Something "wins out" if that thing is selected as the best option
Transcript
Win out
Today’s expression is a phrasal verb, “to win out.” This is a little bit different than simply “to win.” You can win an argument, win a tennis match, win the lottery, whatever. But “win out” is to win after a long struggle, after dealing with many, many difficulties. And usually “win out” is related to a competition or a choice.
Something “wins out” if that thing is selected as the best option after a long competition or after overcoming difficulties.
A long time ago people cooked in wood stoves. They lit a fire in a stove and that’s how they cooked. Other times they would burn coal. This was not ideal for any number of reasons. So eventually households moved to more modern stoves and ranges. And they could choose between either electric or natural gas . The makers of gas stoves tried to get people to switch to gas. And the makers of electric stoves tried to get people to switch to electric. And in the end, electric stoves won out. Electric stoves won this economic competition, as they were the most widely-chosen model.
This was an intense competition to see which is the better option. And the option most people selected was electric, so we say electric stoves won out.
How do you charge your phone? If you have an iPhone, you probably charge it with a Lightning cable. But if you have a non-iPhone, a phone made by almost any other manufacturer, you probably charge it with a USB-C port. Looking around my desk, I have several components that use USB-C. My webcam, my desktop lights, my wireless mouse, my audio recorder, my portable phone charger, my headphones…they all use USB-C.
That’s not a coincidence. There are many types of ports and chargers, but consumers like standardization. We can’t all have all the possible kinds of ports—our electronic life is too complicated as it is!
Some people think that a port called Firewire is technically superior to USB-C. Still, the USB-C format won out, and now most new devices will run on USB-C in some way. Sorry, Lightning; sorry Firewire: USB-C won this competition—rightly or wrongly, they won the competition to be the standard port in this decade, so we say USB-C won out.
When you have a difficult choice between two options, you can say the option you chose “won out.” Let’s say you want to re-brand your company. And your in-house graphic designers have two ideas. One is a radical re-design, with all new colors, shapes, typefaces, and images. The other ideas is a more conservative approach that updates the existing design. You have to choose one option: the radical approach or the cautious approach.
The designers present each option. You analyze all the pros and cons. You have a debate among all the colleagues. And in the end, you choose the radical approach. In this case, you can say the radical approach won out. That choice was the one that was selected after a long decision-making process.
Before I switched to working on Plain English full time, I worked in business consulting for a big accounting firm. And it was a competitive industry, our clients didn’t need to hire us. They could do the projects themselves (sometimes) or they could hire someone else. So often, the process for winning a new consulting project was competitive. And after we’d win a project, we’d often ask ourselves why we won.
In some cases, we might not have been the most affordable option. But we had good relationships with the client and they trusted us. So we might say, “our relationships won out.” That means, our relationships were superior to our competitors’ relationships. Our relationships won out. That’s why we were successful, our relationships were the reason why we won the project.
Other times, we might have simply proposed a different way of solving a problem. A company might have said, “Hey we have this problem and we want you to solve it that way.” And we might have said, “Okay we can do that. But would you consider a different approach? Here’s what we think” And sometimes they would say, “No” and they’d hire a competitor. That’s life. But sometimes they would say, “Actually yes, I like that approach.” In those cases, our approach won out. The way we thought about the problem was better—was selected over—the way our competitors thought about the problem.
JR’s song of the week
It’s time for a song of the week. JR selects the song every week. And don’t think he takes this process lightly, either. He thinks about this selection. He has lots of possible choices. And through a process that only JR knows, he selects the song of the week.
So what song won out this week? That would be “Bones” by Imagine Dragons. The cover art shows a headless skeleton holding a skull in one hand. JR must have listened to last week’s lesson about cemeteries when he selected this song! Anyway, the song is about the fragility of life. “There’s magic in my bones” is one of the lines. “Bones” by Imagine Dragons is the song of the week.
See you next time!
And that’s all for today, February 9, 2023. The Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday, I hope you’re ready. It’s the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles. They both look good—Philadelphia looks unstoppable, but I wouldn’t bet against KC either. The one thing for sure is that Rhianna will be the halftime singer. That is this Sunday, February 12 at 6:30 p.m. eastern time, New York time.
We’ll be back with another Plain English on Monday. See you then!
¿Hablas español?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into Spanish. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .
How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
你说中国话？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parlez-vous français?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Você fala português?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
日本語は話せますか？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parli italiano?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sen Türkçe konuşmayı biliyor musun?
The transcripts of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Turkish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Mówisz po polsku?
The transcript of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Polish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Audio
The fast version of this expression is available for subscribers of Plain English Plus+.