Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 215, Getting a Men's Haircut.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 215.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
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It also includes all of the words definitions, sample sentences and culture notes related to this episode.
Today's podcast is called Getting a Men's Haircut.
Let's go.
It's been almost three months since I got a haircut and I went to the barber shop where I always get it cut.
But when I got there, the barber shop had been replaced by a hair salon.
Hi.
I used to get my hair cut at the barber shop that was here.
Yeah, they closed.
We've been open for about a month.
I can cut your hair.
Uh, I guess that's okay.
Why don't you come over here and sit down?
What do you have in mind?
Well, as you can see, my hair is pretty curly.
When it's long, it looks like an afro.
I want it to be a lot shorter, but I don't want a buzz cut.
Are you sure you want to cut it?
If you keep it long, you could have great dreadlocks.
Uh, I'm not sure that that style would work for me.
Okay, then.
How about if I cut it short on the sides, leave the bangs medium length and then keep the back long?
No, I don't think that would work either.
I'd like it an inch off the collar in back above the ears, no sideburns with a part down the right side.
I really just need a trim.
Hmm, how about if I shave your head?
You'd look great bald.
No, I definitely don't want that.
You know what?
I just remembered that I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now.
Oh, are you sure?
I'm sure I know exactly what you want.
I'm sure you do, but I really have to go.
I left that hair salon as quickly as I could.
Who knows what would have happened if I'd stayed there.
She may have given me a mohawk.
We're getting our haircut in this episode of the podcast.
The story begins with Shinobu saying that it has been almost three months since he had his haircut last.
And he goes to a barber shop where he always gets it cut.
A barber shop, B-A-R-B-E-R-S-H-O-P, all one word, is a place where men get their hair cut.
A barber is the person who cuts the hair, and a barber shop is the place where you go to get a haircut, especially if you're a man.
The story continues by Shinobu saying that the barber shop was gone when he went back and it had been replaced by a hair salon.
A hair salon.
S-A-L-O-N is a place where women get their hair cut, although men can also get their hair cut, sometimes at a hair salon.
Many men do, especially men who live in big cities, where the man is concerned about his hair and how it looks.
We have a special cultural note in our learning guide today about those kind of men.
Take a look at that.
I think you'll find it interesting.
The dialogue begins with Shinobu saying to Nicole, the woman who works at the hair salon, that he used to get his hair cut at the barber shop.
Nicole says that the barbershop is closed, but that she can cut his hair.
Now, you can tell Shinobu is not quite sure he wants her to cut his hair, but he says okay.
Nicole then asks him, to come and sit down, and then says, what do you have in mind?
Meaning, what are you thinking?
What are your ideas?
Shinobu says, well, my hair is pretty curly.
When we say hair is curly, C-U-R-L-Y, we mean it's not straight.
It's like in little circles.
Curly is the opposite of straight hair.
Shinobu says that when his hair is long, it looks like an afro.
An afro.
A-F-R-O is when you have very curly hair that sticks out of your head.
That comes out of your head almost like a stick.
And so you have this big bowl almost of hair above you.
This was a hairstyle popular in the 1960s, especially among some african american men.
Well, shinobu says that he wants his hair cut short, but he doesn't want a buzz cut.
A buzz B-U-Z-Z cut is when your hair is cut very close to your head that you only have just a little bit of hair.
The reason it is called a buzz cut is because normally it is done with an electric razor blade.
A razor, R-A-Z-O-R, is the little machine that has like scissors in it.
We would call them blades, B-L-A-D-E-S.
Those are the things that actually cut the hair.
And an electric razor makes a sound that sounds like buzz and so it's called a buzz cut, and it is something that when you join the military, the army, for example in the united states you are given a buzz cut.
They cut off all your hair and get it very short.
It's not the same as taking all of the hair off.
They leave a little bit of hair on your head.
My father, when we were growing up, used to cut our hair with a buzz cut.
He would have an electric razor and he would just take our hair off, just like we were in the army.
Well, Nicole says, are you sure you want to cut your hair?
She suggests to Shinobu that he keep it long and he could have great dreadlocks.
Dreadlocks D-R-E-A-D-L-O-C-K-S.
One word is when you have long hair, long curly hair, but it goes down.
It's like having strings of hair that go down towards your shoulder.
You can think of the famous reggae musicians such as Bob Marley.
He had dreadlocks.
Well, Shinobu says that he doesn't think that is a good idea for him.
Nicole suggests then, that she cut his hair short on the sides, leaving the bangs medium and the back long.
