Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 407.
Waiting for a man or woman to call.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 407.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
Go there to download a learning guide for this episode, an 8-10 page guide we provide.
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This episode is a dialogue between Lila and George, waiting for someone you are romantically interested in to call you back on the telephone.
Certainly an experience most of us have had.
Let's get started.
Okay, here's a hypothetical.
You ask a girl for her number, but wait two weeks to call her.
What gives?
Well, that depends.
Why?
Well, I met this guy two weeks ago at a party.
We spent the entire evening talking and I thought we really hit it off.
We had a lot of chemistry and we had a ton of things in common.
He asked for my number and he said he'd call me the next day.
And then, I didn't hear hide nor hair of him until yesterday, ten days after we met.
How come?
What did he say when he called?
What was his pathetic excuse?
I didn't talk to him.
I wasn't home, and he left a voicemail message.
I haven't called him back yet.
Why don't you just call him and find out?
He just called yesterday, and I don't want to seem desperate.
Oh, come on.
He probably just lost your number and found it yesterday.
That's possible.
Or he had to go out of town and just got back.
I suppose.
Or maybe he was nervous about calling you and just got up the nerve.
Do you really think so?
Maybe.
Or maybe he's playing hard to get.
Or he's just not that into you.
Oh. but you won't know if you don't call him back.
I guess that's true.
We begin with Lila saying to George, Okay, here's a hypothetical.
A hypothetical or hypothetical situation is is a situation that could happen or might happen, but has not actually happened.
So it's imaginary.
This is the hypothetical or hypothetical situation Lila gives to George.
You ask a girl for her number, her telephone number, but wait two weeks to call her.
Number has a couple of different meanings.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
So Lila is saying what would happen if you asked a girl for her telephone number and then waited two weeks to call her?
She says what gives, which is an informal expression when you want an explanation of something that you don't understand.
Often we use that expression when we're a little frustrated, perhaps.
So Lila wants to know basically why someone would wait two weeks to call a woman whose number he's asked for.
George says, well, that depends, meaning it depends. can be determined by something else.
It's affected or decided by someone else.
When someone says that depends, they mean it depends on or is affected by some other information, something else in the situation.
Then he says, why?
Then Lila gives the real story, not a hypothetical situation.
She says, And I thought we really hit it off.
To hit it off with someone means to get along very well with that person, usually the first time you meet them, to quickly become friends with another person.
Many people who get married say that the first time they met their future husband or wife, they really hit it off.
Lila says that she hit it off with this person, this man.
She says we had a lot of chemistry and we had a ton of things in common.
Chemistry, when we are talking about a man and a woman or romance, has to do with the attraction between two people, the romantic feelings you have for that other person.
She felt they had a lot of chemistry and a ton of things in common.
A ton here just means a lot, many or much.
Technically, a ton refers to something that weighs 2000 pounds, but we use it informally to mean a lot of something.
So we had a ton of things, she says, in common, meaning that we shared similar interests.
Common has many definitions in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Lila continues...
He asked for my number, and he said he'd call me the next day, the following day, the day after.
And then, How come?
The expression not to hear or see hide H-I-D-E nor hair H-A-I-R of someone means that you haven't heard from or seen someone for a certain amount of time, usually a long time.
Literally.
Hair is, of course, what grows on the top of your head well, Not my head, but most people's heads.
Hide is usually the word we use to describe the skin of an animal, such as a cow.
But the expression I haven't seen hide nor hair means I haven't seen anything or heard anything from this person in a long time.
At the end, she asks George, how come?
How come is a way of saying why.
It's the same thing as what gives.
Somewhat informal expression.
For what reason, you're asking.
It can usually be used the same as why.
For example, how come you are going to the movies with him and not with me?
And she says, oh, well, you're ugly.
So that's how come.
George says, What was his pathetic excuse?
When we say something is pathetic P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C, we mean it's irritating, it's annoying, it's not adequate, it's not enough.
It's a very negative way of describing a situation or a person.
Lila says, I didn't talk to him.
I haven't called him back yet.
I haven't returned his call.
George says, Lila says, And I don't want to seem or appear desperate.
Someone who is desperate is willing to do anything to make something happen.
Someone who is very eager for something to happen.
Perhaps because you don't have any other choices or options.
Lila says she doesn't want to seem desperate.
She doesn't want to seem as though she is the one who really wants to go out with this guy.
This is a little game that men and women play, of course, when they first are interested in each other.
Neither one wants to seem as though they need the other person.
That's just part of the strange human nature. romantic reactions that we have.
George says, oh, come on, meaning, oh, be reasonable, be sensible.
He probably just lost your number and found it yesterday.
Lila says, that's possible.
George says, or he had to go out of town.
He had to leave the city and just got back, just returned.
Lila says, I suppose, meaning okay, maybe.
George then gives another possible reason.
Or maybe he was nervous about calling you and just got up the nerve.
To get up the nerve.
N-E-R-V-E means to become brave enough to do something, to get enough courage to do something.
You may have to get up the nerve to ask your boss for a raise, for more money.
Lila says, do you really think so?
George says maybe, or maybe he's playing hard to get, or he's just not that into you.
To play hard to get means to act like you are not interested in, even though you are interested in.
This again is a game that men and women play with each other, boys and girls as well.
You give the impression to the other person that you are not that interested, hoping that they'll be more interested in you.
Some people are attracted to others who are difficult to get, who are difficult to get a relationship with.
You play hard to get.
You act as though you don't want to be with that person.
The other possibility George gives is that this man is just not that into you.
When we say someone is not into someone, we mean they aren't interested in them romantically.
They're not interested in dating that person.
You could say oh, he's just not that into you, or she's just not that into you, meaning he or she doesn't really like you.
Lila says, oh.
George then says, but you won't know if you don't call him back.
That is, you can't find out the truth unless you call him.
Lila says, I guess that's true.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Okay, here's a hypothetical.
You ask a girl for her number but wait two weeks to call her.
What gives?
Well, that depends.
Why?
Well, I met this guy two weeks ago at a party.
We spent the entire evening talking and I thought we really hit it off.
We had a lot of chemistry and we had a ton of things in common.
He asked for my number and he said he'd call me the next day.
And then I didn't hear hide nor hair of him until yesterday, ten days after we met.
How come?
What did he say when he called?
What was his pathetic excuse?
I didn't talk to him.
I was at home and he left a voicemail message.
I haven't called him back yet.
Why don't you just call him and find out?
He just called yesterday, and I don't want to seem desperate.
Oh, come on.
He probably just lost your number and found it yesterday.
That's possible.
Or he had to go out of town and just got back.
I suppose.
Or maybe he was nervous about calling you and just got up the nerve.
Do you really think so?
Maybe.
Or maybe he's playing hard to get.
Or he's just not that into you.
Oh.
But you won't know if you don't call him back.
I guess that's true.
The script for this episode was written by a woman with a ton of talent, Dr. Lucy Saye.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
Come back and listen to us 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 2008.
