No podcast de hoje, você ouve como dizer coisas como Esquece, já era. Tarde demais e É melhor você parar com o café se quiser dormir melhor à noite (uma obs.: "já era" pode ser dito de maneiras diferentes em inglês, dependendo da situação).
Hi, this is Ana Luiza with a new episode of Inglesonline podcast. To
see the transcript and download the audio for this and other episodes,
go to inglesonline.com.br and click on "Podcasts". OK, so I was reading a discussion forum about that TV show, Friends. Remember Friends? I've always been a fan, and I've watched all the episodes, like, multiple times. It was about the lives of six friends in New York City.
And you know how they've been making lots of movies based on TV shows? So in that forum people were discussing whether a Friends movie was going to be made. And one person said: "Would anyone care if they made a Friends movie? That ship has sailed".
What does that mean? This person is saying that, by now, people don't care about Friends anymore. I mean, the show ended in 2004, six years ago. Maybe if they had made a movie in 2005, it would have been a huge hit. But now? It's too late, the opportunity has passed... that ship has sailed. That ship of opportunity, the "Friends movie" ship? It has sailed, it's not here anymore.
Here's another example for this expression "that ship has sailed": imagine that your friend Jerry broke up with his girlfriend Monica a year ago. So the two of you - you and your friend Jerry - you guys bump into each other at a cafe. And then Jerry tells you, "You know, I've been thinking about Monica lately. I think I'm gonna give her a call, maybe we could get back together".
And you look at him, and you say, "Dude, that ship has sailed. Monica got married last April". So, the ship of "reconciliation"? The "getting-back-together" ship? It has sailed. It's too late. That ship has sailed.
I like the expression "That ship has sailed". I don't know why, I think it's funny. And here's another one that I like, and it is a very informal way of saying "Quit doing this or that". The expression is "lay off", or "lay off something". Companies often lay off employees, especially in difficult times. That means they let employees go. When a company lays someone off, this person no longer works for the company.
This expression "lay off" is also used in a slightly different way, although it's similar: you can lay off stuff. Example: your friend tells you he's been gaining weight and you know he eats junk food every day. You can tell him "You should lay off the junk food. Lay off the junk food, and you'll be back to your regular weight in no time".
Another friend might say "I can't believe how much money I spent last month! That's it, I'm gonna lay off the credit card. I'm never going to use it again". I'm gonna lay off the credit card means I'm gonna stop using it... No more credit card for me.
Do you drink a lot of coffee at night and then have trouble sleeping? Lay off the coffee! Do you lift heavy weights every day and then have back pain? Lay off the heavy weights! Do you wanna make real progress in English? Lay off the excessive grammar study and keep listening to this and other audio programs that you understand - that is, without a doubt, the best use of your time.
Alright, that's it for today. Tell us about a situation in your life where you could have said "That ship has sailed". You wanted to do something, but it was too late, you missed the opportunity... You could have said "That ship has sailed". Leave a comment, and see you next time.
Key expressions
That ship has sailed
Lay off something
Glossary
by now = a essa altura
people don't care about something anymore = as pessoas não ligam mais para alguma coisa
a huge hit = um sucesso enorme
you guys bump into each other = vocês se encontram por acaso
Dude...
= "a dude" quer dizer "um cara". Quando alguém está falando
com você e começa com "Dude, ..." é como se a pessoa estivesse
dizendo "Cara, ..."
quit doing this = pare/deixe/"largue" de fazer isso
Hi, this is Ana Luiza with a new episode of Inglesonline podcast. To see the transcript and download the audio for this and other episodes, go to inglesonline.com.br and click on "Podcasts". And thanks to everyone who's been listening and sending me mail, and leaving comments! I love doing this podcast and I really enjoy hearing from you guys and learning how the episodes have helped you.
Alright! So, a few weeks ago I talked about the expression 'tip someone off' and today we're going to, once again, talk about the word tip. A very common meaning of tip is the pointed end or extremity of something. For example, your fingers have tips... they're called fingertips. Your tongue has a tip, and sometimes an iceberg has a tip too.
The two expressions I'm gonna talk about today are: 'on the tip of my tongue' and 'That's just the tip of the iceberg'.
So, you know when you almost remember something? Someone asks you, What's the name of the hotel where you stayed last year? or What's the name of that actor? or What did that person say about this or that? and you can almost remember, it's on the tip of your tongue, but you can't come up with the actual word, or the actual expression you're trying to remember. It's on the tip of your tongue but you can't quite remember it. We have an identical expression in Portuguese, right? I'm not gonna say it.