When we talk about the sides, we mean the part of the head above the ear, between the ear and the top of the head, on the right side and the left side.
The bangs B-A-N-G-S are the hairs that go over the top of your head, the forehead or front of your head.
That word bangs has many different meanings in English.
Look at the learning guide for some additional definitions of that.
Shinobu says that he doesn't think that's a good idea either.
He says, I don't think that would work.
I don't think it would look good on me.
He tells Nicole that he wants the hair an inch off the collar.
The collar, C-O-L-L-A-R, is actually the top of your shirt.
So when he says to Nicole, I want it an inch off the collar, he means he wants it an inch above the collar, that the hair should stop one inch above his collar.
When I was in high school, this was the rule that all of the boys had to have their hair cut one inch above the collar.
No long hair was allowed.
He also says that he wants the hair cut above the ears, meaning there should be no hair covering the ears.
He says he wants no sideburns.
Sideburns, S-I-D-E-B-U-R-N-S.
One word is hair that goes on the side of your face, left side and right side, but it goes down like a line down the sides of your face.
This was a very popular style back in the 1970s to have sideburns.
Well, Shinobu says he does not want to have sideburns.
He wants a part down the right side.
A part, P-A-R-T, is the line in the hair where you divide it.
So you comb it one way on one side of the part and another way on the other side of the part.
You can have a part down the middle.
You can have a part down the right side of your head or the left side of your head.
That word part has many different meanings in English.
Again, look at today's learning guide for some additional definitions of that word.
Shinobu says he really just wants a trim.
When you go to the barber shop or hair salon and say you want a trim T-R-I-M, you're saying that you just want your hair cut a little.
You're not looking to have the whole thing done.
Nicole says, how about if I shave your head?
You'd look great bald.
How about means, do you like this idea or do you want me?
To shave your head.
To shave, S-H-A-V-E, means to remove all of your hair so you have no hair at all.
Usually you have to use a razor what we would call a hand razor that has one blade, or two blades that cut the hair right to your skin.
And if you do that, if you have no hair, we say you are bald, B-A-L-D.
If you want to see what bald looks like, just take a look at the ESL Podcast Special Edition, our one-year anniversary video, and you will see what a bald head looks like.
Shinobu says that he doesn't want to have his head shaved.
He realizes that this was not a good idea to go to the hair salon.
So he gives Nicole an excuse.
He says, I just remembered that I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now.
This is kind of a typical excuse that you would tell someone if you want to leave right away.
It's like, oh, I have to go.
I have to be somewhere else right now.
I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now.
Nicole says, oh, are you sure?
I know exactly what you want.
And Shinobu says that he has to go.
At the end of this dialogue, he says that he's not sure what would have happened if he had stayed at the hair salon.
He says maybe she would give him a mohawk.
A mohawk.
M-O-H-A-W-K is a style of hair, a haircut, where you shave the head off But you leave an inch or two of hair going down the middle of your head.
It's called a Mohawk after an American Indian tribe, the Mohawk tribe, although actually it was not the style used by the Mohawks.
That's a mistake.
But we still call it a Mohawk.
This was very popular in the late 1970s among punk rockers musicians who played punk style of rock music.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.
It's been almost three months since I got a haircut and I went to the barber shop where I always get it cut.
But when I got there, the barber shop had been replaced by a hair salon.
Hi, I used to get my hair cut at the barber shop that was here.
Yeah, they closed.
We've been open for about a month.
I can cut your hair.
Uh, I guess that's okay.
Why don't you come over here and sit down?
What do you have in mind?
Well, as you can see, my hair is pretty curly.
When it's long, it looks like an afro.
I want it to be a lot shorter, but I don't want a buzz cut.
Are you sure you want to cut it?
If you keep it long, you could have great dreadlocks.
I'm not sure that that style would work for me.
Okay, then how about if I cut it short on the sides, leave the bangs medium length and then keep the back long?
No, I don't think that would work either.
I'd like it an inch off the collar and back above the ears, no sideburns with a part down the right side.
I really just need a trim.
Hmm, how about if I shave your head?
You'd look great bald.
No, I definitely don't want that.
You know what?
I just remembered that I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now.
Oh, are you sure?
I'm sure I know exactly what you want.
I'm sure you do, but I really have to go.
I left that hair salon as quickly as I could.
Who knows what would have happened if I had stayed there?
She may have given me a mohawk.
The script for our podcast today was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
If you have a question or comment about our podcast, you can email us.
Our email address is eslpod at eslpod.com.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2006.
