Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 506, Being Generous and Stingy.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 506.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in 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 that we provide for all of our current episodes.
That gives you some additional help in improving your English.
This episode is called Being Generous and Stingy.
It's a dialogue between Brittany and Salvador, using a lot of vocabulary describing how people use their money.
Let's get started.
I was thinking of hitting up Jane for a little loan.
You know her better than I do.
What are the chances she'll spot me a couple hundred dollars until next month?
I think that's a pipe dream.
I wouldn't exactly call her a cheapskate, but she's not known for her generosity.
What about Frank?
He's rolling in it.
He could easily part with a couple hundred bucks without giving it a second thought.
You've got your work cut out for you if you think you can borrow money from Frank.
He's always been a penny pincher, and he always will be.
Okay, then help me think.
Who do we know who isn't stingy?
Who do we know who is big-hearted and charitable?
What the heck?
Here's $150 to tide you over until your next payday.
Wow, thanks.
You know, another $100 would really come in handy.
I really think you should quit while you're ahead.
Our dialogue begins with Brittany saying, I was thinking of hitting up Jane for a little loan.
The verb to hit up someone or to hit someone up is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to ask someone for money.
It's an informal expression.
To ask someone to give you something for free.
I need to hit up my brother for $20.00. means I need to ask my brother for $20.
I'm sure he'll say no.
To hit plus a preposition, in this case to hit up, is a common construction in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for this episode to get some additional phrasal verbs using the verb hit.
Brittany says, you know her better than I do.
What are the chances she'll spot me a couple hundred dollars until next month?
To spot someone is another informal expression meaning to make a loan to someone, to give money to someone expecting that person will pay you back, will give you the money back eventually.
I may say to my sister, spot me $10, meaning loan $10 to me.
Or I could say, my sister spotted me $10.
She wouldn't, of course, any more than my brother would.
They know me too well.
Brittany wants Jane to spot her a couple hundred or a couple of hundred dollars.
Salvador says that's a pipe dream.
A pipe dream is something that you would like to happen.
It's a dream, but it's impossible or it is very unlikely.
I would like to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
I would like to, but it is very unlikely.
That's a pipe dream.
Salvador, describing Jane, says, A cheapskate, C-H-E-A-P-S-K-A-T-E, one word, is a person who doesn't like to spend very much money, who spends as little money as possible.
It's an informal expression.
It's an insult to call someone a cheapskate.
Another expression we use is a penny pincher.
A penny being one cent in American money in Salvador says Jane's not known for her generosity.
Generosity is your willingness to give money to other people or to give your time to other people, to help other people.
Generosity is the noun.
The adjective is generous.
To be generous means to be giving, to give things to other people.
Brittany then asks, what about Frank?
He's rolling in it.
The expression to be rolling in it is informal.
It means to have a lot of money, to be very rich.
I am not rolling in it.
Trust me.
He could easily part with a couple hundred dollars without giving it a second thought.
To part with is a two-word verb meaning to give something away or to sell something to be separated from something that you own, especially if you really want to keep it.
If you lose your job and you don't have any money, you may have to part with your car.
You may have to sell your car.
You don't want to, but you need to.
So to part with something is to give something or sell something that you would prefer not to.
Brittany says that Frank could part with, could give away a couple of hundred dollars without giving it a second thought.
The expression without giving it a second thought means without worrying about it, without spending any time thinking about it.
He wouldn't have to think about it twice is the idea.
It would be an easy decision for him.
Salvador says That you have a very difficult situation here and you are going to have to work very hard to get what you want.
I don't want to be governor, fortunately.
Salvador says to Brittany, Frank has always been a penny pincher and he always will be.
A penny pincher remember, is the same as a cheapskate, someone who doesn't give away money, who spends as little money as possible.
Brittany says, okay, then help me think.
Who do we know who isn't stingy?
Stingy, S-T-I-N-G-Y, is the opposite of generous.
It's like cheapskate.
It's an insulting thing to say about someone, that they're stingy.
They don't like to share things, especially their money.
Brittany says, who do we know who is big-hearted and charitable?
To be big-hearted means to be generous, always wanting to help other people.
To be charitable is similar.
It means to be generous, to share your time, your goods, what you own, your money with people that need that time or money.
That is to be charitable.
Salvador says, what the heck?
What the heck is an expression meaning that you will go ahead and do something even though you don't really want to, or probably shouldn't?
But because another person wants you to do something, you do it.
In this case, Salvador is going to give Brittany the money that she is looking for.
That's why he says, what the heck?
What the heck can also be used as a way of expressing surprise or anger or even disappointment.
What the heck are you doing?
A mother may say to her son who is making a mess?
Who's making the house dirty?
What the heck are you doing?
Heck here could be seen as taking the place of a stronger word, a swear word, a curse word like hell H-E-L-L.
But here, in Salvador's case, he says what the heck to mean?
Okay, I'm going to do something to help you.
He says, here's $150 to tide you over until your next payday.
To tide someone over means to help someone for a short period of time, often by giving them money.
Let's say I need $50 right now.
I will be paid by my job next week.
So I ask someone for $50 to tide me over.
Not my brother or sister, however.
Salvador says he's going to help Brittany until her next payday.
Payday is the day that you are paid for your work from your job.
Sometimes once a week, sometimes every two weeks, sometimes people get paid once a month.
Brittany says, wow, thanks.
You know, another $100 would really come in handy.
Brittany is asking now for another $100 from Salvador.
She says it would really come in handy, H-A-N-D-Y.
To come in handy means to be useful, to be helpful.
Salvador says, I think you should quit while you're ahead.
The expression to quit means While you're ahead, means to stop doing something at the point you become successful, not to try to continue to get more of something.
In this case, Salvador is already lending Brittany $150.
She should stop asking for more.
She should quit while she's ahead.
She's already gained something, which is what it means to be ahead in this case.
So she should stop there, not ask for more money.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I was thinking of hitting up Jane for a little loan.
You know her better than I do.
What are the chances she'll spot me a couple hundred dollars until next month?
I think that's a pipe dream.
I wouldn't exactly call her a cheapskate, but she's not known for her generosity.
What about Frank?
He's rolling in it.
He could easily part with a couple hundred bucks without giving it a second thought.
You've got your work cut out for you if you think you can borrow money from Frank.
He's always been a penny pincher, and he always will be.
Okay, then help me think.
Who do we know who isn't stingy?
Who do we know who's big-hearted and charitable?
What the heck?
Here's $150 to tide you over until your next payday.
Wow, thanks.
You know, another $100 would really come in handy.
I really think you should quit while you're ahead.
Go to our website, eslpod.com, for more information.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you 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.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
