Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 566, Having a Wild Party.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 566.
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.
You can go there to download a learning guide for this episode that includes well, everything you need to improve your English.
This episode is called Having a Wild Party.
It's a dialogue between Paula and Mitch about someone who's having a party.
That's a little too crazy.
Let's get started.
Okay, let's get this party started.
I really don't think having a party is such a good idea.
We're supposed to be house-sitting and I'm sure the Abrams wouldn't want their house used for a big blowout.
Ignorance is bliss.
They'll never know.
Stop being such a goody two shoes and help me set up.
What if something gets broken or damaged?
Things usually get out of hand when people start pounding back a few.
What do you think I'm doing?
I'm moving the breakables to the other room.
Nothing will happen.
How can you say that?
At Kyle's party last month, two guys got into it and ended up trashing his parents' house.
That's because they didn't have Babbit.
What's a Babbit?
Babbitt is the name of an old high school friend of mine, and he's tough as nails.
He'll be here to bust heads and to keep everybody in line.
Trust me, nothing bad will happen with Babbitt playing bouncer.
Where are you going?
I'm getting out while I can.
This is a disaster waiting to happen.
You're not staying for the party?
You're leaving?
Wouldn't you if you were on the Titanic?
We begin with Paula saying to Mitch, Okay, let's get this party started.
Let's start our party, our celebration.
Mitch says, I really don't think having a party is such a good idea.
It's not a good idea, Mitch thinks.
We're supposed to be house-sitting and I'm sure the Abrams wouldn't want their house used for a big blowout.
To house sit means to take care of someone's home, someone's house when that person is gone, perhaps because they're traveling.
You might stay at their house or apartment.
You might just go over every day or every week to check to make sure the house is okay.
Check the mail, for example.
A blowout is a big party.
It's something where you have many people and a lot of noise.
It's a loud party.
Usually we think about this adjective blowout when we're talking about a party, perhaps for college students who are drinking and yelling.
That would be an example of a blowout.
There are several words in English that use out.
Blowout is what we call a compound word.
It's the word blow plus the word out together as one word.
For more examples of this, take a look at our learning guide for this episode.
So Mitch says that he and Paula are house-sitting, are watching this house for perhaps friends or family the Abrams family and that they would not want a big party in their house.
Paula uses next an expression that is common, ignorance is bliss, B-L-I-S-S.
To be ignorant means not to know something.
Bliss is an old word for being very happy.
The expression ignorance is bliss means that sometimes it's better not to know.
If you know, then you'll feel worse.
But if you don't know, well, then it's not a problem.
For example, someone says to you, do you know how many calories are in this donut?
If you eat too many donuts, you'll get fat.
Too many calories will make you fat.
Just ask the average American.
That's an example of a place where you could use this expression.
Someone says, do you know how many calories are in this donut?
And you say, ignorance is bliss, meaning I don't want to know.
I'm happier if I don't know.
Paula says that the Abrams will never know.
They'll never find out unless they're listening to this podcast.
She says, stop being such a goody two-shoes and help me set up.
The expression a goody G-O-O-D-Y two shoes, that's two T-W-O hyphen shoes like what you put on your feet.
I'm not sure the origin where the expression comes from, but goody two-shoes is a person who always does what he or she is supposed to do.
It's really sort of an insulting negative term.
You're saying that this person is always perfect, right?
The idea is that maybe they're a little boring or maybe that they don't like to have fun because they never do anything wrong.
Paula wants Mitch to help her set up.
To set up is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to organize and prepare an event, to put the tables up, to put the chairs by the tables, and so forth.
However, Mitch is worried.
He says, what if something gets broken or damaged?
Things change. meaning the situation, usually get out of hand when people start pounding back a few.
To get out of hand means to get out of control.
If a teacher says my class is getting out of hand, she means the class is getting wild, it's getting loud, she can't control it.
Mitch says that the situation will get out of hand, will become uncontrollable, when people start pounding a few back.
The expression to pound P-O-U-N-D back a few or to pound a few back means to be drinking many alcoholic beverages.
