Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 598, Suggesting a Nightcap.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 598.
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 become a member of ESL Podcast and get all of our learning guides that will help you improve your English even faster.
This episode is called Suggesting a Nightcap.
A nightcap is an alcoholic drink, such as beer, that you would drink right before you go to bed.
Let's get started.
I had a really nice time.
I'm glad to hear it.
It was nice of Marie to set us up.
Yeah, she told me that you would be my soulmate, and she was right.
You're dreamy.
Uh, well, thanks.
It was really nice meeting you, but I'd better be going.
What?
Why are you leaving so soon?
Don't you want to come in for a nightcap?
Let's have a drink, or two, or three.
I'll make it worth your while.
I think we've both had enough to drink tonight, don't you?
I'll just take a rain check.
Don't go yet.
The night is young.
Don't you want to see my apartment?
Sure I do, but let's make it another time.
I really do have to go.
Spoilsport.
Brittany seemed nice when I first met her, but that impression didn't last long.
It only took 15 minutes for me to realize that she and I had nothing in common, and then I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
You might think I'm crazy, because she really was drop dead gorgeous, but The dialogue begins with Brittany.
Slurring her speech.
She's saying something to Tree, but we can't understand it very well because she is slurring her speech.
To slur, S-L-U-R, means to speak very slowly but not clearly.
You don't stop in between your words.
It's often something that happens if you are drunk, if you have had too much alcohol, or perhaps are taking some sort of medicine that may have that same effect.
Brittany, we believe, has been drinking a little too much alcohol recently.
She says to Tree, I had a really nice time.
Tree says, I'm glad to hear it.
It appears that Tree and Brittany were on a date.
He says, it was nice of Marie to set us up.
To set someone up.
Here means to make arrangements, to make a plan for two people to meet.
Usually, this involves a man and a woman who are perhaps going to be romantically interested in each other.
So you have a friend who has another friend who is single, who is not married, and you want to date that person.
Or that person may say, you know, I know someone who would be really good for you.
And they set you up.
They arrange for you to come together and go on a date.
Brittany says, yeah.
She, Marie, told me that you would be my soulmate, and she was right.
You're dreamy.
A soulmate.
M-A-T-E is a person that you have many things in common with.
You feel very comfortable with this person.
Perhaps you are in love with this person.
Usually it's something you would say to someone who you are very much in love with, someone that you would want to marry that might be your soulmate.
Tree and Brittany, however, are on their first date.
They've only known each other for a few hours.
But because Brittany has been drinking, she thinks that Tree is somehow her soulmate, even though she doesn't know him very well.
She says that Tree is dreamy.
Dreamy often refers to a very attractive man, a very desirable man, someone who a woman would be very interested in.
Usually it's when somebody isn't thinking very clearly, but it's possible that Brittany really believes Tree is dreamy.
Tree says, well, thanks.
He's not quite sure what to say back to Brittany since it's only their first date.
He says, it was really nice meeting you, but I'd better be going, meaning I need to leave now.
Brittany says, what?
Why are you leaving so soon?
Don't you want to come in for a nightcap?
A nightcap, one word, is alcohol that you drink before going to bed.
It would be like one last drink for the night.
Remember, Brittany has been drinking.
She's inviting Tree to come to her apartment and have this drink.
She says, let's have a drink or two or three.
I'll make it worth your while.
To make something worth someone's, while W-H-I-L-E means to give someone something if they do something for you.
So if someone says, if you go and get me some milk at the store, I'll make it worth your while.
I'll give you $10 or $20.
Brittany is saying that she will make it worth his while Tree's, while by coming in for a nightcap remembering Brittany has been drinking.
Tree says, I think we've both had enough to drink tonight.
Don't you?
Tree recognizes that Brittany has drunk too much alcohol.
He's trying to get away from the situation.
He says, I'll just take a rain check.
A rain check?
R-A-I-N.
Check two words is the ability to do something at a later time, at a later date instead of right now, when it is being offered to you.
