On this episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 16 words for talking about the winter and cold weather.
I'll be teaching you words like bundle up, nippy, brick, a cold spell, hunker down, and more.
Let's get to it.
Hey there, welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast.
I'm your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City.
My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
Are you ready to improve your English skills?
Let's jump right in.
Hello, hello.
Greetings from a very cold New York City.
The past week that I'm recording this episode has been super cold.
In fact, I read a newspaper article saying that New York City was colder than Antarctica by six degrees degrees.
What is going on?
One morning I woke up and it said that the real field temperature was seven Fahrenheit, which is negative 139 Celsius.
We're freezing over here, folks.
But happily, we got our first snow of the season and yay, finally.
When I was growing up, We had snowstorms and blizzards quite often.
And, you know, as a kid, they're always fun because normally you're home when these happen.
Snowstorms and blizzards don't typically happen unexpectedly.
Normally, we have time to prepare for these storms.
So it was super fun as a kid.
We had a lot of snow days where our schools would close.
And it's a very big memory for those of us who grew up in the northeastern United States.
The past 10 years, it's been very different.
Last year, we did not get any snow.
It was record low snow totals.
So it's been very up and down when it comes to snow.
So it was a lot of fun having snow this week.
But here's the crazy thing about New York City weather.
This week, the week that you're listening to this episode, guess what the temperature is going to be?
I kid you not.
The weather is going to hit 57 Fahrenheit, which is 13.9 Celsius.
Isn't that crazy?
It's going from negative 13 Celsius to positive 13 Celsius.
New York City weather always keeps us on our toes.
That's an expression that means.
It keeps us alert, keeps us awake, because we never know what's going to happen.
So, you know, the timing worked so perfectly for this episode.
So I'm very happy to be teaching you about winter vocabulary, cold weather vocabulary.
This is a very real life topic, even for people that live in warm cities, because they talk about the cold in other parts of the country or other parts of the continent.
So everyone can benefit from this episode.
And I know that some of you are listening to this right now, maybe on the beach, like if you live below the equator and anyone who lives in the southern hemisphere.
Right now, it's summer for you.
I understand.
And then some of you are also in countries where it gets cold and you're saying New York City weather is warm compared to my city.
But either way, you'll enjoy today's episode and you'll benefit from it.
Now let me tell you some of the words that I'm going to be teaching you, words and expressions.
So we've got bundle up chilly, snowed in a winter wonderland.
The winter blues nippy to winterize something.
Hunker down, thaw out, pick up, make the most of something.
Brick a cold spell, the real feel to wait out a storm and below freezing temperatures.
Before we get to the story, I just want to remind you to go download the study guide that comes with this episode, because it'll really help you learn these words and empower you to use them confidently and naturally.
Now I'm going to read you a story that has all 16 vocabulary words and expressions in it.
It'll show you how to use these words in context.
And while you're listening, try to guess the meanings without looking up the words.
Afterward, I'm going to be explaining all of the vocabulary to you.
Today's story is a story that I wrote about a family who lives in a warm climate and decides to visit a ski resort.
And it just so happens to be when a blizzard hits.
By the way, the word blizzard is not officially on the list, but it means a severe snowstorm.
So a blizzard is one of those storms where you have to stay inside.
You can't be on the road because there are strong winds and heavy snowfall.
All right, so listen closely to this story.
It's a little bit longer than some of my other stories.
So listen in.
Here we go.
The Rodriguez family was so excited.
The time for their winter getaway in upstate New York was finally here.
This year, in order to beat the winter blues, the They planned a weekend ski trip in the mountains.
Their dreams of seeing a winter wonderland were finally going to come true.
They were from the south of the USA, where snow and skiing were things that people only dreamed about.
What they didn't plan for was the cold spell that would hit New York the same weekend as their vacation.
Meteorologists were predicting below freezing temperatures and real field temperatures of negative 12.
Thankfully, they had packed well and had enough clothes to bundle up when they went outside.
They were ready for the chilly weekend ahead.
