Bonus episode #161 – The mice will play

Culips Everyday English Podcast

Culips English Podcast

Self-improvement, Education, Language Learning, Courses

4.8 • 968 Ratings

🗓️ 16 November 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What makes the perfect bachelor weekend? In this episode, Andrew explains the English proverb "When the cat's away, the mice will play" by sharing what happens when his wife takes a trip to Japan. He talks about his simple list of things he's looking forward to doing alone. Along the way, you'll learn useful idioms and everyday expressions while getting an inside look at Andrew’s wild weekend.

Don't forget to check out the free interactive transcript and glossary to learn the idioms, phrasal verbs, and vocabulary Andrew uses in this episode that will help you sound more natural and confident when speaking English.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	There's an English proverb that goes, when the cats away, the mice will play.
0:05.2	When the cats away, the mice will play. Do you know this one? Have you heard it before?
0:10.1	It simply means that when an authority figure or someone who enforces the rules isn't around,
0:16.2	then people will often break the rules and do what they like and have fun.
0:20.7	Think about a boss who's away
0:22.5	on a business trip. Maybe the employees won't work as hard when the boss isn't around, or when a
0:28.4	teacher leaves the classroom and maybe students are more likely to have some fun and play some
0:33.6	games and not really study hard in the classroom. That's what this proverb is all about.
0:38.6	And today in this episode, I'm going to tell you a story that's a little bit, at least a little
0:43.3	bit related to this proverb. When the cats away, the mice will play. So we'll get started
0:48.7	with that story in just a second. But before we do, let me introduce myself. My name is Andrew.
0:53.5	I'm the host of the
0:54.3	Culep's English podcast, and this is bonus episode number 161. Here in the bonus episode series,
1:00.9	what I do is I tell you some stories from my everyday life. I'm a Canadian guy, but I live
1:05.9	abroad in Seoul, South Korea, and I hope that by listening to these stories, you will be able to improve
1:11.5	your fluency. That's what I'm here to help you do and help you achieve. So if you want to be a better
1:17.4	and clearer and more confident English speaker, then I think you're in the right place. To
1:22.5	accompany each and every episode, there's a 100% free no strings attached at all interactive transcript and vocabulary
1:30.2	glossary please check them out i think they're awesome study tools and you can get them just by
1:35.5	clicking the link in the description for this episode or by visiting our website cullips.com
1:41.5	now speaking of our website that's also the place where you can sign up and become
1:46.0	a Culeps member. So if you're looking to take your English to the next level and you want to be
	...

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