October 23, 2007

#01-028: Talking about the Boss - Part II

Botticelli's "Birth of Venus"
What a "hottie" looked like in the Renaissance
(Wikipedia)

Note: We continue listening in on Brad and Jeff from the previous listen, hoping to learn some more general slang terms.

Get Ready: What would cause you to quit a job (or change schools)? In other words, when would a boss's or teacher's requests become too much?

Two Americans, Jeff and Brad, have been talking about Jeff's terrible boss. See the first part of the conversation in the previous lesson, #01-027. Based on what Jeff has said so far, Brad has just encouraged Jeff not to criticize his boss too much.

Jeff: But I'm not finished. Last week he asked the whole office to pull an all-nighter.

Brad: Whoa! Did you do it?

Jeff: Yeah, but I was a basket case the next day. My social life is DOA. I even had to cancel a date I had with this hottie I met the other night

Brad: Can you talk to him about it?

Jeff: Nah, he's a dinosaur. He thinks everyone should work 24/7. But I'm a people person! I need to go someplace and just veg out with my friends.

Brad: So what are you going to do?

Jeff: I'll hang a few more weeks, but if nothing changes, I'm outta there!

Brad: Good luck!

Practice: Here are some of the slang terms Jeff and Brad used in this part of the conversation. See if you can guess the meaning from the context before checking the paraphrased version below.

  1. 24/7
  2. basket case
  3. dinosaur
  4. DOA
  5. hang (or hang on)
  6. hottie
  7. I'm not finished
  8. I'm outta there
  9. people person
  10. pull an all-nighter
  11. veg out
  12. whoa!

  1. an old-fashioned person
  2. someone who likes other people
  3. to sit around; do nothing special
  4. all the time
  5. I want to say more
  6. non-existent
  7. an insane person, unable to take care of him- or herself
  8. to work all night
  9. I will quit
  10. to do nothing; to wait and see
  11. expresses surprise
  12. a good-looking or sexy person

Answers are in the first comment below.

Here's a paraphrase of the rest of the conversation, in more standard English:

Jeff: I want to tell you more about this. Last week he asked the whole office to work all night.

Brad: That's surprising! Did you do it?

Jeff: Yes, but I was in bad condition the next day. I have no social life. I even had to cancel a date I had with a pretty girl I met the other night

Brad: Can you talk to him about it?

Jeff: Nah, he's too old-fashioned. He thinks everyone should work all the time. But I prefer to be with people! I need to go someplace and just have free time with my friends.

Brad: So what are you going to do?

Jeff: I'll wait and see a few more weeks, but if nothing changes, I'll leave there!

Brad: I hope everything goes well for you!

Explanations of Some of the Answers:

  1. 24/7: all the time: "24 hours a day, 7 days a week"
  2. I'm not finished: This might be simply what it says: "I want to say more." But it can also mean "You have spoken too soon. Don't make a decision until you have all the facts."
  3. DOA: a medical term, "Dead on Arrival" (as when someone is already dead before they reach the hospital). We sometimes use it to mean "non-existent." You can hear this in the theme song of the TV show Friends: "Your life's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA."

Submitted to the Shenzhen Daily for October 23, 2007

This lesson and Part I combined received 387 visits on my old site between December, 2011, and June, 2021.

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1 comment:

  1. Professor Jim BucketJune 30, 2021 at 4:39 PM

    Answers to the Practice: 1. d; 2. g; 3. a; 4. f; 5. j; 6. l; 7. e; 8. i; 9. b; 10. h; 11. c; 12. k

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