So here's an example. My friends and I were playing a game once and there was someone drawing a picture, and we had to guess what the title of a movie was based on the drawing. So, I had no idea what it was, but my friend said she knew it. She had the title of the movie on the tip of her tongue. She kept describing the movie, she remembered the names of the actors in the movie, she even knew what the first letter of the title was. She said it started with a J. It was on the tip of her tongue, but in the end we ran out of time and she couldn't remember it. And when the other person told us which movie it was, my friend said, "Yes, that's the title! It was on the tip of my tongue the whole time!" So, it was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't actually remember it in time to win the game.
And here's the other expression: the tip of the iceberg. You know what an iceberg is, right? When you see a picture of an iceberg, you're only seeing a small portion of the iceberg, because, well, most of it is underwater. Sometimes you only see the tip of the iceberg.
So, imagine you work in an office... you've been working there for a year. Then you go on vacation, a few weeks later you're back to work and as walk into your office, one of your coworkers, let's say his name is Bob... So Bob walks up to you and says: "Hey, you're back! Bad news, unfortunately. The VP of Sales quit three days ago". And you think, "Wow, that's really bad". And then you give your friend Brian a call.
Brian is also a coworker. So you tell him, "Hey, I just heard that the VP of Sales quit. That doesn't sound good". And Brian says, "Oh, you think the VP of Sales quitting is bad? That is just the tip of the iceberg, my friend". And then, Brian goes on to tell you about other stuff that is even worse. The VP of Finance is threatening to quit too, the company is about to declare bankruptcy... So, the VP of Sales quitting? Yeah, that's bad, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.
What else? You could be trying to sell someone a computer... You could say, this computer has the fastest hard drive you've ever seen. You should buy it for the hard drive alone, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The processor is unbelievable, all the accessories you could ever want are included, and so on. So, the fast hard drive? That's just the tip of the iceberg.
OK, that's it for today. Leave your comments - tell us about the last time you had something on the tip of your tongue! Talk to you next time.
Key expressions
On the tip of my/her/his tongue
That's just the tip of the iceberg
Glossary
the actual word = a palavra propriamente dita
she kept describing the movie = ela ficava descrevendo o filme
coworkers = pessoas que trabalham com você na empresa
Bob walks up to you = o Bob anda/ vai até você
threatening to quit = ameaçando pedir demissão
the company is about to declare bankruptcy = a companhia está para pedir falência
for the hard drive alone = só por causa do disco rígido
all you could ever want = tudo que você poderia querer/desejar
Se o título do post não fez muito sentido pra você... é que esses dias andei olhando várias das dicas de inglês que eu já escrevi, e daí tive a ideia de fazer um texto que usasse algumas expressões que já foram comentadas em dicas ou podcasts anteriores. O título foi formado com as três primeiras da lista
Bom, a ideia inicial era ser apenas um texto... mas como eu tinha um tempinho livre resolvi gravar o áudio também. Ouça o áudio e leia o texto, mas não pare por aí: clique nos links dentro do texto, e reveja as dicas aqui do Inglês Online que falam sobre a expressão relacionada.Quanto mais exposição você tiver, mais as palavras vão entrando.
Taí: se você está em SP e não ia fazer nada no feriadão, já arrumou o que fazer! Se você não está em SP, que tal ouvir, ler e reler sobre esse vocabulário de inglês no seu horário livre (da meia-noite às 6?)
[Audio intro] Hi, this is Ana Luiza of inglesonline.com.br and this is not my typical podcast. This is the audio for a short text I wrote... where I use expressions that I have already talked about, either in a podcast or in a previous lesson. The title of this post is "Actually, I couldn't care less that you're a heavy sleeper: é hora da revisão". Look it up in the blog to read the text. Also, in the text, you'll find links to the related lessons in the blog.
So here's the story:
I have two friends, Teresa and Livia, who live in the city of Campinas. I have a lot of fun with them because, despite being so different from one another, they have this in common: they're both very funny people.
Despite all their differences, Teresa and Livia are best friends. Livia is a passionate soccer fan; she's so passionate about supporting her team that she will go anywhere to watch them play. Teresa, on the other hand, couldn't care less about soccer. She's been to soccer matches with Livia once or twice, but when I asked her if she had enjoyed the experience, she said "Meh."
Another thing that sets them apart is that Teresa is a stickler for punctuality. She is almost never late for anything. If you set up an appointment with her, she'll be there ten minutes early. Guess what? Livia is the opposite. Nine times out of ten, she'll be late for an appointment. Every once in a while she'll pull a Teresa and be on time, but don't count on it!
But she'll never fail to give you a call and let you know she's running late. Livia is a thoughtful person, that's for sure. Actually, that runs in the family: her sister and father are always very thoughtful as well. If you tell them you like watermelon, they'll make sure to have watermelon next time you visit!
