is saying that officially in their records. Kramer is ass man, even if he knows he isn't. Basically from the government's perspective, it's a fact.

Now let's jump forward to when Kramer's telling his friends about his strange new vanity plates. So did you get your new plates? Oh, did you catch how George said this phrase? He didn't say did you get your new plates? Rather, he said a quick did you get your new plates? In fast natural speech, we natives blend our words together. This is called connected speech. Let's break it down. Did you? Becomes did you? When we have a D followed by a Y sound, we often morph them into a J sound. So instead of did you? It becomes did you? For example, did you see that? Becomes did you see that? Or could you hand me that? Becomes could you hand me that?

Get your. Becomes get your. Similarly, when a T sound is followed by a Y, they blend together into a ch sound. So instead of get your, it sounds like get your. For example, get your coat Becomes get your coat. Or what are you doing? Becomes what you're doing. Now it's your turn to improve your speaking. Listen again and repeat. So did you get your new plates? Oh, so did you get your new plates? Oh yeah, I got my new plates, but they mixed them up. Ooh, nice phrasal verb here. When something is mixed up, it means things got switched, confused, or put in the wrong place. In this case, the DMV made a mistake and gave Kramer the wrong plates. For example, I mixed up the sugar and salt and now my coffee tastes terrible.

Somebody got mine and I got their vanity plates. What did they say? Haha. Yeah, it's time for another speaking opportunity. So George didn't say a clear what do they say? He said what do they say? First, he reduced the do to D. Next. Usually when we have a T followed by a D, T or th, we'll just pronounce one of the sounds. So here we can hear George drop the T sound in what and just pronounced the D in do. So instead of what do, it sounds like what A. Your turn. Listen again and repeat. What do they say? What do they say?

Ass man. When we have the suffix man at the end of something, it refers to someone who does something. For example, a candyman makes and sells candy. A taxman, like in the Beatles hit song, was an unpopular government worker whose job was to collect taxes. Ass is slang for butt. So we can deduce that an ass man would be someone who either likes butts or is known for their butt. Who would order a license plate that says ass man? Maybe they're Wilt Chamberlain's. A bit of cultural insight for you. So Wilt Chamberlain was a legendary basketball player. He was over 216 cm and one of the most dominant players in NBA history. But what does a basketball player have to do with the ass man? Chamberlain was also famous for his personal life. He once claimed in his autobiography that he had been with over 20,000 women. As you can imagine, it made him a pop culture icon.

Now, to understand this reference, there's another expression you need to know to get some ass. This means to have sex. So if someone gets a lot of ass, it means that they have sex a lot. So ass man might be an appropriate nickname for Chamberlain. Ass is a hugely versatile word in English. Now, if you want to have some laughs and learn how to use ass like a native speaker, you might want to check out some of Finnish comedian Ismo's hilarious stand up and some ass. Some ass means sex. Like I would like to get some ass. And to complicate it even more, ass. Ass can be divided because if you are an ass, you're being stupid. But if you are half assed, then. Then you are not concentrating properly. And if you go even smaller, if you are a piece of ass, then you are beautiful.

It could be just some guy with a big ass or it could be a proctologist. A proctologist is a doctor who specializes in treating problems with the rectum and colon, the lower part of the digestive system. Kramer suggests that ass man plates might belong to a proctologist because their job involves that part of the body. proctologist? No. Come on. No doctor would put that on his car.

What do you think George meant by come on here? I agree. I don't believe it. That's a great idea. We say this when we disagree. Don't believe something or find an idea ridiculous. Here George thinks Kramer's suggestion is too crazy to be true. Another way to say this is get out of here or simply get out and the rent is only $400 a month. Get out. I just found a guy who's willing to pay $10,000 for the apartment.

