PE 10/19 Cooperation Plus Competition

Am I hearing things, or did you just recommended that I go to your competitor’s store?

* hear things: perceive something that wasn’t actually said; have auditory hallucinations

ex> You brought donuts? Am I hearing things?

* coopetition: collaboration between business competitors

ex> Coopetition between area restaurants has made them all more successful.

Well, that’s refreshing. I have to say it does leave me with a bad taste in my mouth when I hear competing businesses backstab one another.

* a bad taste in one’s mouth: to have an unpleasant memory from a past experience

ex> I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the last time we stayed there.

ex> I won’t shop there because they did something that left a bad taste in my mouth.

* backstab: to criticize or harm someone while pretending to be friendly to them

ex> I can’t believe my best friend would backstab me that way.

You’ve hit the nail on the head. At the end of the day, we just want our customers to have positive experiences and to get what they want.

* hit the nail on the head: to be correct or accurate about something

ex> You’ve hit the nail on the head: that color’s just too bright for this room.

* at the end of the day: after everything has been considered

ex> At the end of the day, what matters most is the quality of your friendships.

@ He would do likewise.  그도 마찬가지로 할 것이다.

the same thing. /similarly. /correspondingly.

PE 10/18 Denzel Washington - UPenn Commencement Speech

* magnitude: size; importance; caliber

ex> I could never finish a salad of that magnitude.

* comfort zone: a situation or setting where one feels no stress

ex> Working with the public took me outside my comfort zone.

ex> You should do something every day to take you out of your comfort zone.

Note> This phrase is often used to describe a situation when you’re not actually comfortable, “be out of your comfort zone.” Sometimes, people encourage you to get “out of your comfort zone” and do something new and challenging.

* different ballgame: a completely separate situation

ex> I’ve done minor car repairs, but changing an engine is a different ballgame.

Note> a whole new ball game; a whole different ball game; a whole other ball game.”

* technically true: correct, but overlooking something important

ex> It’s technically true that I’m a doctor, but I don’t have human patients.

* fidget: to make small, restless movements due to discomfort, boredom, etc.

ex> The students begin to fidget ten minutes before the class ends.

ex> Please don’t fidget with your pen: It’s very distracting.

* every single one: all, without exception (said for emphasis)

ex> Every single one of the plates broke when he slipped on the wet floor.

@ Speaking at a graduation of this magnitude is a little overwhelming. 이렇게 큰 규모의 졸업식에서 연설을 하자니 압도당하는 느낌이에요.

astounding. /staggering. /mind-boggling.

PE 10/17 Too Much to Lose

I was just going to pull the trigger on an investment purchase, but I wanted to be sure that we’re on the same wavelength.

* pull the trigger on something: to buy something; proceed with a transaction

ex> I’m glad you stopped me before I pulled the trigger on that boat.

* on the same wavelength: in agreement; communication well

ex> Oscar and I are usually on the same wavelength when it comes to music.

It’s small potatoes now, but the way the price of gold and currencies have been all over the map lately, the value could skyrocket.

* small potatoes: unimportant; insignificant (especially sums of money)

ex> Trent’s salary is small potatoes considering how hard he works.

* all over the map: unfocused; everywhere

ex> You don’t understand the topic: your test answers were all over the map.

* skyrocket: to increase rapidly to a high level

ex> Housing costs in this city have skyrocketed.

Well, I won’t pussyfoot around it: I think it’s foolish to gamble with money we can’t afford to lose. Look what happened to Stan’s family.

* pussyfoot: to move carefully; avoid making a commitment or expressing an opinion

ex> Stop pussyfooting: does this dress look good on me or not?

Note> Pussyfoot which means a delicate, soft step comes from the imagery of a cat’s careful tread. The term is American in origin and dates to at least 1893.

@ How much money are we talking here?  얼마 정도를 생각하고 있는 거야?

mean /discussing /in question here

PE 10/14 Costume Planning Time

Okay, you two. It’s time to figure out what you want to be for Halloween this year. We’re two weeks away and the clock is ticking.

* figure out: to solve; determine

ex> We have to figure out how to get to the train station from here.

* the clock is ticking: time is passing quickly; the deadline is approaching

ex> I want to start a family soon because the clock is ticking.

Note> When a woman says her biological clock is ticking, she means that she is worried that she is getting too old to have a baby.

I take it we’re going to need a new set of glitter pens. And how about you, Toby?

* I take it: I assume from the evidence

ex> You don’t want to go to the movie after all, I take it.

ex> I take it that your presentation went better than you expected.

I’ll only help you if your idea is within reason. What about your old standby: a pirate?

* within reason: within the limits of practicality and good sense

ex> You can stay here as long as you like - within reason, of course.

