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Real English Conversations: Don’t step in the dog doo (4 of 4)

Lori — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:16:31 +0000

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Introduction
Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from betteratenglish.com.

In today’s conversation, which is part four of four, my British friend Michael and I wrap up our lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. Warning: some of the vocabulary we deal with in this episode is a bit vulgar, so if you are sensitive or easily offended I suggest you stop listening now.

As always, you can find the vocabulary notes and full transcript of this podcast on our website, www.betteratenglish.com.

OK, here we go!

Conversation Transcript

Lori: And some people… I swear, you know, dogs I think are great. It’s dog owners that can be just really lame sometimes.
Michael: Mmm. Mmm..
L: There’s a forest outside where I live here, where I like to go running and walking and…people, it’s a great place. I don’t see many people, but there are a lot of dog walkers who like to go there as well.
M: Yes.
L: And they don’t want to keep their dogs on a leash a lot of times. They let their dogs kind of run wild, and a lot of them don’t really have control over their dogs.
M: Right, right.
L: And the dogs can be quite aggressive sometimes. But then, dog owners are really weird. Sometimes they are so protective of their dogs and they think their dogs can do no harm.
M: Oh dear.
L: So they actually get angry at you, walking along telling you that, “Oh, it’s because you’re afraid, that’s why he [the dog] is acting like that.” And it’s like…
M: “Of course I’m afraid. He’s a giant dog with slavering fangs.” Yeah.
L: Running up barking at me, not looking friendly. Of course I’m going to be afraid, you know? And I don’t think it’s my responsibility as, you know, a person wanting to use the jogging trail — that it’s my responsibility to tailor my behavior to the comfort of dog owners, because it actually is their responsibility to keep their dogs on a leash, unless they have, you know, total control.
M: I completely agree. I was going to say, do your remember the time I was over in Sweden, and we were having a picnic in the park. And there were the young teenagers that were there, and they had a dog with them. And the dog was running loose, and the dog was coming over and sticking its nose in our picnic bag. And you had to tell these folks, “Excuse me…your dog…?” They where oblivious to the whole thing.
L: The dog was just doing what dogs do.
M: He was looking for food.
L: Yeah, of course, he is going to be interested in food. So it is up to owners to make sure they keep their dogs under control when they’re, you know, in the public space.
M: Exactly.
L: It is not up to, you know, the other people there to deal with the dog. I think.
M: You know, we shooed the dog away, more then once.
L: But he kept coming back.
M: Well we had some good chow!
L: Oh we did. Oh man, those pies that Sabina had made! Oh, my god! That is really annoying when dog owners are inconsiderate and don’t understand that it’s really their responsibility to make sure their dog is under control.
M: Right, yeah, it is part of the responsibility of being a dog owner, I think.
L: Exactly. And I’m sure…most are fine. Most people do a good job, but it’s the few people who are idiots who kind of spoil it for everybody else.
M: Sure. It gives the dog a bad name as well. I mean, if you have a few bad encounters with a dog that’s having trouble it can put you off.
L: Exactly. And that can also…if, you know…there’s some people who are deathly afraid of dogs, who don’t, you know, who have a hard time with obviously friendly dogs.
M: Oh goodness! I was terrified of dogs when I was a little boy. Absolutely terrified. And that was just through a couple of dogs that lived locally. There was a house that I had to walk past on the way to school, and there were these two dogs that would, they would bark and they would run at you. They weren’t tied up either.
L: Yeah. I think every kid has a house like that, or memory of a house like that, from when they were walking to school. I know I do.
M: Right! It’s something that sticks with you for a long time.
L: Yeah, because when you’re little, you know, I was walking to school on my own…I think from the time I was in first grade. So I would have only been five or six years old! Because it wasn’t far, it was only a few blocks and it was quiet, residential streets, so I walked to school by myself or with the little neighbor kids. But when you’re that little, a big dog is really big and really scary. And you haven’t…you’re not aware enough to tell the difference between a dog that’s just running up to inspect you and check you out and a dog that is really, actually aggressive.
M: Right.
L: So it’s really scary.
M: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And I think it can stay with you for a long time as well.
L: Yeah.
M: And I guess some people never… in fact, my sister is still very, very scared of dogs, you know? And she’s nearly 40. She was like that when she was a child and she just never got over it.
L: I have to say I’m wary of dogs. Little dogs, it’s no problem because even if they were horribly aggressive you could always just kick them like a football. And you’d be OK.
[laughter]
L: But it’s the big dogs, you know, dogs that weigh as much as I do. Those, those can be quite scary.
M: That would be hard to tackle, a dog like that.
L: Yeah. And just…its going to be much more serious being attacked by a dog like that than by some little yappy terrier trying to bite your heels, you know?

M: Ankle biters. [laughs]
L: [laughs] Yeah, ankle biters. Isn’t that a slang word for kids? Ankle biters…
M: I don’t know. I guess, maybe.
L: Or like an informal colloquial word, for… Like the word “rug rats“, we have the word rug rats in American English for kids, which I think is a horrible word. But yeah, ankle biters, I think I’ve heard that before as sort of a disparaging term for little children.
M: Well, maybe that’s not something you should use for a little dog then, I don’t think.
L: No, it’s very descriptive though, little ankle biters! Ankle nippers!
M: Well you could go further, “crotch sniffers.”
[laughter]
L: Crotch sniffing dogs are the worst! Oh my God, oh I hate crotch sniffing dogs!
[laughter]
M: There is some film I remember seeing with some kid complaining about some dog. His parents say, “What’s wrong with the dog?” This poor little kid balefully cries out, “He is a crotch sniffer!”
[laughter]
L: I know. I have seen the same film, but I don’t remember which one it is. But it’s funny…Crotch sniffers are…it’s so embarrassing. I know it is just what dogs do. They sniff each other’s, you know, nether regions.
M: They clean each other’s nether regions.
L: Oh no, let’s not go there! I want to keep this one clean!
M: OK.
L: That is just what dogs do. That and the ones that hump your leg. That is so embarrassing especially when you’re over at someone’s house.
M: Especially when they won’t let go.
[laughter]
L: They latch on and won’t let go.
M: Shaking, shaking your leg. And then… [laughter]
L: Yeah and oh, that’s so embarrassing because you know everyone is thinking about sex at that point. I mean you can’t have a dog humping your leg without people at least momentarily, you know, everyone is thinking about doing it. That just makes it so embarrassing.
M: Right.
L: It’s such a delicate situation.
[laughter]
M: Oh dear. Right. Yeah. Yes. It’s difficult to remain cool.
L: When a dog is humping your leg!
M: Trying to look cool and dangerous when there’s a dog humping away at your leg. Yeah.
[laughter]
L: Yeah. Oh my god, that’s such an embarrassing situation… Anyway I think we’ve reached the point where, again, it can only go downhill from here.
M: OK. Let’s quit where we are!

Final Words
Thanks for listening. This concludes our four-part series on the good, the bad and the ugly of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. We’ll be back again with a new episode as soon as we’ve had time to record some juicy new topics. We welcome requests from our listeners, so if you’d like to request a topic just visit our website, www.betteratenglish.com, where you’ll find everything you need to get in touch with us. This is Lori from BetterAtEnglish signing off until next time. Bye for now!

Download vocabulary list for this podcast

Real English Conversations: The customer is always right, right?

Lori — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 16:57:54 +0000

Introduction
Hi, Lori here welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations at BetterAtEnglish.com. Today my British pal Michael and I compare working in an office with working at home, and talk about how difficult it can be to put up with rude treatment from nasty customers when you work in a job providing service. As usual, we end up touching upon some of the differences between British and American English vocabulary.

