Learn English with Silicon Valley: 17 signature phrases
The 17 phrases Silicon Valley says far more than the average popular TV show, each with a line where it's said.
A phrase names a show's trade more sharply than any single word does. Silicon Valley is about engineers who keep ending up on the wrong side of a table from a lawyer, so its phrases are deal phrases: an offer is take it or leave it, a funding round is not a done deal until it is, money goes in sight unseen, and a contract binds you in perpetuity. The one that belongs to the industry rather than to the deal is crush it, which the show stops and explains on camera. These are the expressions a learner meets everywhere and can rarely look up, because the words inside them mean nothing on their own. Knowing these 17 is the difference between following the plot and hearing the joke.
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1
crush it
To succeed impressively at something.
Now, it says here on your résumé that from 2010 to 2011, you "crushed it"?
Season 2, episode 4. Said 10 times in 5 episodes, 12x the average show.
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2
on the stand
Giving testimony as a witness in court.
You realize I have no intention of ever putting you on the stand?
Season 2, episode 9. Said 8 times in 3 episodes, 7.9x the average show.
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3
like crazy
To an extreme or excessive degree.
It's got a great tech. We're growing like crazy.
Season 4, episode 1. Said 7 times in 5 episodes, 10x the average show.
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4
sight unseen
Without having seen or inspected it beforehand.
I reached out to you and asked you to invest, sight unseen, in a newer, leaner, and more focused Hooli.
Season 6, episode 2. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 61x the average show.
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5
in perpetuity
Forever; continuing without end.
You will not discuss anything you did at Hooli at all, in perpetuity, throughout the universe.
Season 3, episode 1. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 34x the average show.
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6
take it or leave it
Accept something exactly as offered, or refuse it entirely.
I think this is more reasonable, and it's my final offer. Take it or leave it.
Season 2, episode 1. Said 4 times in 4 episodes, 14x the average show.
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7
done deal
An agreement or decision that is final and cannot be changed.
So, how quickly can we get a series B together? Richard, a series B is not a done deal.
Season 5, episode 6. Said 4 times in 4 episodes, 12x the average show.
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8
bail on
To abandon or fail to show up for someone or something.
Actually, uh, funny enough, he just bailed on me to go work for some... sexy new startup back at my old hacker hostel.
Season 6, episode 3. Said 6 times in 5 episodes, 5.3x the average show.
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9
chime in
To join in and speak during a conversation.
You know, can I chime in here? I actually think that this is a bad idea, and...
Season 5, episode 8. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 14x the average show.
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10
at liberty
Permitted to do or say something.
Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to discuss him with you either, Mr. Hendricks.
Season 3, episode 1. Said 4 times in 4 episodes, 5.8x the average show.
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11
do a number on
To harm, deceive, or mess someone up badly.
The Catholic church really did a number on that town.
Season 3, episode 10. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 8.2x the average show.
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12
under the impression
Believing something, often mistakenly.
I was under the impression that we would be consumer first.
Season 3, episode 2. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 6.9x the average show.
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13
in good hands
Being cared for by someone capable and trustworthy.
Well, it's... it's good to know that he's in good hands.
Season 6, episode 4. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 4.2x the average show.
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14
piece of shit
Something considered to be of very poor quality.
I mean, can you even imagine what would happen if, like, a tech blog got their hands on that piece of shit?
Season 2, episode 9. Said 28 times in 14 episodes, 5.7x the average show.
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15
shit the bed
To fail badly and completely.
The software you wrote to delete our software just shit the bed.
Season 2, episode 10. Said 4 times in 4 episodes, 18x the average show.
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16
jerk off
To masturbate.
Nobody jerks off to magazines any more.
Season 1, episode 3. Said 6 times in 5 episodes, 6.5x the average show.
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17
catch fire
To suddenly become very popular or successful.
And then when we caught fire, the last thing I wanted to do was bog our users down with legal bullshit, you know?
Season 4, episode 2. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 9.5x the average show.
How we counted
We count how often each English phrase is said across every line of dialogue in Silicon Valley, then compare that against the same count over thousands of episodes of other popular TV shows.
A phrase is signature when Silicon Valley says it far more often than TV in general, across several different episodes, so a phrase repeated through one scene doesn't count. The list is ordered by how much of the show's dialogue each phrase carries.
Names, sound descriptions from subtitle files and song lyrics are removed by hand. The same counts give every show its words-needed figure on our ranking of popular TV shows.
Watch it with the words you don't know marked
Add Silicon Valley in Wordspotting and, before each episode, it shows you the words in it you haven't met yet, each with the line it's said in.