You want get out 10,000 line in the movie. No doctor would put that on his car. Here we have another great connected speech example like we saw earlier. When we have Ds, Ts or Ths together, we usually would just pronounce one. So in put that would just say the th. Put that. Next we have a flap T in that on. This happens in American English when a T is between two vowel sounds. Just like how the word butter in English becomes butter or cat and dog becomes cat and dog, so that on becomes that on. Lastly, check out how on his car sounds. Oftentimes we remove the first consonant sound in pronouns like his, her, or them. Here are a few. I don't like her. I don't like her. Can you get them? Can you get them? So instead of on his car, we hear on his car. Let's put this all together. No doctor would put that on his car. Your turn. Listen and repeat. No doctor would put that on his car. No doctor would put that on his car.

Plant yourself there because you will hear the funniest stories you've ever heard. I bet you know that a plant is a tree or flower and as a verb is to put one of these in the ground, like we see here. But Kramer is using this verb to refer to a person. So what does he mean? Leave quickly, don't move. Give someone a flower much like a tree. Kramer is using it as a colloquial way to say sit down and stay there. You plant yourself in that seed. What are you gonna do with me? I said plant yourself. Plants don't talk.

We can also use this verb to mean to put an idea in someone's mind. For example, my mother planted in my head a value of working hard. See, no one wants to admit to them that they stuck something up there. Now, this part is funny. First off, if you stick something somewhere, you put that thing on or inside a place. For example, I stuck the milk in the fridge. When he says up there, he refers to inserting something in an upward motion. For example, we need to clean the chimney. Something is lodged up there. Finally, if you admit something, you say or confess that you did it.

Especially something wrong or embarrassing. So Kramer's joking that people won't admit they stuck something up their ass. I just want everything to be back the way it's supposed to be. Can you just admit? admit. admit what? I don't want to say it. It was a million to one shot, Doc. A million to one. What a great expression. So imagine that you're Playing a game and there's only a one in a million chance of winning. That's a million to one shot. It almost never happens. It's often used when something strange or unexpected happens and can be used as an excuse to say, hey, it wasn't my fault. Kramer is saying that proctologists patients use this excuse to say that they got something stuck inside them by accident rather than admitting that they placed it there themselves.

But the thing is, Daisy, we're not gonna die. Come on. The odds of us dying in a crash are 11 million to 1:1. That's slightly lower than getting killed by lightning. You know, something I've observed from helping millions of learners from around the world just like you is that something that separates advanced English speakers from those who are stuck at intermediate is an ability to use a large variety of words and expressions in English like million to one shot instead of always using the same words. But if that's you that's stuck in intermediate the barrier that's staying in your way is probably your memory. Right? It's really hard to remember all those words.

So I recommend that you give the RealLife English app a try. You can learn with Seinfeld and hundreds of other lessons and our vocabulary flashcards with expressions like, come on, plant yourself as far as someone's concerned and the others that we're learning today, you'll see it works like magic for your memory. And it's a lot of fun too. It's free. To get started, just click the link down in the description below.

Moving on. Later in this episode, George's father, Frank, falls on something and it gets stuck inside him. I mean, this really does seem like it was a million to one shot. So in a hilariously typical turn of events that the series is famous for Jerry and his friends accompany Frank to the proctologist.

If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have believed it. Me either. They say this guy's the best. Jerry. Jerry, come here. Take a look at this. The name on the boat. Look at it. Ass Man. Yeah, he's the Ass man. Jerry. He's the one.

Scratch. Excuse me. He didn't by any chance just recently get the wrong license plates? Yes. I'm still waiting for the Motor Vehicle Bureau to straighten it out. So you're the Ass Man.

If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have believed it. Me either. Why does Elaine say me either and not me neither? Aren't we supposed to say me neither after a negative sentence? You're right. In textbook English, the correct form Is. Me neither. However, we natives love to break their rules. I'm not supposed to be here. Me either.

How's it going? They just started. Excuse me. You didn't, by any chance, just recently get the wrong license plates? Yes. This is a polite, casual way to ask a question, especially when you are unsure about the response. You're guessing or checking if something is true. Kramer is trying to sound not too direct or accusing. He's just throwing the idea out there gently, like, hey, this might sound crazy, but could this have happened? You can use by any chance, in everyday English, too. For example, do you have a pen I could borrow? By any chance, are you free later? By any chance? It makes your question sound softer and more friendly.