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If you have a job where you have to look busy all the time, or where you have to tolerate rude customers, I encourage you to post your stories in the comments section on the website! It would be fun to hear what you have to say.

Before moving on to the conversation, I’d like to thank everyone who has donated since the last episode. Michael and I really appreciate your generosity, thanks so much! I also wanted to let you know that because of illness the past few weeks, I’ve not been able to keep up up with my email as well as I’d like to. Fortunately, I’m feeling a bit better now, so if you’d emailed and not received an answer, you will be getting one soon.

Right then, on with the conversation! [Download transcript from links above]

Final words
I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Real English Conversations. Before I sign off, here are this week’s announcements.

First, because I really want to post more frequent episodes for you, I’ve been looking for ways to streamline my work process. So from now on, I am not going to put the transcript on the web page itself. I’ll just provide PDF and Microsoft Word documents for you to download from the website. Not having to format the html for each episode will save me between one and two hours per podcast. I’m curious to know how you react to this, so if you have strong feelings one way or another, please let me know. I’ve put a new poll up in the sidebar of the website to make it easy for you to have your say.

Second, thanks to everyone who has voted in other poll on the website. It appears that close to 80% of you are learners of English, 9% are teachers, and another 9% are both. About 2% of you are neither teachers nor learners of English.

That’s it for this time! As always, the transcription and vocabulary notes for this podcast are available at our website, www.betteratenglish.com. And remember, if you enjoy our show, please consider leaving a donation. We really appreciate your support. Bye for now!

Real English Conversations: What was he thinking?

Lori — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:07:50 +0000

Transcript

Introduction
Hi there! Lori here, welcoming you to another edition of Real English Conversations at Better at English dot com. Thanks to everyone who’s answered my question about the vocabulary notes in Better at English transcripts. Your answer is an overwhelming “Yes, we need the vocabulary notes.?? So to help you learn English, as time permits I will continue to post transcripts and vocabulary notes for all Better at English podcasts. However, there is something you can do to help: if you are feeling generous, you could always support my work by making a donation. Just click the “donate?? button on the website, www.betteratenglish.com, to learn about how you can help.

Warning: some of you might find today’s conversation topic somewhat offensive, because Michael and I talk about a rather vulgar and disturbing video that we saw on the Internet, and a related story on the BBC website. It’s about people doing amazingly stupid things to their own bodies, and involves talking about a body part that is considered rather vulgar. So if you are sensitive or easily offended, you should not listen to this conversation. For those of you who are not easily offended, there are links to the video and the BBC article on the website. And as always, the full conversation transcript and accompanying vocabulary notes are also available on the website.

So hey ho, let’s go!

Conversation transcript

Lori: Do you remember a while back there was this horrible video going around, you know one of these, umm, video links that friends pass around in email forwards?

Michael: Mmm hmm

L: And the video was of…I think it was a teenage guy who took a rocket…

M: a firework

L: a firework rocket, and put it in a very, very sensitive area and actually lit it, and you could just see him running around and screaming and, and the flame and…do you remember that?

M: That, I have, umm, the image of that is burned in my memory, no pun intended.

[link to video: warning, it is rude and vulgar watch at your own risk]

L: Yeah, and it makes you, you know, the whole Darwin Awards thing, like, so that?

M: That was actually…Interestingly enough it was Bonfire Night, November the fifth, as we call…Bonfire Night in England just recently, and I saw on the BBC a news report that somebody had done something similar just recently. I mean this is, what, you know…ten or eleven days ago… that someone had done the same thing with a firework, a rocket, and, uhhh, inserted it into, uhhh…

L: An area that doesn’t normally see the sun.

M: Yes! That’s a good way of putting it. But the difference here… and I remember the video that you mentioned, I remember seeing that, where the rocket as it was, the firework was facing outwards.

L: Uh huh.

M: Okay? This guy had put the rocket facing inwards.

L: Oooooh!

M; I think the idea was…yeah the idea was…

L: To shoot it?

M: Well, I think he wanted to make it look like “Hey, look I’ve got, ummm, I’m a rocket-powered guy!?? You know…

L: Oh dear!

M: …it was propelling him forwards, but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out and the rocket propelled itself into him.

L: Okay so he wanted to make it look like he was shooting flames out of his nether regions…

M: That’s right, that’s right but…

L: And it actually went inside and…

M: It went inside him, yeah.

L: Oh my gosh!

M: And this, I mean, this was on the national news in England, I mean how embarrassing would that be?

L: Oh yeah, did they have his name?

M: Ummm…

L: Can you imagine applying for a job after something like that, if your name had been…? And, umm, ‘cause that’s the kind of thing people will pass around as well, “Oh look at the stupid thing THIS guy did!??

M: Well I’m never going to forget that, that’s

L: Yeah that’s horrifying. I mean even the first one was horrible, I mean…how, why do people do such stupid things?

M: That was the…yeah…The thing that really struck me is “What were they thinking???

L: Yeah, what were they thinking? And how can you even get past the age of… three… and not understand that sticking a firecracker or rocket, you know, up your…

M: Up your bum.

L: Yeah! That’s just not a good idea! How does this happen?

M: Well, I don’t know I think, ummm, I mean, it’s okay in cartoons!

L: Is that it? That they can’t, that they really just don’t have a concept of, “Wow, these are flames and, and, you know, flames can burn you, and this is a sensitive area, and even a tiny, tiny little flame would just really not be very nice to have…???

M: Well, when you were, when you were young, at sch- I mean at school, ummm didn’t you ever have, ummm, things like the fire brigade come and tell you about these things? Because…

L: Oh yeah, yeah, the firefighters would come.

M: Because we have, ummm, Bonfire Night every year, traditional for letting off fireworks November the fifth… Just a few days before, the fire brigade for the different local fire brigades would go around to all the schools in Britain and you would have a lecture and they would show a video or slides, a slideshow, showing you the dangers of fireworks. And they would really hit it home. I mean we were told year after year after year that you…all these ground rules…and I can still remember them now. I mean, that you never hold a firework, you know, when you light… you don’t…If you light a firework and it doesn’t go off, you don’t go back to it.

L: Oh right, yeah.

M: You know, you leave it, because, just because you can’t see the flame burning on the blue touchpaper doesn’t mean it’s not going to go off.

L: Right

M: You never carry fireworks in your pocket. You never throw fireworks.

L: Right

M: This stuff, you know, they couldn’t have been stricter about it. I guess they still do that now; they must do that now.

L: Mmm

M: But maybe people just think they’re invincible.

L: Yeah, I guess so, because that to me is just so obvious that that’s just not a good idea.

M: Sure, I mean, the guy in the video actually pulled his pants down, and…

L: Yeah I remember.

M: Terrible.

L: That was, it was so horrifying to watch, I remember…

M: Yeah yeah

L: …just thinking, “Oh my god,?? and “What happened to the poor guy??? And at the same time it serves him right, you know, for being such an idiot.

M: I still can’t believe he actually did it.

L: I know, me neither!

Final words
Thanks for tuning in to this edition of Real English Conversations at BetterAtEnglish.com. Remember, I love your feedback: you can email me at [email address], or call the voice mail line at 206 350 2283 and leave a message, ask a question, suggest a topic, or whatever you like. And remember, if you get value from my work, then share the love by leaving a donation. Don’t leave it up to other people…be the first to show your generosity! If enough people donate, I can a use a transcription service to reduce my workload and post more frequent podcasts. Heck, if all subscribers donated 10 dollars per YEAR, I could quit my day job and do B@E full time. Hmm, a girl’s gotta dream a dream…

Links
Stupid bum rocket video (view at your own risk, it’s vulgar and disgusting)

BBC article about a stupid idiot and what he did with a rocket on Guy Fawkes night

See the Darwin Awards website for a compendium of human idiocy.

