Better at English - Upper intermediate 704j6h

Introduction 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 ments 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. The post Real English conversations: Do men prefer real or fake? appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth

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 ments 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. Copyright 2008 L. Linstruth - www.betteratenglish.com.Real English conversations: Do men prefer real or fake?

Introduction 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? Here is a link to a rock, paper, scissors video on Youtube 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 itted 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 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 , “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” The post 003 – Skill or Luck? Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth

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 itted 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 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 , “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” Copyright 2008 L. Linstruth - www.betteratenglish.com.Real English Conversations: skill or luck?

Transcript Hi and welcome to the first grammar edition of the Better At English Podcast. Lori here, comin’ atcha from the humble B@E studios here in southern Sweden. Usually I focus on vocabulary and conversational English in these podcasts. But even if you’ve got an impressive vocabulary and are an amazing conversationalist, you’ll still look like a total dork if you make careless grammar mistakes in your writing. And by “mistake” I mean things that are errors by anyone’s definition of standard English, not contested usage points where expert opinion is divided (for example, the serial comma). Some grammar mistakes are surprisingly frequent even among educated native speakers of English. When it comes to written English, a lot of these mistakes involve words or phrases that sound the same but are spelled differently. Usually these mistakes are obvious when someone points them out to you, but when you are busy focusing on what you’re trying to say rather than worrying about grammatical accuracy, it’s easy to let the sound you hear in your head trick you into writing the wrong form. Unfortunately, if you make this kind of mistake, you run the risk of making a really bad impression with your writing. But luckily, some of these mistakes are really easy to fix if you just know what to look for. One of the most notorious of these grammatical pet peeves is when people write the wrong form of its/it’s. That’s what I will try to help you with today. This may be a bit difficult to follow if you are just listening, so I suggest you go to the website and have a look at the transcript. Its vs. it's: avoiding dorky grammar mistakes Its/it’s has two forms. One form has an apostrophe, spelled I-T-apostrophe-S, and is a contraction of it is or it has. Here’s an example where it’s means it is: “Hooray! It’s time for grammar!” This means “Hooray, it is time for grammar.” Here’s an example where it’s means it has: “Wow! It’s been a long time.” This means, “Wow! It has been a long time.” I can combine these two examples like this: “Wow, it’s been a long time since I heard a student say, ‘Hooray, it’s time for grammar!’ ” That means, “Wow, it has been a long time since I heard a student say, ‘Hooray! It is time for grammar!’ ” The other form of its has no apostrophe, it’s spelled I-T-S, and is the possessive form of the pronoun it, which you can use when you’re talking about something of or belonging to an “it.” Here are some examples: 1) Sweden is famous for its social welfare system and hot blonde chicks. 2) Volvo is famous for its boxy-but-safe car design. Neither of those sentences would make sense if you replaced its with it is or it has. Luckily, when you are speaking nobody can hear whether or not your brain is putting in apostrophes where they don’t belong. Writing is where you will get in trouble. Here is how you can avoid writing the wrong form of its/it’s when you have an important piece of writing where you cannot possibly afford to look like a dork. 1) So here’s step one. When you write, ask yourself if the it’s/its you’re about to write means it is or it has. If it does, then you can use the it’s form WITH an apostrophe. If it doesn’t make sense, then you need the its form WITHOUT an apostrophe. Here’s an example: Sweden is famous for its social welfare. Can you say, “Sweden is famous for it is social welfare” or “Sweden is famous for it has social welfare”? Nope, it doesn’t work, so you know you need its with NO apostrophe. If you are still confused, then try replacing the its/it’s with another pronoun: his, her, or their. If one of those make sense grammar-wise, then you need its with NO apostrophe. Here’s an example: Volvo is famous for its boxy-but-safe design. You can try “Volvo is famous for their boxy-but-safe design.” Yes, it makes sense! So you know that you use its with no apostrophe. 2) The second thing you should do is use the find feature of your word processing software to search for all instances of its (no apostrophe) and it’s (with apostrophe). For each instance you find, perform the it is / it has test or the his-her-their pronoun test. If you take the time to do this, you will never risk turning in piece of writing containing this dorky grammar mistake. Good luck! It’s been a lot of fun making this first grammar podcast for you. I hope you’ll find it useful for avoiding the dorky its/it’s mistake. Before I sign off, just a little update on the two favors I asked of you in the last episode. Thanks to all who have recommended your favorite English books — I really appreciate your input! If you still haven’t made a recommendation, it’s not too late. I’ll be collecting suggestions for another week or so, and then summarize them on the website. I had also asked you how you would feel about mild swearing in these podcasts. So far only one person has told me that it wouldn’t be a good idea. To make it easier for you to have your say, I’ve put a poll up in the sidebar of the website at Better At English dot com. If you have any positive or negative feelings about mild profanity or swear words in these podcasts, please take the time to let me know. Finally, I have some really cool news. Recently I started guest podcasting with Ben over at Very Vocabulary dot com. It’s a 20-minute weekly vocabulary podcast that teaches a handful of advanced vocabulary words each week. It’s aimed mainly at native speakers, but would be good for upper-intermediate to advanced learners of English as well. I hope you’ll head over to Very Vocabulary dot com and check it out! Our first t episode should be up in the next few days. Thanks to all of you who have been writing in with and kind words about the show. I really appreciate it! Special thanks to the nice person from Korea who left a review on the iTunes site. Reviews really help a lot to get new people interested in the show, so if you like what I do here, please take the time to leave a review on iTunes. If only one of every one hundred iTunes listeners left a review, there would be TONS of them, and it would totally make my day. That’s it for this time. We’ll see you next time here at Better at English dot com. Bye for now! Copyright 2008 L. Linstruth - www.betteratenglish.com.Grammar mistakes that make you look like a dork: its vs. it's