* old standby: a reliable option one has used in the past

ex> If the audience doesn’t like our new songs, we’ll play our old standbys.

* done to death: boring due to overuse

ex> Let's choose a different play: that one’s been done to death.

ex> Please select a poem to review that hasn’t already been done to death.

@ She reminds me about that sword fiasco from two years ago.  나는 그 여자를 볼 때마다 2년 전에 칼로 낭패 본 기억이 난다.

disaster /blunder /embarrassment

PE 10/13 Vermont’s Romantic Covered Bridges

I’ve read that back in the day there used to be literally hundreds of these covered bridges in Vermont, and throughout all of New England, but the style went by the wayside when they began to make bridges out of steel.

* back in the day: long ago in one’s past

ex> Back in the day, we used to build backyard forts from old blankets and lumber.

Note> This is a time in one’s life that’s looked back upon with great fondness. It usually invokes a memory of a particularly memorable or traumatic incident.

* go by the wayside: to be discarded due to being obsolete

ex> Neighborhood shopping has gone by the wayside in many areas.

ex> When do you think gasoline-powered cars will go by the wayside?

I don’t know why I’m so chatty today! I’ve been going on and on since this carriage ride began, and you’ve been so quiet! A penny for your thoughts, Walter.

* go on and on: to speak or write with needless or boring repetition

ex> The speaker went on and on about the new parking regulations.

* A penny for your thoughts. : I’d like to know what you’re thinking.

ex> You’ve been staring out the window. A penny for your thoughts.

Note> You usually say this to someone who looks like he’s deep in thought. Although a penny may not be worth much today, it was once a considerable sum. So you’re figuratively willing to pay a lot of money to know what the other person is thinking.

* jump at the chance: to eagerly seize an opportunity

ex> Kathy jumped at the chance to join the choirs trip to Europe.

* in cahoots with: working secretly with

ex> One of the guards was in cahoots with the escaped prisoners.

@ I’m just a little preoccupied with something.  머릿속이 다른 생각으로 가득 차 있어.

distracted by ~ /engaged with ~ /lost in thought with ~

PE 10/12 Workplace Politics

I wish I could say they were, but my supervisor has been giving me the cold shoulder ever since that award was announced. I don’t get it.

* give one the cold shoulder: to purposely ignore one; be unfriendly to one

ex> I know Pam is mad at me because she’s been giving me the cold shoulder.

Well, reading between the lines, I’d guess he sees you as the new kid on the block, and that you haven’t paid your dues yet.

* read between the lines: to look for hidden or implied meaning

ex> Debbie is direct: she never makes you read between the lines.

* new kid on the block: a newcomer; one who has not proven themselves yet

ex> My coworkers treated me like the new kid on the block for the first year.

* pay one’s dues: to earn a right by fulfilling one’s obligations or enduring hardship

ex> Some feel that a performer shouldn’t become a star until they’ve paid their dues.

Nah. Your supervisor is very old school, and still believes in a pecking order based on years of service instead of quality of service. Just treat him with respect, and he’ll relax.

* old school: from an earlier time; old fashioned

ex> My parents are old school when it comes to how couples should behave in public.

* pecking order: the arrangement of levels of priority or domination within an organization

ex> I fought with my siblings because I didn’t like my place in the packing order.

Note> The expression originated from a description of social behavior among chickens, which attack each other by pecking to establish dominance.

@ Everything is going swimmingly in my new position.  나의 새로운 일자리에서는 모든 게 잘 풀린다

going well ~ /going favorably ~ /going smoothly

PE 10/11 Robert De Niro - NYU Tisch School of the Arts Commencement Speech

Now that you’ve made your choice, or rather, succumbed to it, your path is clear.

* succumb to: to stop resisting a stronger force; yield; die

ex> He succumbed to pneumonia two weeks later.

ex> By 11 o'clock I had succumbed to temptation and ate the chips.

You have to keep working; it’s that simple. You got through TISCH, that’s a big deal, or to put it another way, you got through TISCH, big deal.

* get through something: to endure to the end of a difficult task or period

ex> I didn’t get high grades in college, but I got through it.

* be a big deal: to be important or significant

ex> The award Mom has been nominated for is a big deal in her industry.

* Big deal. : That is unimpressive or unimportant.

ex> You bought a second-hand washing machine? Big deal.

On this day of triumphantly graduating a new door is opening for you. A door to a lifetime of rejection. It’s inevitable. It’s what graduates call the “the real world.”

* inevitable: unavoidable; certain to happen

ex> Cooler weather is inevitable, so we should be prepared.

* the real world: practical, day-to-day reality

ex> Your business idea would never work in the real world.

@ Well, it’s a start.  그래도 시작은 한 겁니다.

beginning. /first step. /jumping-off point.