Vocabulary list

going around
If something is going around it is being passed from person to person or from place to place.

email forwards
emails that people copy and send to their friends, usually because they are funny, entertaining, or interesting

burned in my memory
If something is burned in/into your memory (or mind), you have a strong, vivid memory of it.

no pun intended
If what you say is a pun that you didn’t intend, you excuse yourself by saying “no pun intended.??

Darwin Awards
The Darwin Awards are given by an organization that “salute[s] the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it…ensuring that the next generation is one idiot smarter. Of necessity, this award is generally bestowed posthumously.” See http://www.darwinawards.com. In short, an award for killing yourself by doing something ridiculously stupid, thus removing yourself from the human gene pool (so you can’t pass on your stupid gene to your children).

Bonfire Night
Another name for Guy Fawkes Night. “In Britain, the evening of November 5th when models of men, called guys, are burned on large fires outside and there are firework displays. This is in memory of the failed attempt by Guy Fawkes to destroy the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605 with explosives.”

Inserted
If you insert A into B, you put A inside B.

see the sun
In this context, to see the sun means to be exposed to sunlight. In Western culture, the buttocks (bum (Br. E), rear end, posterior, derrière, butt, etc.) are usually covered by clothing (that is, not exposed to sunlight). Because the buttocks are usually not considered polite to mention, there are lots of euphemisms for talking about that body part. You might also hear the phrase “stick it where the sun don’t shine.” This does not mean “put it in your pocket”; it is a rude and vulgar way to angrily disagree with someone.

facing
If A is facing B, is turned toward(s) B.

propelling
To propel something means to push it or move it somewhere, usually with a lot of force.

work out
In this context, to work out is a phrasal verb meaning to be successful or to achieve the desired result.

nether regions
A euphemism for the male and female body parts that are usually covered by underwear (the buttocks and genitalia).

Oh my gosh!
An informal exclamation of surprise or other strong feelings.

did they have his name?
Did they have his name? in this case means Was the man’s name published in the news article?
In authentic, natural conversations, speakers often omit details because they assume that their interlocutor (the person they are speaking to) has enough background information to fill in the blanks.

pass around
In this case, pass around means be inclined to talk or gossip about.

horrifying
If something is horrifying, it makes you feel a strong sense of horror or shock.

horrible
If something is horrible, it is very unpleasant or bad.

struck
(From the verb strike) If something strikes you, it causes you to feel strongly about it, to think deeply about it, or to remember it.

sticking (sth up)
In this context, to stick something up something means to insert it into certain bodily orifices. The man in the BBC story stuck a rocket up a bodily orifice where it did not belong. You often see little children sticking their fingers up their noses. But you stick something in your mouth or ear.

cartoons
Usually funny or amusing films made using animated (drawn) characters and images rather than real actors.

fire brigade
(Br. E). The organization that is responsible for stopping unwanted fires. In Am.E, fire department)

firefighters
(Am. E.) A firefighter is a man or woman whose job is to stop unwanted fires (usually as part of the fire department or fire brigade). It is the gender-neutral form of fireman. Apparently, the term fireman is still quite common in Br. E.

letting off
To let off a firework or rocket means to fire it or make it explode.

go around
To travel from place to place

hit it home
If you hit something home it means you make your point about something in a way that makes people understand it. If something hits home for you, it means that caused you to realize and understand it.

ground rules
Basic principles or rules about something, usually about how you are supposed to behave.

go off
In this context, to explode. If a firework doesn’t go off, it doesn’t explode.

go back
To go back to something means to return to it

touchpaper
(Br. E.) a small piece of (usually blue) paper on one end of a firework, which you light in order to start the firework burning. In Am. E this is usually called the fuse.

stricter
If you are strict about something, you make it very clear that there will be severe consequences if someone disobeys you or doesn’t follow your rules.

invincible
impossible to defeat, harm or injure

poor
In this case, an adjective that shows that you think the person (or thing) you are describing deserves sympathy.

it serves him right
If you say it serves somebody right, it means that you think the person deserved what happened.

Real English conversations: Do men prefer real or fake?

Lori — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 20:38:20 +0000

Transcript

Lori here, welcoming you to another edition of Real English Conversations at Better at English dot com, the website that focuses on real English for real people. I will warn you right away: the topic of today’s conversation could be considered somewhat provocative: silicone breast implants. So you should listen further only if you are not offended by that topic.

Before we get into the conversation, I have a question for you listeners. You know, I love making these casts to help you learn English. However, transcribing them – particularly writing up the vocabulary notes – is very time consuming. So I would like to know if you learners of English out there actually use the transcripts, in particular, the vocabulary explanations. There is a poll in the sidebar of the website where you can vote. I will leave the poll up until I have enough votes to get a good idea of what my listeners want. You can also email me or post in comments on the website or call the voice mail line at 206 250 2283.

This conversation is much longer than usual, so I’ll shut up now and let you get to it. Enjoy!

Conversation Transcript

Lori: I have to ask you: As a man…

Michael: Yes?

L: What is your take on the whole silicone implant thing?

M: Umm… Do you mean…Do I….Well I don’t… [laughter ] What a question! Umm, well, aside from the “enhancement” aspect of it — I thought silicone implants…I thought were kind of dangerous. But as far as the enhancement goes, I can tell you I once took an online survey…

L: Mmm hmm

M: …which showed a series of pictures of naked breasts…

L: Mmm hmm

M: And you had to click a checkbox and say whether they were natural or enhanced.

L: Mmm hmm

M: And I can tell you I got them all correct.

L: OK.

M: Umm, so I, you know, I think they look fake. I’m not impressed…with that sort of, that sort of thing.

L: OK. So now if you think about it if you think about, yeah, men’s magazines…

M: Right, yes

L: …which I know that, I mean, you’re a healthy, red-blooded man, you must have some experience with men’s magazines.

M: [laughs] How can we put this delicately? Yes, I am familiar with these things.

L: Would you say that, the models that you see in the magazines, that they [their breasts] are real or fake?

M: Most of the ones that that I see tend to be fake… But I can tell you this: and that…when a model comes along who IS natural, they tend to be much more popular…

L: Really!

M: Yes, I think so, but they’re few and far between because so few people are really built that way.

L: Mmm hmm

M: I mean, let’s think about it, umm, you know, it’s, umm, you know, there are so few people that are, you know, perfectly proportioned. But we can see…

L: Well, yeah, you have to be caref…careful with the word “perfect” as well…

M: Well, I mean

L: Because that implies a value judgment.

M: Yes, whatever the current trend is, whatever the latest fashion is. Ummm

M: In the 50s compared to the 60s compared to the 70s — what they would, I mean I would say “perfect” — the ideal shape for the Hollywood starlet kind of sex symbol, umm, has changed. I mean, the 50s the accent was on the breasts, and it was quite a voluptuous look, I mean Marilyn Monroe or Diana Dors, or somebody like that. I mean, the 60s it was the legs, you know, the mini skirts and this kind of thing, and the skinny thing. And the 70s is a little bit more back to a fuller figure. And then I think it all went horribly wrong in the 80s.

L: What happened in the 80s?

M: Well there’s the plastic surgery thing for one thing.

