Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 284, A Friendly Rivalry.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 284.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development.
© BF-WATCH TV 2021.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
A rivalry is like a competition between two people.
And we're going to listen to a dialogue between Veronica and Bogdan about a rivalry at work.
Let's get started.
I'm finishing up for the day.
Do you want to walk out together?
Yeah, that would be great if you don't mind waiting until I've finished sending this email.
I'm letting Tom know that I got another account.
That makes four new customers this week.
Congratulations, but isn't that rubbing Tom's nose in it?
Don't worry about Tom.
He's been getting new clients left and right.
For the past six months, he's been gloating about his big commissions.
I'm just turning the tables, that's all.
Tom doesn't seem like the type to be smug about his successes.
He doesn't flaunt it, but he lets people know in subtle ways.
Don't worry.
I'm going to put him in his place.
This is just too much testosterone for me.
Why don't you guys just go outside, duke it out, and get it over with?
What would be the fun in that?
If you say so.
I know not to get in the way when there are big egos involved.
You just don't understand guys.
You got that right.
You listened to a dialogue between Veronica and Bogdan.
Veronica says I'm finishing up for the day, meaning I'm completing the work that I need so I can leave.
They're at work, and this conversation is probably at the end of the day in the late afternoon.
Veronica then asks Bogdan, do you want to walk out together?
Meaning, leave the building and go to their cars.
Bogdan says, yeah, that would be great.
If you don't mind waiting until I've finished sending this email.
If you don't mind is a polite way of saying, if you would please.
Veronica says congratulations, but isn't that rubbing Tom's nose in it?
The expression to rub, R-U-B, someone's nose in something. means to remind someone that you have done something or have something that the other person doesn't.
It's to not let someone forget that you are better than him or her in some way.
Bogdan says don't worry about Tom.
Clients are customers.
The expression left and right here means repeatedly, frequently, at every opportunity.
It's sort of an interesting expression.
For example, you could say the company is hiring new employees left and right because it needs more workers.
They're hiring a lot, very frequently, repeatedly.
Bogdan goes on to say, For the past six months, Tom has been gloating about his big commissions.
To gloat means to brag.
To brag means to show other people that you are very proud and happy about something.
But you're doing it in a way that offends or bothers the other person.
You are really trying to tell everybody how great you are.
So to gloat is usually a negative thing.
Bogdan says that Tom has been gloating about his big commissions.
In business, especially in sales, when you are trying to sell something.
A commission is a percentage of the price of the sale that the company gives back to the salesperson.
For example, if I'm selling shoes and I work on a 10 commission and I sell 150 worth of shoes, my commission would be 15.
This is a very common way of paying people who sell things in order to motivate them, to get them to sell more.
The more you sell, the more money you make.
Commission has a couple of different meanings.
Take a look at the learning guide for some additional definitions.
Bogdan then concludes, I'm just turning the tables, that's all.
To turn the tables, or to turn the tables on someone, means to change a situation completely, so that what was bad for you is now good for you, and what was good for the other person is now bad for the other person.
To turn the tables on someone means to change the situation so that now it's good for you and bad for the other person.
Veronica says Tom doesn't seem like the type, that is, the type of person to be smug about his successes.
Smug, S-M-U-G, means very proud, thinking that you are better than anyone else.
Again, it's normally a negative thing to describe someone.
Bogdan says, Tom doesn't flaunt it, but he lets people know in subtle ways.
To flaunt means to show or to indicate to other people how good you are, how beautiful you are, how much good luck you've had or how much success you've had.
And you want to tell other people that so that they will like you or they will feel envious.
They will want what you have.
Once again, to flaunt is a negative way of describing someone's actions.
There's an old expression if you got it, flaunt it, meaning if you are good at something, you should tell everyone.
That's not a very popular way of making friends, by flaunting your success.
Of course, if you're like me, you don't have anything to flaunt.
Bogdan says that...
Tom tries to let other people know in subtle ways.
Subtle S-U-B-T-L-E.
Notice the strange spelling means not easy to notice or difficult to see hidden.
Subtle is something that is not obvious.
For example, the museum used very subtle lighting on the painting.
You couldn't really notice it.
It was there, but it was difficult to see.
Bogdan says that he's going to put Tom in his place.
The expression to put someone in their place means to do something that makes the other person stop being so proud.
To do or say something that makes you equal somehow with the other person.
That would be to put someone in their place to say something that would make them stop bragging, stop flaunting their success.
Veronica says this is just too much testosterone for me.
Testosterone, T E S T O S T E R O N E, is a hormone in your body.
A hormone is a type of chemical in the body.
Some people believe that if you have a lot of testosterone as a man, it makes you more likely to fight, more aggressive, stronger.
I don't know if that's true necessarily, but that's the idea.
So testosterone refers to usually a man and how he is strong and aggressive.
Veronica says this is just too much testosterone for me, meaning you guys are acting like boys, like aggressive men, and I don't want to be part of it.
Why don't you guys just go outside, duke it out, and get it over with?
To duke, D-U-K-E, it out, means to have a fight, to punch each other until you figure out who wins.
To get something over with means to end something.
To finish something, usually that is difficult or unpleasant.
It's true, I do.
And I don't really want to.
I want to get it over with.
I want it to be over.
Bogdan responds by saying, what would be the fun in that?
This is just a little friendly rivalry.
Remember, a rivalry is a competition between two people, usually between two people who are friendly together.
Serious competition.
We use this expression when talking about two different schools or universities that play each other in sports.
They may have a rivalry.
They have this ongoing competition here in Los Angeles.
The University of Southern California USC, has a rivalry with the University of California at Los Angeles.
Of course, we all know that USC is the better school, because that's where I went.
Veronica says, That expression, if you say so, is used to show that you don't really believe what the other person is saying, but you're not going to argue about it.
Veronica says Don't get in the way means to interfere, to prevent someone from doing something that he or she wants to do or needs to do.
Don't get in my way.
Don't interfere with me.
Don't stop me from doing what I want to do.
Ego, E-G-O, here means the feeling or opinion that you have about yourself.
Usually, when someone says he has a big ego, they mean he thinks he's very important.
Bogdan then says, you just don't understand guys, that is, men.
Veronica says, you got that right, meaning you're right, I don't.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I'm finishing up for the day.
Do you want to walk out together?
Yeah, that would be great, if you don't mind waiting until I finish sending this email.
I'm letting Tom know that I got another account.
That makes four new customers this week.
Congratulations, but isn't that rubbing Tom's nose in it?
Don't worry about Tom.
He's been getting new clients left and right.
For the past six months, he's been gloating about his big commissions.
I'm just turning the tables, that's all.
Tom doesn't seem like the type to be smug about his successes.
He doesn't flaunt it, but he lets people know in subtle ways.
Don't worry.
I'm going to put him in his place.
This is just too much testosterone for me.
Why don't you guys just go outside, duke it out, and get it over with?
What would be the fun in that?
This is just a little friendly rivalry.
Nobody takes it seriously.
If you say so.
I know not to get in the way when there are big egos involved.
You just don't understand, guys.
You got that right.
The script for this podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Come back and listen to us next time here at ESL Podcasts.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2007.