When they got to the resort, they found out that, in addition to the cold spell, a blizzard was heading to the area and would arrive that night.
The resort promised that they were equipped to handle the storm because they had winterized everything, including the generators, equipment and important things that would keep the resort up and running.
Despite the cold weather, they decided to go out and ski so that they could have some fun before the snow arrived.
They thought they were prepared for the cold, but when they stepped outside and onto the ski slopes they had several reactions.
The dad said, brr, this is the coldest I've ever felt.
And Marina, the mom, said, wow, it's extremely nippy out here.
And one of the older kids said, wow, it's brick here in New York.
They skied for about two hours before getting some dinner at the resort's restaurant.
Right as they finished their meal, the ski resort's emergency alert went off, and they were soon notified that the storm was coming sooner than expected.
They were told to head back to their room, hunker down, and wait out the storm from there.
Workers from the resort brought emergency food, water, and extra blankets to all of the rooms.
As the snow started to fall and the wind began to pick up, they decided to make the most of it by having a movie night in front of the fireplace.
As the blizzard began, they made popcorn and hot chocolate and kept warm under the blankets.
By midnight the snow was already up to the windows, and when they woke up the next morning they looked outside to see that they were all snowed in.
Thankfully, the snow stopped by lunchtime and as the emergency crews came to dig people out of the snow, more and more families went outside to experience the snow.
The Rodriguez family was having a blast, having snowball fights and building snowmen.
It was the best winter they had ever had.
The next day, the cold spell had ended and things began to thaw out as the weather got warmer.
It was finally time for them to go back home.
And they were sad to leave the beautiful snow but were very excited that they would have this snowy adventure to remember forever, forever.
So have you ever been stuck in a snowstorm or a blizzard?
I have multiple times in my life.
And when you're a kid it's like the best thing ever when it snows and you can run around and play in the snow.
But then, as you become an adult and You realize that snow is cool at first, but then after that it's just a mess that has to be cleaned up.
Okay, so let's get into it with all of the new vocabulary that you heard in the story.
A lot of these words are pretty popular, but a lot of them are used in very specific contexts.
So let me explain.
The first one is an expression, the winter blues.
Now you've probably seen in movies or read in a book that the color blue in English is often associated with the emotion of sadness, sometimes depression.
So in the past, people used to say, I'm kind of blue.
I'm feeling blue.
It's really not that popular anymore.
Personally, I can't remember ever really saying that.
So the color blue in an expression usually is connected to sadness.
So the winter blues are feelings of sadness or depression during the winter months.
I know that some of you listening to this come from countries where it is typically warm all year long.
Here in the United States, our winter starts mid-December all the way up until the middle of March.
And typically the winter here has higher rates of depression than other seasons.
So if someone has the winter blues, it just means that maybe it's January or February and they're so sick of the weather.
They just want summer and beaches and beautiful flowers to come out.
The next expression is a winter wonderland.
We use this pretty often around Christmas time.
However, a winter wonderland can be used all season long.
This describes a magical scene that's created by snow or other winter conditions.
If you wake up and there's snow everywhere, we would say oh, this is such a beautiful winter wonderland.
The next expression that we have is a cold spell.
This is a period of unusually cold weather.
Last week in New York City, like I mentioned, we had a cold spell that caused cold temperatures to dominate our weather.
And unfortunately for us, it lasted a full week.
Next, we have below freezing temperatures.
You might have been able to guess what this expression means.
Below freezing temperature refers to temperatures that are lower than the freezing point of water, which for us here is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
And for most of you out there, it means zero Celsius.
The real feel temperature is an expression you're going to hear all the time.
Sometimes we just say the real feel.
This is the temperature that it feels.
Once we take into account factors like wind in the colder times of year and humidity in the warmer times of year.
If it's 10 degrees Celsius but it feels like 8 degrees Celsius, we call that the real feel.
And in the summertime here, it goes by humidity.
So if it's actually 41, but it feels like 43, we're going to say that's the real feel.
Next, we have the phrasal verb bundle up.