L: OK

M: But also things like, ummm, MTV, umm, magazines that are targeting…the whole umm, bombarding young people with magazines that are showing “This is what you must look like” “This is what is attractive,” “This is perfect, and if you don’t measure up to this you’re something less than that,” you know? And I think it’s…

L: Even if a lot of it is…It’s implied. But I would have to agree with you, that, you know — I don’t read women’s magazines.

M: MM hmmm, OK.

L: And I think that a lot of the problems that I’ve had as an adult, with my own self-esteem and, you know, problems that you have about how you feel about yourself, are…they sort of have their root in reading my mother’s women’s magazines, from a very very young age…

L: Because…

M: OK, yeah

L: …I was a really really, really early and really eager young reader. I would read anything I could get my hands on.

M: Sure, yeah.

L: And so from the age of, probably six or seven, I was reading my mother’s women’s magazines

M: Right…well, do you know this kind of transfers in the same way to males…I can tell you that I was also very keen reader when I was young…

L: Mmm hmm

M:… And I read, umm, a lot of my dad’s men’s magazines, shall we say…

L: Mmm

M: …aaah when I was young. So, umm, you got the impression that this is what attractive women are supposed to look like as well, from a male point of view. So yeah, it seems like this is all guided, you know, umm, that both males and females are being guided into this thing, you know, we’re supposed to find THIS attractive, and that you’re supposed to live up to this thing. You know? Ummm…

L: Exactly. And then you see when you’re watching TV, you know, mainstream junk TV, how, you know, it’s the beautiful people who good things happen to…

M: Yeah.

L: ..the beautiful woman who gets rewarded and…

M: Right, and the villain in the movie is usually very ugly because, you know, we’re not supposed to sympathize with this.

L: Exactly, and we all know…

M: And the hero is a fantastic chisel-jawed, rugged-looking guy.

L: Yeah, exactly.

M: And the love interest is a stunningly beautiful…It’s predictable.

Thanks for tuning in to this edition of Real English Conversations. As always, you can find a full transcript of the entire cast, plus vocabulary explanations, on the website – www.betteratenglish.com . And please stop by the website and cast your vote in the transcriptions poll in the sidebar.

That’s all for now. See next time!

Vocabulary List

Have to
To have to do something means you must do it. Here Lori uses “have to” because she feels such a strong desire to ask Michael’s opinion that doesn’t have a choice. She must ask him.

Your take on
Somebody’s take on something means their opinion or ideas about it.

Thing
Lori and Michael use the word thing 11 times in this conversation, and with several different meanings. In this example, thing means “overall issue” – everything related to the phenomenon of silicone breast implants.

Enhancement
To enhance something means to make it more prominent, salient, or noticeable. Enhancement is the noun form. Here Michael is trying to find a socially acceptable way to talk about women making their breasts larger with silicone implants.

As far as the enhancement goes
The phrase as far as X goes is an idiomatic way to say, “My opinion on X is” or “I think that X is” or “concerning X.”

Took
From the verb take. Here took means participated in or completed. Michael participated in an online survey; he completed the survey. (Survey = questionnaire).

Say
Here Michael didn’t actually say anything by speaking, he transmitted his message by selecting from the available answers on the survey. The verb say can be used even when you (or objects!) transmit a message in various ways. For example, “This book says that men are stupider than women” or “Darn, that sign says ‘no parking,’ so we can’t park our car here.”

Fake
Fake (adj.) means not real, not genuine.

Men’s magazines
Men read all kinds of magazines, but when people talk about men’s magazines they usually mean magazines that feature scantily clad or naked women. Playboy magazine is a good example.

Healthy, red-blooded man
Saying that a man is a healthy, red-blooded man a polite way to say that it’s natural for heterosexual men to be interested in beautiful/sexy women, and thus to want to look at men’s magazines.

Put this delicately
To put something delicately means to say something unpleasant or rude in a way that will not be offensive.

Models
In this conversation, models are women whose profession is to look sexy in photographs in men’s magazines. In general, a model is a person who is employed to be photographed or painted.

Comes along
To come along is a phrasal verb that means to appear or to arrive at a place.

They’re few and far between
To be few and far between means that something is scarce. Literally, there are few of them and they are separated by a lot of time or distance or both.

Built
If you describe someone as being built a certain way, you mean that their body is shaped a certain way or that their body has certain proportions.

Implies
To imply something means to communicate an idea without saying it explicitly or directly.

Shape
Here shape refers to body shape, the overall form of someone’s body

Hollywood starlet
A starlet is a young, attractive, hopeful actress who (usually) shows some sign of possible fame and success. It is often used in a disapproving way (compare wanna-be).

Sex symbol
Sex symbols are famous people who many people in our society consider sexually attractive.

Accent
If the accent is on X, it means that X is considered very important.

Voluptuous
Voluptuous is an adjective that describes a soft, curvy, sexually attractive woman’s body shape.

Skinny
Skinny (adj.) means having an extremely thin body, usually to the point of looking unhealthy. Sometimes this is considered attractive and desirable from a fashion point of view.

Fuller figure
A woman’s figure is her overall body shape. If her figure is full, it means that her shape is curvy. A woman’s curves are mainly created by her body fat. Describing a woman as having a full figure can either be a compliment or an insult, depending on who says it and how they think women should look to be considered attractive.

Bombarding
To bombard somebody with something is phrasal verb that means to direct an overwhelming amount of something at someone.

Measure up
To measure up (to something) is a phrasal verb that means to be good enough, or to be as good as something or somebody.

Self-esteem
Self-esteem is your belief and confidence in your own value and abilities.

Have their root
If X has its root in Y, it means that X is (more or less) caused by Y.

Women’s magazines
Women’s magazines traditionally feature a contradictory mixture of recipes for delicious (and fattening) food, diet and exercise plans, and articles about how to be beautiful, sexy, and successful. Being beautiful and sexy is related to looking and behaving a certain way (dictated by the magazine articles either overtly or covertly). Women’s magazines also feature advertisements and hidden or overt sales pitches for products to “help” women transform themselves into the very ideals created by the magazines. Lori sees these magazines for the garbage that they are, and chooses not to read them.

Early
If you describe someone as an early X, it means that they started doing X at a relatively early age.

Eager
If you are eager to do something, it means that you are interested in it and want to do it very much.

Get my hands on
To get your hands on something means to obtain something.

Keen
Keen is a synonym for eager (see above).
Got the impression
To get the impression of/about something means that you form an idea or opinion about what it is like.

Are supposed to
To be supposed to has many subtle meanings. In this sentence, “what attractive women are supposed to look like” means “what attractive women are expected to look like.”

Junk
Junk (adjective) means worthless or useless. For example, junk mail, junk food, or junk TV. Of course, one person’s “junk” is another person’s treasure…

Villain
The villain in a story/book/film is the person who harms other people. Usually we do not like the villain. A villain can be either a man or woman.

Hero
The hero (female form heroine) in a story/book/film is the person who is good or does good things. We like the hero and want to see him succeed.

Chisel-jawed
A chisel is a tool for carving stone. Sharp and attractive facial features can be described as chiseled. So a chisel-jawed man is a man who has a striking, attractive, strong-looking jaw.

Rugged-looking
If you describe a man’s features as rugged, it means that they are strong and attractively formed.

The love interest
The love interest in a story/book/film is the attractive character whose main dramatic purpose is to attract the romantic attentions of the hero or heroine; the “romantic sub-plot” provides added tension to the story.

Real English Conversations: skill or luck?