Teresa is a light sleeper whereas Livia is a heavy sleeper; Teresa enjoys reading while Livia can't stand books; Teresa loves going to the gym while Livia stays as far away from the gym as she can.
Do they have anything in common? Of course... lots. They share a great sense of humor, they both enjoy swimming (that's how they first met - swimming practice) and they also share a passion for cooking.
So what do you and your friends have in common?
Glossary
despite being = apesar de (elas) serem
from one another = uma da outra
Meh = palavrinha que uma pessoa usa para expressar que achou alguma coisa bem mais ou menos
that sets them apart = que as faz diferentes
a stickler for punctuality = uma pessoa que faz questão de levar pontualidade a sério, sempre ser pontual, etc.
every once in a while = de vez em quando
she'll never fail to = ela nunca vai deixar de
she's running late = ela está atrasada (sentido de 'não vai conseguir fazer algo a tempo')
Hey, this is Ana Luiza with a new episode of
Inglesonline podcast. To see the transcript and download the audio
for this and other episodes, go to ingles online.com.br and click on
"Podcasts".
The word tip, t-i-p, can mean lots of different things. A common meaning is the amount of money that you give someone as a gratuity. So when you go to a restaurant you usually tip the waiter, when you leave your hotel room you may tip the cleaning staff, you may tip the person that filled your tank with gas at the gas station and so on.
And, if you have been reading Inglês Online for a while, that means you've been reading lots of English tips. A tip is a useful piece of information, that will help you better understand something or help you figure something out that you weren't able to figure out before. So Inglês Online is a blog with English tips.
And on that note, since we're talking about tips as useful pieces of information... Here's a very cool expression with tip: tip someone off.
Let me give you an example: let's say there's someone in your neighborhood who has been stealing cars. And up to this moment, no one has been able to catch this person in the act. And, what's more, no one has any information on the thief whatsoever, no one knows who he or she is.
So what happens is, a woman calls the local police station and she tells the police she knows who the thief is. She tells them where he is going to be this afternoon around two o'clock. And then, it's over, and the cops arrest him as a suspect, and then it's just a matter of time until they're able to find evidence that this guys is, in fact, responsible for stealing the cars.
So what happened in this story is that the woman tipped off the police. She tipped off the police about where the thief was going to be later that day. In other words, she tipped off the police on the thief's whereabouts. So, who tipped off the police? A woman. A woman called them and tipped them off. A police officer could say, A woman called the station and tipped us off.
Here's another example: my friend tipped me off to a great little restaurant in my neighborhood. It has great food, it's not expensive but not many people know about it. Here, I could have said My friend told me about this restaurant. But I'm using She tipped me off to this restaurant to communicate that this is kind of, you know, a valuable piece of information, something not many people know about, not everyone has access to this information, it's like, a special tip. So my friend tipped me off about this place or she tipped me off to this place.
Tip someone off can also be used when a thing... not necessarily a person, but a thing, something lets you know that something else is going on. You could ask a pregnant woman What tipped you off that you were
pregnant?What made you realize that you were pregnant? What tipped you off?
For example, let's say I run into a friend and see that he has a new haircut, and I tell him, I see you have already started your new job! And he says, Yes, I have. What tipped you off? And I say, Well, your new haircut! You told me you were going to get a haircut right before you started. So my friend hasn't told me anything about starting his new job, but he did tell me that he was going to get a new haircut right before he started, so... his new haircut tipped me off.
And for this particular use of tipped me off, or tipped someone off... There's another expression that can be used with the same meaning: His new haircut gave it away, which is the same as his new haircut tipped me off. His new haircut gave away that he had already started his new job. His new haircut gave it away. The moment I saw his new haircut, I knew he had started his new job. His haircut gave it away. So when I told my friend that he had started his new job, he could have said: Yes, I have. What gave it away? or What tipped you off?
Another example is, you see your brother and you tell him, Hey I told you not to eat my banana bread! And your brother is very surprised, I mean, how can you tell that he ate the banana bread? What tipped you off? What gave it away? Well, the breadcrumbs all over his shirt tipped you off. The breadcrumbs gave it away.
Alright, that's it for today and keep an eye out for the next installment of this pocast where I'll talk about a few other expressions with the word TIP. See you next time.
Key expressions
tip (someone) off
Who tipped you off?
What tipped you off?
give it away
What gave it away?
Glossário
gratuity = gorjeta ou gratificação
the cleaning staff = pessoas responsáveis pela limpeza (camareiras, faxineiras, etc)
up to this moment = até esse momento
catch this person in the act = pegar essa pessoa no flagra
the thief's whereabouts = o paradeiro do ladrão, onde ele está
O podcast de hoje fala sobre algumas expressões super comuns e super informais com a palavra knock. Veja como dizer "Isso é imitação", "Pára com isso" e "Vai fundo!".
