Hi, all. O episódio de hoje tem duas expressões do inglês onde a mesma palavra é repetida: win-win e fifty-fity chance.
Transcrição
Hey, all. Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. Please subscribe to this podcast using the Podcasts app for iPhone or iPad, or listen to the episodes using the Inglesonline Android app. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.
Both our expressions today are pretty easy to understand. Let’s get started with the term “a fifty-fifty chance”. Very simple: if there’s a fifty-fifty chance of something happening, of someone doing something, of an event taking place – that’s because it is equally likely to happen or not to happen. There’s a fifty-fifty chance that Mary is lying about what happened. What does that mean? That Mary only tells the truth about stuff five times out of ten. She tells the truth fifty percent of the time only. So right now Mary is telling everyone about something that went on, and since you know Mary… You know that there’s a fifty-fifty chance that she’s lying.
Let’s hear the expression again: a fifty-fifty chance. If Brazil gets to the finals on the World Cup, I’d say there’s a fifty-fifty chance of Brazil winning. And I’m being optimistc here, people. Let’s see… Usually my guesses suck so maybe that means Brazil will win. And I’ve just found out a funny example on Twitter. Someone said “When breaking into maniacal laughter, I have a fifty-fiftychance of getting the hiccups”. Yeah, so this guy’s saying that when he breaks into maniacal laughter – he’s using a figure of speech here – a hyperbole – since I don’t think he’s a true maniac, but maniacal laughter is like a series of belly laughs. You know when you laugh with your belly? In Portuguese we say “gargalhar”.
So imagine those old villains from the movies laughing maniacally – that’s the image this guy is using. So he’s saying that when he breaks into maniacal laughter, or when he laughs hysterically, there’s a fifty-fifty chance of getting the hiccups. Half of the time he does get the hiccups; the other half he doesn’t get the hiccups. It’s a fifty-fifty chance.
And here’s the other term of today: a win-win. Easy, if you know what win means. If I say “This is a win-win situation”, what does that mean? It means that there’s* usually two sides, or two groups involved in this situation, and both sides will be benefited in this situation. We could be talking about a salesperson and his or her client; we could be talking about two rivals who have come to an agreement; we could be talking about a teacher and his or her student.
Let’s say you’ve got a potential client who’s been hesitant to buy your products. Finally, you’re able to strike a deal where you’ll give them a good discount if they buy a large volume of your product, which your client needs anyway. That’s a typical win-win deal, or a win-win situation since it benefits you – you’re making a sale; and it benefits your client – they’re buying something they need at a discount. Let’s say the football team you support has signed a fantastic new player. It cost them a fortune, but this player is simply phenomenal and scores every game. This looks like a win-win situation for everyone: player, team, supporters.
So can you give us examples of win-win deals or situations in your life? Let us know in the comments, and talk to you next time!
Keywords
a fifty -fifty chance of
a win-win
Glossary
getting the hiccups = começar a soluçar
has signed = contratou (usado para equipes esportivas)
strike a deal = fechar negócio
*Nota: o correto é There are usually two sides… pois “there are” está em concordância com “two sides”. Usar “there is” com plural não é correto, rigorosamente falando, mas ouvimos esse erro em conversa coloquial com certa frequência.
Ana criou um blog de dicas de inglês em 2006, e depois de muito pesquisar o que faz alguém ganhar fluência numa segunda língua, criou seu primeiro curso de inglês em 2009.
Olá Ana parabéns pelo trabalho. Escrevo pois sou deficiente visual e não consegui assinar o podcast usando o iphone.
Será que seria possível corrigir esse problema de acessibilidade?
Posso ajudar e explicar melhor se quiser.
Abraço.
“win-win situation” is a commom expression for people who studys economics. “In a free-market, employment is a win-win-win situation”. just check the truth about minimum wage’ video on Youtube.