Lori — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:51:49 +0000

Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another edition of Real English Conversations here at Better At English dot com. Before we get into the conversation, I want to thank everyone who has submitted book recommendations – I’ve started listing them on the website and will continue to list them throughout the week. And I’d also like to thank everyone who has let me know how you feel about mild swearing in these casts. The verdict has been overwhelming: swearing it OK with you. Only one person has said it’s not OK. In fact, many of you actually think that understanding the more vulgar or “colorful” side of English would actually be useful. But I don’t want to offend anyone, so here is what I’ll do: if any of my casts contain vulgar words or provocative, semi-naughty topics, I will alert you at the beginning. That way you can choose not to listen if you don’t want to. So here is my first alert: the following cast contains one very-mild-but-still-vulgar expression. So if that would be offensive to you, then I suggest you not listen any further.

OK, enough of my yakkin’ – here’s the conversation.

Real English Conversation Transcript

Lori: Have you ever played the game Rock, Paper, Scissors?

Rock, Paper, Scissors link to YouTube video

Michael: Yes, umm, but I’m not very good at it.

L: You’re not very good at it? Well, I was just reading that there was an actual competition, a world championship in Rock, Paper, Scissors, and that the UK, the UK kicked America’s ass in the rock paper s…

M: Well that makes me proud to be British! That we… Rock, Paper, Scissors!

L: I mean, it’s such a childish game — I can’t even imagine that that there would even be — I mean that’s like having the championship in thumb wrestling!

Thumb Wrestling link to YouTube video

M: Nnn.. actually, no, I disagree. Because I think that thumb wrestling, with thumb wrestling there is a lot of skill involved.

L: Oh yeah, definitely. It’s all in the technique
.
M: Abso- exactly. But with, with Rock, Paper, Scissors — I could be completely wrong — umm

L: Uh huh

M: But I think that it’s all down to luck.

L: Uh huh.

M: Umm, or maybe that’s just my excuse for being so bad at it. I always seem to lose and so I can put it down to bad luck, that I, I seem to pick the wrong one, but umm…

L: Yeah, well, in the, in the article that I was reading — it was also on the BBC –

M: OK

L: Umm, in the article they were talking about the tactics and saying that — they were comparing it to poker…

M: O-

L: …actually, saying that…

M: -K

L: …that they have to do a lot of hard work and spend a lot of time practicing and training, learning about tactics and body language, and that it’s act…that they bluff so much, just like you do in poker.

M: I’m trying to imagine how you bluff making a fist or, you know, holding your hand flat, or making the scissors shape.

L: Yeah, they’re actually that they have a special word for it; they called the bluffing they do priming, and that allows the players to sort of fake a move…

M: Oh, make it look like you…

L: And sort of trick their opponent into making the wrong, you know, making the move that they want them to make… with all the subtle body language and umm, you know, psychological tactics… so actually there might be more to it than meets the eye…

M: Mmm, well there, I suppose there must be…

L: …with this Rock, Paper, Scissors thing.

M: Umm, but to be honest Lori, I think that the reason, umm, when you…telling me about this, I, I compare it to something like, umm, world championship coin flipping.

L: Mmm hmm. Oh right yeah, that it’s…

M: Heads or tails.

L: Exactly.

M: I mean, OK, so there’s one extra, I mean, so there’s three sides that we’ve got to consider…

L: Well, I think…

M: ummm…but, no, that’s amazing.

L: I think were going to have to put it to empirical test…

M: OK

L: And I think — just to do right by my own country — that I’m gonna have to challenge you.

M: [laughs]

L: …to a Rock, Paper, Scissors contest…

M: Oh goodness me, I don’t know whether I can…

L: …fighting for the dignity of my own country.

M: …possibly…you’re only saying this ’cause I’ve already admitted I’m terrible!

L: Yeah, well, so am I. And you al-, you already kick my ass at thumb wrestling, we know that so…anyway

M: OK, we’ll have to, OK we’ll do that, we’ll do that.

L: OK

I hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of Real English Conversations. You can visit the website, Better at English dot com for the full transcript and for a link to the original BBC article that inspired this conversation. I’ve also added a couple of short videos that demonstrate Rock, Paper, Scissors AND Thumb Wrestling. As always, I welcome your feedback about the show. You can email me at info at better at English dot com, or call the voice mail line at +1 (for the USA), 206 350 2283. See you next time here at Better at English dot com! Bye for now…

Link to BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6159658.stm

Vocabulary list

Rock, Paper, Scissors
A two-player game played with hand gestures. Each player makes a rock, paper, or scissors gesture on the count of three. Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock. Sometimes adults use this game as a friendly way to settle a dispute.

The UK kicked America’s ass
To kick someone’s ass is informal slang for “to beat someone at something.” In this example, the UK beat the USA at Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Thumb wrestling
Thumb wrestling is a child’s game (but adults can play too) in which two opponents lock fingers and try to “wrestle” with their thumbs. The winner is the one who manages to pin the opponent’s thumb down. (See photos).

It’s all down to luck
The expression “x is all down to y” means that x is caused by y, or that x is depends on y. Michael means that winning Rock, Paper, Scissors is a matter of luck, not skill.

Put it down to bad luck
To put something down to x means to attribute it to x, to say that it is caused by x, to blame x for it. Michael means that he doesn’t win at Rock, Paper, Scissors because he has bad luck in the game; he loses the game because of bad luck, not a lack of skill.

Pick
To pick something means to choose it or select it
Tactics
Tactics are a strategic plan you have to win or achieve something.

Bluff
If you “bluff” in poker, you pretend to have better cards than you actually have, to try to get your opponents to give up (fold). In general terms, “to bluff” means “to deceive someone by making them think either that you are going to do something when you really have no intention of doing it, or that you have knowledge that you do not really have, or that you are someone else”

Priming
To prime something means to prepare it. In the Rock, Paper, Scissors game, if you “bluff” you are priming your opponent to make the wrong move.

Fake
To fake something means to pretend. For example, you can fake a feeling or an illness, that is, pretend you have a feeling or illness that you don’t really have. The Rock, Paper, Scissors players can “fake” a move: pretend that they are going to execute a different move than the one they actually make.

Move
A move is an action you take in a game. In this case, the moves are forming your hand into the rock, paper, or scissors shape.

Trick
To trick someone is to fool or deceive them, usually as part of a plan.

Subtle
In this case, subtle (adj.) means “small and difficult to notice, but still important.”

More to it than meets the eye
If there is more to something than meets the eye, it is more difficult to understand or involves more things than it seems at the beginning. At first it might seem that Rock, Paper, Scissors is a simple game of chance with no skill involved, but it you analyze it carefully you might find that being a champion player takes a lot of skill.

Suppose
If you suppose something, you think it is likely, but you are not sure enough about it to say “I know.”

Coin flipping
Michael compares Rock, Paper, Scissors to coin flipping (tossing a coin in the air and letting it fall down on its own – chance will determine which side it lands on). Coin flipping (or coin tossing) is often used as an example of a random event. He means that there is no skill involved in Rock, Paper, Scissors; it’s a matter of chance just like coin flipping.

Heads or tails
The two sides of a coin are called the “head” (front side) and the “tail” (back side). Usually the “head” side features the head or bust of a famous person.

To put it to empirical test
If you put something to (a) test, it means you experiment to see if something is true. Empirical means real-world experience rather than theory or opinion.

To do right by my own country
If you do right by somebody or something, it means that you do the right thing for them, to treat them well or do something that is good for them.

Oh goodness me!
Oh goodness me is an expression used to show surprise, similar to “Oh my goodness”

Real English Conversations: noisy neighbors

Lori — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:18:20 +0000

Transcript

Hi, Lori here with another hot, steaming fresh edition of Real English Conversations. Remember, you can find the full transcript at our website, Better at English dot com.