O mp3 e o PDF com a transcrição estão logo aqui para quem quiser baixar:
Hi,
this is Ana Luiza with a new episode of inglesonline podcast. To see
the transcript and download the audio for this and other episodes, go
to ingleonline.com.br and click on "Podcasts".
So,
the other day I was talking to a friend and she was telling me she
bought a purse made by a famous brand. So she bought this purse off a
website. I think the brand was Gucci or Prada... But, actually... the
purse she bought was not an original item. It was a replica. In other
words, it was a knockoff.
So
a knockoff is a replica of the original item. In this case, the purse
my friend bought is a knockoff of the original brand-name purse. But
the quality of the knockoff is usually not as good as the original,
and the knockoff items are cheaper, of course. It's very common for
people to say, "This is just a cheap knockoff..." which is kinda
like our expression, "Isso é uma imitaçãozinha barata."
So
knockoff is the first expression with the word knock that I wanted to
present today. Knockoff and the other two expressions I'm going to
talk about are very informal, OK? Very informal. And you probably
shouldn't use them in formal documents.
Another
expression that kinda sounds like knockoff is "Knock it off!" If
someone is being annoying, if someone is singing too loud when you're
trying to study, you can just say, knock it off! That means, stop
that! Stop what you're doing, it's bothering me, knock it off!
Knock
it off is not just for... when someone is annoying you. Let's say
you're at a restaurant with two friends, and all of a sudden they
start arguing about something, and their voices get louder and
louder... And then the waitress arrives with your food, and you just
want to have a peaceful meal, and your friends are still arguing, now
they're on the verge of fighting. And you say, Hey, knock it off, you
guys! Let's eat now and you can argue later. Knock it off, stop
fighting.
Or,
let's say there's a group of people somewhere and one of them keeps
complaining about everything... This place is awful, the food sucks,
the weather is horrible... So someone might say, hey, knock it
off... Relax, and try to enjoy the place anyway.
And
here's another expression with knock: knock yourself out. When you
say knock yourself out to someone, you're usually saying, Hey, go
ahead, go right ahead, just do it, feel free to do it.
Example:
someone at the office gave you a box of candies. However, you're on a
diet so you don't wanna have candy. That box of candies is sitting on
your desk, and then someone approaches you and asks, Can I have some
candy? And you say, Hey, knock yourself out. You can have the whole
box if you want, I don't wanna eat them, 'cause I'm on a diet. Take
them with you if you want... knock yourself out.
Another
example: you and your friend are planning a trip and you have the
contact information of the hotel where you guys are planning to stay,
but you haven't had time yet to make reservations. And then your
friend comes over to your house and he sees the hotel booklet lying
around in your room, and he says "Have you made the
reservations? I wanna make sure that this hotel is where we'll stay,
cause it's a really good hotel, and the food it's supposed to be
excellent."
And,
well, you're not exactly concerned with where you're going to stay,
and you haven't had much free time lately. So you tell your friend,
Here's the hotel information, knock yourself out. What you're saying
to your friend is, go right ahead and do it, I don't care. You wanna
do it, so feel free to book the hotel. Knock yourself out.
Now,
imagine that someone gave you that new Apple computer, the iPad. The
iPad is modern, it looks good, it's awesome... but you are just not a
computer person. You don't care about computers. In fact, you don't
even know what an iPad is, I mean, to you Apple is just a fruit.
That's how much you don't care about it.
So
some guy steps into your office and, when he sees the iPad, he goes
crazy. Wow, you got an iPad, that's awesome, I wanna buy an iPad, I'm
saving money to buy one. You look at him and you think to yourself,
Hey, this guy will make good use of the iPad. So you just tell him,
Hey, Knock yourself out, the iPad is yours, you know? Enjoy.
Ok,
that's it for today. Well, you're at inglesonline so knock yourself
out... There are other podcasts available and lots of English tips
too. See you next time.
Key expressions
a knockoff
knock it off!
knock yourself out
Glossário
a
brand name purse = uma bolsa de marca
she
bought something off a website = ela comprou algo em um website
brand
= marca
is
kinda like = é meio parecido com
it's
bothering me = está me incomodando
all
of a sudden = de repente
their
voices get louder = suas vozes ficam mais altas
the
food sucks = a comida é muito ruim
go
right ahead = vá em frente
feel
free to = fique à vontade para
he
sees the hotel booklet lying around in your room = ele vê o livrinho
(com informação sobre o hotel) ali no seu quarto - por exemplo,
em cima da cama ou na estante.
some
guy steps into your office = algum cara entra no seu escritório
he
will make good use of the iPan = ele vai fazer bom uso, vai
aproveitar o iPad