Transcript Hello and welcome to another edition of 2-minute English, here at Better at English dot com. This post is in response to an email question from E.G. (who I think comes from Greece). I have a question about a phrasal verb that I read in a will. What exactly does pay over mean and what does survivorshipmean? Thanks very much for your question, E. Unfortunately, to give you a really great answer I would need to have a lot more context. And because I am not a lawyer, you should probably take what I say with a very large grain of salt. Legal documents use language in very special ways, and it’s easy to be misled if you apply everyday English knowledge to legal texts. So with that disclaimer out of the way, here is what my research has turned up for to pay over (I’ll cover survivorship separately). Put very simply, from what I can tell “to pay over” just means to pay. To transfer money from one person (or entity) to another. In the context of a will or testament, it means that whoever has the deceased’s money or property would transfer ownership of it to the person it was bequeathed to in the will. For example, if I had left 1000 dollars to you in my will, and then I died, then whoever had the money (probably my bank) would “pay it over” to you once all of the complicated legal processes were finished. Here are some (very scary) example legalese sentences using “to pay over” in the context of wills and testaments. I warn you, these sentences are not for the faint of heart, so you might want to go to the website and actually read the transcript because it will be a lot for you to process aurally. If such child shall have then attained the age of 30 years, my trustees shall transfer, pay over and deliver to such child outright the following amount: link Nevertheless I empower by trustees to advance and pay over to my said sons any part not exceeding one half of the amounts ordered to be retained for their own respective absolute use and benefit if my trustees shall deem it to be for their advantage and expedient so to do link Oh man, that was a mouthful. And I hereby direct my executors, the survivors or survivor of them, within six months after my decease, to pay over the sum of two thousand pounds sterling to such persons as shall be duly appointed by the Selectmen of Boston and the corporation of Philadelphia, to receive and take charge of their respective sums, of one thousand pounds each, for the purposes aforesaid. link Heavy sigh. That last one actually made my brain hurt. I’m definitely not a legal expert, so those of you with more expertise in this area are welcome to help me out on this one if I’ve gone astray. Part of being a responsible teacher is being able to it it when you don’t have all the answers! Thanks for tuning in to this edition of 2-minute English. And thanks to everyone who’s sent questions and about the site over the past few days. I’ll be recording a bunch of new podcasts for you all this weekend, taking your and questions into . Maybe by then I’ll be over this darn cold that I caught on my trip to Mexico… As always, the full transcript of this podcast is available at our website, Better at English dot com. Bye for now! Copyright 2008 L. Linstruth - www.betteratenglish.com.phrasal verbs: to pay over (wills and testaments)

Transcript Hello and welcome to 2-minute English. Brought to you by Better At English dot com. Today’s word is bubble sitter. It’s a fairly new “slang” word in real estate and economy. Joe Barker is a bubble sitter. He sold his expensive house just before he retired so that his biggest investment wouldn’t suddenly lose value right before he needed it. Bubble sitter Meaning Bubble sitters are people who think that the bubble is about to burst. They sell off their investments, such as their houses, because they want to get as much money as they can before the prices fall. Another type of bubble sitter is people who wait to invest money in something — or to buy something — because they think that the bubble will burst soon and that the prices will fall again. For example, if you buy a house during the bubble you could lose a lot of money when the bubble bursts and the prices fall again. So you’ve wait. You wait to see what will happen. You wait for prices to fall before you buy. You are a bubble sitter. So people are bubble sitters. But you can also talk about bubble sitting as an activity or a general economic concept. Authentic example Today’s authentic example comes from CNN. Bubble sitting the pros and cons. Waiting for home prices to drop before buying a home is tempting. But making the right call isn’t simple. Convinced home prices will fall? So are lot of other Americans. Some, known as bubble sitters, are acting on their conviction. They’re cashing out by selling their homes and renting, figuring they’ll return to the market after prices have fallen. Bubble sitters also include those people who have never owned a home and are waiting to take the plunge, along with folks who are relocating and holding onto their cash until the market in their new hometown softens. That wraps up this edition of two-minute English. We’ll see you next time, here at Better at English dot com. Links Read about economic bubbles on Wikipedia Lots of articles about bubbles (in the economic sense) are listed here. Copyright 2008 L. Linstruth - www.betteratenglish.com.Business English vocabulary: bubble sitter

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, 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 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. , 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 s 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. Copyright 2008 L. Linstruth - www.betteratenglish.com.Real English Conversations: annoying coworkers