As you can hear, my cold is almost better now. Thanks to Katja and Marco for the nice get well wishes!

Today’s conversation is between me and my friend Michael. We discuss my annoying neighbor and his habit of playing a very irritating song at very high volume, usually on Friday and Saturday evenings. I’m pretty sure it’s a live version, too, so it’s much longer than the original, thus extending my torture.

My best guess is that he plays it to get himself in the party mood. Here in Sweden, people usually “party” at home, that is, sit around and drink with their friends and make a lot of noise, until around 11 pm. After that, they go out to the bars, pubs and clubs. I think that’s because in Sweden, it’s so darn expensive to buy drinks when you’re out. So it’s good to drink a load of cheap alcohol at home to get a good healthy buzz going before you out on the town. I’m telling you this as a form of public service announcement in case you ever decide to come to Sweden. Now you know what to do when it’s time to party…

Right then! Let’s get on with it: here’s the conversation.

Conversation transcript

Michael: So, do you live in a house or an apartment?

Lori: I live in an apartment.

M: Okay but, but I thought you said that you were a musician? How do you get around playing your music when you live in an apartment?

L: Well, well, I’m lucky because, umm, with the equipment I use – I can use headphones to practice so I don’t need to make a lot of noise and, and bother the neighbors.

M: Okay, that’s good because that’s, that’s yeah, that, I would think that would be a problem for somebody playing music.

L: Oh man, tell me about it! I have this neighbor — I’m not sure which one it is, if he’s the one directly above me or if he’s on one of the adjoining apartments, but every weekend – Friday, five, six p.m. he’s getting ready to party. And the way he gets ready to party — You know that song “Relax” by…who who’s that, what, “Relax”?

M: Frankie Goes To Hollywood? That one?

L: Oh my God, yeah yeah yeah… yeah

M: From the 80s?

L: Yeah [sings] “Relax, don’t do it…” You know that song?

M: I’m afraid I do.

L: He blasts that song so loud. Like, over and over and over again. Every weekend. And it drives me crazy. And…

M: I, I guess that’s his “getting-ready-to-go-out” music.

L: It must be. But it’s SO annoying. I mean, ANY song but “Relax”!

Vocabulary list

Get around: Used this way, to get around means to avoid or solve a problem. Lori gets around the problem of making noise that would annoy the neighbors by using headphones when she practices.
Bother: If you bother someone, you annoy, irritate, or disturb them.
Tell me about it!: If someone tells you something that you agree strongly with, you can say “Tell me about it!” You often say this before you start talking about your own experiences with the topic, just like Lori does here.
Adjoining: Very near, next to, or touching. Lori means the apartments (flats) that are next to hers, the ones that share dividing walls.
Party: The word party can be used as a verb. When someone from southern California talks about partying, they mean engaging in adult-type parties, usually involving lots of alcohol, music, and adult socializing.
I’m afraid: A synonym for “unfortunately.” Michael means that he is not happy about knowing the song Relax, probably because he hates the song.
Blasts: To blast something means (in this case) to play audio at very high volume. Lori’s neighbor blasts the song “Relax” on his stereo. (Sometimes she gets her revenge by blasting Rammstein.) She has another neighbor whose TV is always blasting Dr. Phil (the TV show) in the afternoons.
Drives me crazy: If something drives you crazy, it makes you feel extremely irritated, frustrated, annoyed, or angry.
Must: Lori uses the modal verb must to show that she is very confident that she knows the truth about her neighbor’s reason for blasting “Relax,” but not 100% sure.
Any song but “Relax”: The Any X but Y construction means that you would prefer any X to Y. Lori would prefer her neighbor to play any song but the “Relax.”

Real English Conversations: Office Pranks

Lori — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 17:16:27 +0000

Transcript

Hello and Welcome to another edition of Real English Conversations here at Better at English dot com. This is Lori comin’ atcha from the Better at English studios here in Southern Sweden, where as you might be able to tell, I’ve got a really bad cold. But hey, your learning is more important than my voice, so I’m going ahead and podcasting for you anyway. So before we get on with the conversation, I just want to say thanks very much to everyone who’s provided feedback about the show. I try to reply to everyone who emails a comment, but Franck in France and Mustafa in Turkey, there’s no way for me to reply to you when you send a text through the Mychingo site, so I’ll take the opportunity to thank you here for your nice comments about the show.

OK, without further ado, here comes another episode of Real English Conversations.

Conversation Transcript

Lori: I was browsing photos on the Internet the other day on Flickr and I’m not sure how I ended up there, but I saw this really funny thing. It was to do with office pranks. And apparently, some guy in some office was known for having, like, far too many Post-its posted all over his workstation on his computer…

Michael: Mmm hmm

Lori: …and for his birthday the people in the office had gotten together and completely papered his entire office with Post-its — it was like, some 47,000 Post-its or something posted all over his office in this multicolored rainbow. And there was this whole collection of different office pranks in this photo collection on Flickr. And I, I, you know, I don’t really have much experience working in an office, but you do, and I was wondering if you ever played office pranks at any time?

M: Most of the time that I was working in an office we were too busy working to dead— unrealistic deadlines to think about pulling pranks. And usually the, the people I was working for were rather strict and didn’t have much in the way of a sense of humor. So pulling office pranks isn’t something that we were…it was never on the agenda; we wouldn’t have got away with it.

L: Really? So there was no place for fun at all? In any of the—

M: Not really no. We were, seriously, we were too, I’m not exaggerating, it was very busy, always focused on the work, and always a very short deadline with a lot of work to do. So there were very few idle moments when you would be able to pull off a prank.

L: Oh…well, that’s too bad ’cause I think a little bit of fun in the workplace probably makes people happier and, and, and, and work better.

M: I would agree, that’s something that would’ve made things more enjoyable, perhaps.

L: I mean, you don’t want people goofing off all the time on company time but I think, you know, a few, a half an hour here and there with people having some fun, that in the long run you’d have more productive and happy employees.

M: Sure, yeah, I think that’s a fair comment.

Thanks for tuning in to this edition of Real English Conversations. As always, you can find the full transcript of this podcast at our website, Better at English dot com. And from now on, there is also a PDF file of the transcript available for download at the website. Thanks to Arpad S for suggesting this feature.

So keep your questions and comments coming in — it totally makes my day to get feedback from listeners out there. And if you’re subscribed on iTunes, why not log in and leave a review now? That would be awesome! Good luck with your learning, and we’ll see you next time. Bye for now!

Vocabulary

browsing: looking thorough something (like a book, a website, or a collection of photos) without any specific plan
ended up: to end up somewhere is to finally be in a particular place or situation
to do with: if A is to do with B, then A is connected to B.
apparently: You can use the word “apparently” to show that you have some doubt about what you have heard or read.
Post-its: A Post-it is the brand name of small note papers with a sticky strip on the back that allows you to stick it to objects. Like the image in the transcript above.
some: Used this way, “some” means “about” or “approximately”
deadlines: a deadline is the date that a project or piece of work is due.
prank: A prank is a trick that is meant to be funny or amusing, not hurt anyone or cause damage
pulling pranks: to “pull a prank” is to do, carry out, or execute a prank
sense of humor: If you have a sense of humor, you are able to see things as funny or amusing
on the agenda: An agenda is a formal list of points to be discussed at a meeting. But informally, if you say that something is “on the agenda” it means that it’s something important or something that you plan to do
got away with: If you get away with something, it means that you do something you aren’t allowed to do and nobody catches you
exaggerating: If you exaggerate, it means that you make something seem larger or more important than it really is
short deadline: Deadlines can be long or short. A long deadline means that you have a lot of time to get your task done. A short deadline means that you have little time
idle: If you are idle, it means that you don’t have anything to do. It can also be a synonym for “lazy”
goofing off: If you are goofing off (or goofing around) at work you are avoiding work and just doing silly or amusing things
in the long run: at a time far away in the future

Real English conversations: Lori scores a year’s supply of toilet paper

Lori — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 14:08:59 +0000

A longish podcast today, where I do a bit more talking than usual. Just trying it out to see how you like it!

