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Hello and welcome to the English we speak. I'm Fay Faye Faye

and I'm Roy. Hey Faye, do you fancy doing some

karaoke tonight with me and Rob? No I do not. The last time we went out with

Rob you two managed to upset everyone everyone left he is

tone deaf His singing is not that bad his mom says he's got a lovely voice.

No Roy, while tone deaf can relate to someone who can't hear notes and has difficulty

singing like you, It can also mean someone who is

unaware or insensitive to a situation.

Ah, so you mean the fact that Rob said that he prefers cats during the annual dog welfare meeting?

Yes, that was a bit off.

He always says the wrong things at the wrong time. He really is tone deaf.

Let's listen to these examples.

People who say they've enjoyed lockdown can sound a bit tone death.

So many people have lost their jobs.

We've all been working so hard. The boss seemed tone deaf when he rejected our pay rise.

I can't believe Sarah said she doesn't believe in global warming to those activists.

She's tone deaf. This is the English we speak from BBC Learning English and we're talking about the expression

tone death.

It can be used to describe someone who can't sing, but also has a secondary

meaning that refers to someone who can't understand the sensitive nature of a situation.

Yes, it's an interesting development of the meaning.

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