Yes. I'm still waiting for the Motor Vehicle bureau to straighten it out. This is a colloquial way to say to correct a situation. Remember how we learned the phrasal verb mix up earlier? Well, if a situation is mixed up, you need to straighten it out to resolve it. Dexter, I'm at the sheriff's station. Powell's pressing assault charges against me. I mean, how's it even possible? I was defending myself. Just stay calm. I know a lawyer. I'll straighten it out. I am calm.

Aha. Yeah. So, I had so much fun teaching you English today with Seinfeld. It's one of my favorite series, and I highly recommend it to you if you've never watched it because it's a great way to connect with American culture and humor. But don't go anywhere because we haven't finished yet. In fact, I'd say this is the most important part. You're going to test everything that you learned today by watching the clip a final time without subtitles, to see how well that you can understand. Now, I'm also going to increase the challenge for you by asking you some quiz questions. So, you ready? Let's jump in.

I'm here to pick up my new plates. My name is Kramer. Cosmo Kramer. Kramer. All right, all right. Sign right here, please. Thanks, Ass man. No, no, these don't belong to me. I'm. I'm not the ass man. I think there's been a mistake. What's your name again? Cosmo Kramer.

When something belongs to you, it's your plan. Goal. Possess. Cosmo Kramer, you are the ass man. No, I'm not the ass man. Well, as far as the state of New York is concerned, you are. So, did you get your new place? Oh, yeah, I got my new plates, but they mixed them up. Somebody got mine, and I Got their vanity plates. What did they say? Ass man. Ass man.

Yeah, Ass man. Jerry, I'm Cosmo Kramer, the ass man. Who would order a license plate that says Ass Man? Maybe they're Wilt Chamberlains. It doesn't have to be someone who gets a lot of women. It could be some guy with a big ass. Or it could be a proctologist. Yeah, proctologist. No. Come on. No doctor would put that on his car. Have you ever met a proctologist? Well, they usually have a very good sense of humor. You meet a proctologist at a party, don't walk away. Plant yourself there, because you will hear the funniest stories you've ever heard.

To plant can mean to put a tree or flower in the earth. To not move. To put an idea in someone's head. See, no one wants to admit to them that they stuck something up there. Never. It's always an accident. Every proctologist story ends in the same way. It was a million to one shot, Doc. A million to one. There's my phone.

If something is described as a million to one shot, it is very likely to happen. Extremely unlikely to happen. It will happen many times. If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have believed it. Me either. They say this guy's the best. Jerry. Jerry, come here. Take a look at this. The name on the boat. Look at it. Ass Man. Yeah, he's the ass man. Jerry. He's the ass, huh?

Excuse me. You didn't, by any chance, just recently get the wrong license plates? Yes. The phrase by any chance is used when someone is unsure about something. Sure about something, surprised about something. I'm still waiting for the Motor Vehicle Bureau to straighten it out. So you're the ass man.

If a situation is mixed up, you need to straighten it out. Mix it down, separate it up. Ah, yeah. Amazing work today. But don't let everything that you learned from go to waste. We've already saved all these words and expressions in our vocabulary flashcards on the RealLife English app, so you can click the link right in the description below to go directly to that and start studying with those flashcards right now.

And if you're sticking with us on YouTube, remember to subscribe so you don't miss those new lessons. And you might want to check out this lesson next. Why would you think that? That's crazy. I mean. What? Schmidt wrote the ad. Oh, I guess it was something about the words he used. It was like, uh, like sun soaked and beigey. What are you doing? What about these? These look Beigey to you. Sorry. I'm his trainer. So it's kind of the house that Coach built right here. What are we looking at here? That's Baby Smooths. This is LLS Ladies love Schmidt. What?

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