Transcript

Hi and welcome to another edition of Real English Conversations here at Better at English dot com. My name is Lori, and it’s a grey October day here at the Better at English studios in southern Sweden. Now, I’m really sticking my neck out with today’s podcast, because this informal conversation between me and Michael reveals some of my bad speaking habits. The worst offender: when I’m telling a story, I use the word “like” to introduce reported speech, a mannerism that “careful users of English” really don’t approve of. I also use some expressions that could be considered slang, such as score, gig, office-supply porn, and honking, yet more reason for the watchful guardians of all things good and proper in English to wrinkle their brows, harrumphing in disapproval.

But I’ll stick my neck out even farther and say that the vast majority of first-language speakers are probably not “careful users of English.” At least not in their informal conversations with their friends. And the whole point of Real English Conversations is to provide you with examples of informal, everyday conversations between first language speakers of English — the kind of language you don’t usually get in mass-market English teaching materials, but that you are very likely to get out in the real world, when you’re using English with real people.

I’ve not conducted a scientific study on this, but in my experience, the way I use “like” to introduce reported speech is a very common feature of informal conversation between American English speakers from my generation, the so-called Generation X. Your listening skills benefit from understanding this common feature. But I don’t suggest that you use “like” the way I do here, simply because it is frowned upon by careful users of English.

You’ll notice that I also repeat words and pause to search for words, just like most native speakers do when they are speaking about a topic they haven’t prepared in advance. Remember, this is an informal CONVERSATION between two good friends, not a formal speech that was prepared in advance and practiced to be given in front of an audience!

As always, you will find the full transcript of this podcast and a vocabulary list on our website, www dot betteratenglish dot com.

Conversation transcript

Lori: Yeah, something kind of funny happened to me when I was shopping for office supplies today.

Michael: OK, what happened?

L: Well, my boss had, had given me a list of office supplies to buy on my way home from a teaching gig, because I drive right past the office supply shop.

And I’m always happy to do it, ’cause, as you know, I LOVE office supplies — it’s almost like my, my “office-supply porn” — I can go in and get my daily fix of all the nice things for, you know, keeping organized, and folders and notebooks, and…I had a whole list of things to buy.

And when I got up to the register and the clerk was ringing me up, the total came to over a thousand Swedish crowns. Which is not a problem, I mean, they just just send us an invoice; it wasn’t like I had to worry about money. But then he said, “Because you spent so much money here today, you can go pick one of those rolls of toilet paper over there.”

M: Toilet paper!

L: Yeah, toilet paper! And, I mean, we’re always happy to get free toilet paper; you know, it’s one of those useful things that, that, you know, a business has to buy…

M: You can never have too much.

L: Yeah, exactly. But the thing is, I looked at where he was pointing, and it was these HUGE, GIGANTIC, industrial-sized packages, all shrink-wrapped in plastic, of toilet paper…I mean, it was HUGE, I could NOT BELIEVE that I was getting one for free.

M: OK, like a year’s supply of toilet paper.

L: At least.

M: [laughs]

L: I’m serious! When…standing on end, the thing comes up almost to my chest.

M: OK.

L: I mean, it’s huge. I, I forgot to count the rolls, but it was…it had to be…maybe… At least 20 packs of six rolls each.

M: Wow.

L: Seriously, it was one big, honking supply of toilet paper. And it was GOOD toilet paper as well!

M: And this is free?

L: Yeah, free just because I’d spent, you know, in one, you know, one purchase, we had spent over a thousand crowns. And I, but I could not believe they were giving away for free, and so I had to ask the guy, “Really? Are you kidding? You mean I get to take one of these?”
And he was like, “Yeah, yeah.”
I’m like, “No!”
He was like, “Yeah!”
“No!”
And he says that, “You know, you can look, see the sign up above…it says…I can show you.”
I’m like, “No no, it’s not that I don’t believe you, I just can’t believe you are giving away such a huge supply of toilet paper!”

I was REALLY happy. And of course there was a line of Swedes standing waiting to pay for their things, and they were raising their eyebrows at me, you know, someone getting SO excited about getting a huge supply of toilet paper. But you know, I thought that was just a really really cool thing…

M: Mmm, definitely.

L: …for or the company to do.

M: Yeah.

L: ‘Cause say they had just given away one little pack, or two little packs. Like, oh, wow, 12 rolls of toilet paper. [rolls eyes]

M: Right, right

L: For spending a thousand crowns…

M: Yeah. No, free stuff is good!

L: Yeah, and the good news is, you know here at home we’re on our last roll…

M: [Laughs}

L: And because I scored this huge supply of toilet paper for my boss, she’s like, “Take some, take some!” And…

M: NOW I see why you’re so happy.

L: That’s why today I came home with that, you know, with…

M: Your arms full of toilet paper.

L: Exactly, exactly.

Vocabulary

funny: Something is funny if it makes you laugh, or if it is strange or unusual.
boss: Your boss is the person you work for, your manager, the person you report to. It’s an informal way to refer to this person.
gig: Here, Lori means a teaching assignment out at a company.
office supplies: Goods and materials that you need in an office, e.g, paper, paper clips, folders, binders, printer ink, coffee. In the USA there are huge stores that specialize in office supplies, such as Staples or Office Depot.
office supply porn: Porn is short for “pornography.” Here, Lori doesn’t mean real pornography, of course. She is using the word “porn” in a playful way to describe the unusual (perhaps even unhealthy!) pleasure she gets from shopping for office supplies.
my daily fix: Lori talks about her “daily fix” of “office supply porn.” Again, this is a playful use of language. A fix is ” a supply or dose of something strongly desired or craved” usually said about addictive drugs. But people often use it in a humorous or playful way, e.g. “my daily fix of coffee” or “my chocolate fix for the day.”
register: a cash register. The machine that records the transaction when you buy something, and where the cashier or clerk keeps the money
ringing me up: To ring someone/something up means when the cashier pushes buttons on the cash register to record the items you are buying.
invoice: When you buy something from a company but don’t pay right away, they send you an invoice, like a bill, that tells you how much money you must pay and when you must pay it.
huge, gigantic: Synonyms for “extremely large”
industrial-sized: large packages of goods for businesses and industries
honking: Informal slang for “very large,” often used in combination with big: I can’t believe I ate that entire big, honking piece of chocolate cake!
Are you kidding?: This is an informal way to ask “Are you serious?” or “Is this really true?” We usually say this when we’ve heard something that we find hard to believe.
raising their eyebrows: If you talk about someone raising their eyebrows at someone or something, it means that their facial expression is showing disapproval of that person or thing. The stereotypical Swede is known for being quiet and reserved, so Lori’s open (and somewhat loud) enthusiasm about getting the huge packet of toilet paper for free was probably breaking a Swedish social taboo
on our last roll: To be “on one’s last X” means that you are using the last item in your supply of something. For example, “We’re on our last carton of milk; could you buy a carton when you go to the shop later?”
scored: To score something in the sense Lori uses here means that you manage to buy or receive something that you find very attractive.