This is a really cool one.
We use it all the time in the colder months.
Bundle up is when you dress warmly using multiple layers of clothing.
So maybe you have a long sleeve shirt with a sweater on top.
And then on top of that, you have a hoodie, then scarf, gloves, and a hat.
And then you have a coat.
So you're really bundled up because every single part of your body is protected from the cold.
The word chilly means very cold.
The weather makes you a little bit uncomfortable.
So we go outside, we say, oh, wow, it's so chilly out here.
There's a really common way to describe weather in English.
It is an adjective.
Next is a verb that you probably have never heard in your life, and that is to winterize something.
This is to prepare something for winter conditions.
So a lot of people here winterize their homes by covering any gaps or spaces in windows where air can come in.
A lot of people winterize their cars by getting winter tires and putting shovels in the car just in case something happens.
The word nippy is also an adjective and it also means that it's a bit cold and that it's like sharp cold.
That kind of gives you a little bit of a painful feeling or sensation.
So that's nippy.
Next is one of my favorite slang words to teach students because it's so funny, so unexpected.
And that is the word brick.
The word brick is a slang word that originated here in New York City, and we use it to describe very cold weather.
So someone goes outside, they might say, oh, it's brick out here.
You might even hear people say, oh, it's brick city.
Next, we have the phrasal verb pick up.
Now, here's what gets interesting about pick up.
As I've told you in previous episodes, many phrasal verbs, in fact most phrasal verbs, have more than one meaning.
So take a phrasal verb like back up and there's like eight or nine different meanings.
In this story, the phrasal verb pick up does not mean to take something.
It doesn't mean to bring someone in your car from one place to another.
In this context, it means to increase in intensity or or strength.
So we use this a lot with the word storm.
The thunderstorm is really picking up.
That means that it's getting stronger and stronger and more dangerous.
Next, we have two expressions that are very similar, to hunker down and to wait out a storm.
Now, hunker down.
This is when you settle in a place and wait for a difficult situation to pass.
So if you're talking about a snowstorm, you'd say all right guys, we've got to hunker down here and not drive on the roads while waiting for things to get fixed.
They also have another phrasal verb, wait out.
But for this particular case, it's to wait out a storm.
So we have to remain in a safe place until that difficult situation passes.
Then we have the phrasal verb pick up.
As you've heard me explain in previous episodes, most phrasal verbs have more than one meaning.
In fact, phrasal verbs like back up have, I think, like eight or nine different meanings.
So you always have to look at the context and pay attention to the context.
So pick up here means to increase in intensity or strength.
So it really means when something gets stronger.
So we can say, wow, the wind is really picking up.
It's going to rain soon.
Guys, we better get back inside.
The storm is picking up.
Next, we have the expression to make the most of something.
This means to take full advantage of a situation or resource.
Basically, it means to try to see positive things in every situation, no matter how bad they are, because there might always be a learning experience.
Or So the Rodriguez family, they could have all just went to sleep and tried to, you know, wait out the storm.
But they made the most of the situation by getting together, having a movie night, eating snacks.
Very cool thing to do during a blizzard.
Lastly, we've got two phrasal verbs, snowed in and thaw out.
All right.
So when you are snowed in somewhere, typically it means that you are unable to leave that place.
So there was heavy snowfall and now you can't leave because the roads are bad.
No one has shoveled yet and you're stuck inside.
So that's what snowed in means.
Then we have thaw out.
Thaw out is a phrasal verb that means to warm something up after it was cold.
Often you use fire or some kind of heat source to heat the object.
One example that we use in our own homes is if you have frozen meat or food that's in your freezer, when you're ready to eat it, you take it out of the freezer and you have to let it thaw out.
You have to allow it to get a little bit warm.
Guess what?
You just learned 16... Actually...
You learned more than 16 words and expressions, because there were a lot of things I said that I did not include in the list.
Also, if you want the study guide, just click the link in the show description.
Thanks so much for listening.
Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast.
Be sure to download today's study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently.
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Thanks so much for tuning in.