Usually this term is used in a store where you go in to buy something that the store has on sale and but the store doesn't have any more.
It's sold out.
Sometimes I'm not sure how often this happens anymore, but it used to be that the store would give you a rain check.
They would give you a piece of paper that you could bring back, for example, a week later or two weeks later, and when the store has more of that product, you could still get the sales price.
In this case, what Tree is saying is that he doesn't want to have a nightcap with Brittany.
Maybe later, maybe at some other time.
That's why he says, I'll just take a rain check.
Brittany says, don't go yet.
The night is young.
This is a common expression.
The night is young means that it is still early.
There are still plenty of things we can do before we have to go to bed.
The night is young means there is a lot of time for us to still enjoy ourselves.
Brittany says, don't you want to see my apartment?
Tree says, sure I do, but let's make it another time.
When someone says they want to make something another time, they mean they want to do it later.
It's similar to taking a rain check.
You want to do something at a later time, but you're not going to set a particular or specific day right now.
Just in the future.
Once again, Tree is trying to leave here.
He says, I really do have to go.
Brittany then says, spoil sport.
Spoil sport.
S-P-O-I, S-P-O-R-T, one word, is someone who spoils another person's fun.
That is someone who ruins or wrecks or somehow prevents another person from having fun, someone who isn't interested in doing fun things, especially someone who wants to do everything properly, that doesn't want to break any of the rules.
That's what a spoilsport is.
We have another expression, a party pooper, P-O-O-P-E-R.
This is basically the same idea someone who doesn't want to go along with the rest of the group, who wants to have fun.
Tree says, is here the way that you think about someone, your opinion of someone.
It has other meanings, this word, impression, and those can be found in our learning guide.
Tree continues by saying it only took 15 minutes for me to realize that she and I had nothing in common, meaning they got together on their date.
But after 15 minutes Tree knew that he wasn't really going to like this woman.
He didn't have anything in common.
They didn't share any interests whatsoever.
Tree says, then I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
To not be able to get out of somewhere fast enough means that you want to leave a place right away.
Very badly, we might say.
You want to go immediately.
He says, you might think I'm crazy, but because she really was drop dead gorgeous.
Drop dead gorgeous is someone, usually a woman, who is very beautiful, very sexually attractive.
Gorgeous means beautiful.
Drop dead means that she's so beautiful, if you see her, you would die.
I don't know why, but that's the expression.
Tree says however, that he had no intention, he didn't have any plan, he didn't want to, of taking advantage of a drunk woman.
To take advantage of someone is to do something to someone else, a situation where they may not be able to help themselves to treat someone unfairly.
We might even say to abuse a situation, to take the situation and use it for your advantage, hurting someone else.
That's taking advantage of someone.
Tree doesn't want to take advantage of Brittany.
She has been drinking, and so he decides that he will not have another drink with her or go to her apartment, but he will go home, which is probably a good idea.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I really had a nice time.
I'm glad to hear it.
It was nice of Marie to set us up.
Yeah, she told me that you would be my soulmate, and she was right.
You're dreamy.
Well, thanks.
It was really nice meeting you, but I'd better be going.
What?
Why are you leaving so soon?
Don't you want to come in for a nightcap?
Let's have a drink, or two, or three.
I'll make it worth your while.
I think we've both had enough to drink tonight, don't you?
I'll just take a rain check.
Don't go yet.
The night is young.
Don't you want to see my apartment?
Sure I do, but let's make it another time.
I really do have to go.
Spoil sport.
Brittany seemed nice when I first met her, but that impression didn't last long.
It only took 15 minutes for me to realize that she and I had nothing in common, and then I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
You might think I'm crazy, because she really was drop-dead gorgeous, but I had no intention of taking advantage of a drunk woman.
We hope we've made it worth your while to listen to this episode.
Thanks to Dr. Lucy Say for writing it.
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.
Copyright 2010 by the Center for Educational Development.