Thanks very much for tuning in to this edition of Better at English. Before I sign off, I’d like to mention two things. Firstly, we have a new feature on our website that lets you use your computer and a mic to record your questions in a 2-minute voice mail message. Just click the “record a question” button at the top of the sidebar on the website. This will open a window to the Mychingo online recorder. You may need to click “OK” to allow the Mychingo recorder to access your mic, but don’t worry, they aren’t doing anything evil to your computer. Please don’t be shy about asking questions: maybe your question will be a “guest star” of a future podcast!

Secondly, if you are one of our many iTunes listeners and enjoy our podcast, I would be absolutely thrilled if you could write a review on the iTunes site. Better at English isn’t a job; it’s something I do in my free time, and it would really make my day to have some reviews come in.

That’s all for now! Here’s hoping that soon, very soon, something will happen to make you as happy as that big honking package of free toilet paper made me. See you next time here at Better at English dot com.

Copyright 2008 L. Linstruth - www.betteratenglish.com.

Real English conversations: Lori scores a year’s supply of toilet paper

Real English Conversations: annoying coworkers

Lori — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 13:10:53 +0000

New podcast format: Real English Conversations

Hi, this is Lori from Better at English dot com, comin’ at you with a brand new format today: Real English conversations.

Here at Better at English, we believe that learners need to hear authentic conversational English as it’s spoken by first-language speakers, not just the simplified, stilted, unnatural, boring, wishful-thinking language you find in most mass-market English teaching materials. So we’re proud to introduce our new format: Real English Conversations. This format will feature first-language speakers of English engaging in unscripted, spontaneous conversations.

Now because Better at English is based in southern Sweden, my access to first-language speakers of English is somewhat limited. So for the time being, you’ll mainly be hearing me and my friend Michael, who is from England. That way you can hear both American English and British or “English” English in the same podcast. We’ll keep these short and snappy, between two and five minutes long, and we’ll always provide a transcription and vocabulary list. So if you’re listening to our podcast via iTunes or some other podcatcher, remember that you can surf to our website, W W W dot Better at English dot com, to read the transcript and get the vocabulary list. We hope you’ll enjoy and benefit from our new format. So, without further ado, here we go with our first episode of Real English Conversations.

Conversation Transcript

Lori: Uhh, I came across this really funny website the other day… It’s, umm, designed to where people can anonymously send an e-mail to an annoying coworker…

Michael: Mmm hmm…

L: Saying things like, “You really need to use deodorant [laughter]…but we’re too shy to tell you”… and they, you know, you just put in their e-mail address…

M: Okay

L: Umm, and it got me thinking about annoying coworkers…

M: Okay

L: Can…Do you have any memories of particularly irritating and annoying people at work?

M: Well, I don’t remember anyone who was…smelly, ummm

[laughter]

M: But there was there was one guy who was rather irritating, umm, he was, actually, he was someone who I, who I answered to, he was…

L: He was your manager?

M: He was…yeah…he was, he was a manager at my department.

L: Uh huh.

M: And..umm…what he would do would be if myself ..or..or..and one of my colleagues were having a conversation that was in any way, uhh, related to something other than the immediate job that we were working on…

L: Uh huh.

M: …he would, uhh, jump in there and and and, uhh, tell us off! For doing it…

L: Really?

M: For doing it…yeah!

L: For just chatting while you were working?

M: Yeah, oh yeah! It it it could be…you could be sitting at your desk and your friend is sitting across from you and you could say, “So…you have a good weekend, Steve?” and before you’ve even got a chance to start the conversation, you know, our boss would, would chip in and say [imitating odious boss] “Ah, gentlemen I don’t think that’s work-related, could we have a bit less chatter please?”

L: [laughter] No! Did he..

M: And he did actually use to speak like that as well.

L: Really?

M: Yeah, that was, that was, his tone of voice was annoying but that wasn’t the point, it was, it was just that he wouldn’t allow non-work-related topics of conversation. Which…okay…

L: That’s right, because everyone knows that we all work much better and more efficiently when we’re miserable.

M: [Laughter] Well, yeah… That’s uhh, I..he..I don’t think he cared about that, but, okay, I mean, if if if that was … If it was going to be a very draconian and strict regime at work, then I guess that’s fair enough. But it wasn’t a two-way system and and and this was what was particularly annoying, because when it was lunch time or break time this same manager would not be averse to approaching me and asking me about work-related issues whilst I was trying to eat my lunch or, you know, whilst I was…

L: OK, and you were on, then, on your own time not on company time while you’re eating lunch…

M: Oh yeah! Yeah, this this is company allotted, daily company time when you know you’re supposed to go out and have a cigarette and do whatever you do on your break time.

L: But it’s really considered your own personal time…

M: Absolutely! Yeah…

L: …your break from work…

M: Yeah

L: …and he had no problems encroaching on YOUR time.

M: No no.

L: OK.

M: No no..that was…so..

L: He sounds like somewhat of a jerk.

M: It was a..He was a hypocrite, for sure.

L: Can you do the voice again?

M: [Imitating odious manager]: The voice, oh he used to speak like that… “But I don’t think this is very work related, so think we should stop now.”

L: [laughs] OK, let’s stop now.

Thanks for tuning in to this edition of Better at English. Remember, transcripts and vocabulary lists are available at our website, WWW dot Better at English dot com. See you next time!

Vocabulary list – key words and phrases

To come across something – phrasal verb: To find something
anonymous: If someone is anonymous, their name is unknown or not made public
annoying: If someone or something is annoying, it makes you feel angry
irritating: If someone or something is irritating, it makes you feel angry or annoyed
coworker: A coworker is somebody you work with
to answer to someone – phrasal verb: If you answer to someone, then you report to them. You take orders from them.
manager: Someone who controls and organizes other people in a business. A boss.
department: A part of a business or organization that deals with a certain area of work. For example, the finance department, the accounts department, the customer service department
colleague: Someone you work together with (like coworker). Also, someone who is in the same profession as you
immediate: In this conversation, immediate means “directly related to”
to jump in — phrasal verb: In this conversation, to jump in means to interrupt someone who is speaking
to tell someone off (for something) — phrasal verb: If you tell someone off, you speak angrily with them because you think they have done something wrong.
to chip in – phrasal verb: In American English, “to chip in” usually means to contribute something. People in an office may all “chip in” to buy a co-worker a birthday present. In informal British English, “to chip in” means to interrupt. This is what Michael means in the dialog here.
to allow (someone to do) something: to permit
the point: The most important part of what someone says, the main idea
fair enough: You say “fair enough” to show that you understand why someone does something, but don’t really agree with it.
efficient(ly): using your time well and working in a quick and organized way.
draconian: draconian is a word used to describe rules, procedures and methods that are unreasonably severe
regime: a (usually disapproving) word to describe a government or a business’s methods and practices. In our podcast, Michael is showing disapproval of the odious manager’s strict “all work – no chatting” rules.
averse: If you are averse to something, you strongly dislike it or are opposed to it
to approach someone: To come near someone. Here, the manager approaches Michael during his breaks to talk to him about work.
to be on your own time: American English: during time when you are not being paid to work. British English “IN your own time”
to be on company time: time when you are being paid to work
jerk: An unpleasant or stupid person. Usually said about men
hypocrite: Someone who claims to believe in one thing, and then acts in a way that is the opposite.

Link

Here is the website Lori mentions in the conversation – Annoying Coworker. Beware, sometimes the content is not exactly work-safe.