One beer, one glass of wine, then another beer, then another beer.
When you're drinking them quickly, We would say that you are pounding a few back.
It means to drink a lot of alcohol quickly.
Paula says, Nothing will happen.
Something that is breakable is something that is able to be broken, something that can break easily.
There are many words in English that use this able, A-B-L-E, at the end.
For example, this is doable.
That means you can do it.
It is able to be done.
So something that is breakable is something that you can break.
Paula is moving all of the breakables into another room where the party will not be.
She tells Mitch, nothing will happen.
Nothing bad will happen.
Mitch says how can you say that?
That's not possible.
At Kyle's party last month two guys got into it and ended up trashing his parents' house.
When you say two people got into it you mean they had a fight or an argument.
Often it means that they are hitting each other.
Well, at a party last month, two guys, two men, two boys got into it, had a fight and ended up, as a result of their fight, trashing his parents' house.
To trash here means to destroy or to break something or to make something very dirty and disorganized.
If the house is full of dirt and there are things that are broken and there is glass, for example, on the floor, we might say that someone trashed the house.
In this case, it was the two guys who were fighting.
Paula says that's because they didn't have Babbitt.
The party did not have Babbitt.
Mitch says, what's a babbit?
Paula explains, babbit is the name of an old high school friend of mine, and he's tough as nails.
The expression to be tough as nails means to be very strong.
You can't hurt this person.
Usually it's a big person, a very strong person.
Nails are little pieces of metal we use to put into wood, usually to connect or to put something on the wood.
You could also use nails on your wall. to put up a picture.
Paula says that her old friend, Babbit, is as tough as nails.
He'll be here to bust heads and to keep everybody in line.
To bust heads means to hurt another person with physical force.
So, Babbitt is going to make sure there are no fights.
He's going to keep everybody in line.
To keep everybody or everyone in line means to do something so that everyone behaves.
No one does anything badly.
A good teacher has to keep her students in line, make sure they aren't doing anything crazy.
As your teacher, I hope you're not doing anything crazy while you're listening to this episode.
Paula says, A bouncer is a strong person, usually a man, who works at a bar or at a party.
He makes sure that no one causes any problems.
No one gets into a fight.
To play bouncer means, in this case, to work as a bouncer.
Paula then says to Mitch, where are you going?
Mitch says I'm getting out, meaning I'm leaving while I can, while I am able to.
This is a disaster waiting to happen.
The expression a disaster, a horrible thing, a bad thing waiting to happen means that you know something very bad is going to happen because what you are doing is a bad idea.
A young child in the kitchen while you are cooking says, is a disaster waiting to happen.
Something bad is going to happen because the situation is dangerous.
Paula says, you're not staying for the party?
You're leaving?
Mitch says, wouldn't you if you were on the Titanic?
The Titanic is you may know was a British ship that sank in 1912.
It went down into the water and killed more than 1,500 people.
Nowadays, we often use it in English as an example of a horrible disaster, a huge disaster.
Or maybe we say that because it was a terrible movie.
I'm not sure.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Okay, let's get this party started.
I really don't think having a party is such a good idea.
We're supposed to be house-sitting and I'm sure the Abrams wouldn't want their house used for a big blowout.
Ignorance is bliss.
They'll never know.
Stop being such a goody-two-shoes and help me set up.
What if something gets broken or damaged?
Things usually get out of hand when people start pounding back a few.
What do you think I'm doing?
I'm moving the breakables to the other room.
Nothing will happen.
How can you say that?
At Kyle's party last month, two guys got into it and ended up trashing his parents' house.
What's a babbit?
Babbitt is the name of an old high school friend of mine, and he's tough as nails.
He'll be here to bust heads and to keep everybody in line.
Trust me, nothing bad will happen with Babbitt playing bouncer.
Where are you going?
I'm getting out while I can.
This is a disaster waiting to happen.
You're not staying for the party?
You're leaving?
Wouldn't you if you were on the Titanic?
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
What would happen if I started writing scripts, you may ask?
That would be a disaster waiting to happen.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcasts.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2010 by the Center for Educational Development.
