Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 378, Talking About Time.
This is ESL podcast episode 378.
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.
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On this episode, we're going to talk about time.
Common time-telling expressions will be our focus today.
We'll listen to a dialogue between Juanita and Chuck about the time.
Let's get started.
What time is it?
It's a quarter to twelve.
Why?
On the dot?
What if you don't get there until a few minutes past four?
Will you turn into a pumpkin? knock it off.
I have good reason to be on time.
I was supposed to meet him at the movies at 830 last Saturday and I didn't turn up until 10 till 9.
We missed the first 10 minutes of the movie.
That doesn't sound too bad. you don't know the half of it.
The week before that.
I was supposed to pick him up from work at a quarter after five and I didn't show up until nearly 20 minutes to six.
To add insult to injury, James's boss saw that he was still in the office and gave him an extra assignment to do that night, and he didn't finish until well after 10.
I can see why he's pissed off at you.
What time is it now?
It's 12.03.
Oh my God, I'm late again.
What am I going to tell him?
Tell him it was all my fault.
My incredible charm made you lose track of time.
Juanita begins our dialogue by asking Chuck, what time is it?
Chuck says it's quarter to twelve.
Quarter two is 15 minutes before the hour.
The opposite would be a quarter after 12.
That would be 12.15.
Juanita says, at noon, on the dot, I'm supposed to meet James.
Noon, you probably know, is 12 p.m., the beginning of the afternoon.
On the dot is an expression we use to mean exactly, at this exact time.
I want to see you at 4 o'clock on the dot in my office.
That means that at 4 o'clock you must be here exactly at that time.
Juanita says that she needs to meet her friend James at noon on the dot.
Chuck says on the dot, and then, making a little fun of Juanita, he goes on what if you don't get there until a few minutes past 4 o'clock?
Will you turn into a pumpkin?
A pumpkin is a vegetable most often associated with Halloween.
But here he's referring to the story of Cinderella, where the Transportation that Cinderella takes to the dance is magically made from a pumpkin.
But if she doesn't get home by midnight, the carriage, the little horse-drawn car that she's in, will turn back into a pumpkin.
Chuck refers to getting there a few minutes past four.
That would be after four.
Juanita says, knock it off.
That's a common informal expression you'll hear among friends and family members.
Knock it off means stop doing it.
Stop it.
Sometimes it can be said in a more serious way.
A parent may say to a child, you're making too much noise.
Knock it off.
That's what I'd like to say to my neighbor's child.
Here, she's using it more as a joke.
Oh, knock it off.
Stop it.
Stop trying to make fun of me in this case.
I have good reason to be on time, she says.
On time meaning at the time you are expected.
Juanita says I was supposed to meet him at the movies at 830 last Saturday and I didn't turn up until 10 till 9.
To turn up is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to arrive somewhere.
To show up is another way of saying this.
You usually use this when you arrive late or perhaps unexpectedly.
I was having coffee with my girlfriend and suddenly my wife turned up.
Wasn't expecting her.
That's a joke.
Don't tell my wife I said that.
Juanita says she didn't turn up until ten till nine.
Till here is short for until, and when used in a time expression, it means before.
So ten till nine means ten minutes before nine.
We missed the first ten minutes of the movie, Juanita says.
Chuck says, that doesn't sound too bad.
That doesn't sound like a very bad situation.
But Juanita responds, you don't know the half of it.
This expression you don't know the half of it is another way of saying you don't know how bad it really was.
It's much worse than you think.
Juanita explains that the week before that she was supposed to pick up James at his work at a quarter after 5, but didn't show up until nearly 20 minutes to 6.
A quarter after 5, we already know, means 5.15.
To show up, we already know, means the same as to turn up, to arrive.
For some additional uses of these expressions turn up and show up.
Take a look at our learning guide.
You'll find more information there.
Juanita goes on that she didn't show up until nearly twenty minutes to six.
Nearly means almost, and 20 minutes to 6 is the same as 20 to 6 or 540.
Juanita says.
To add insult to injury, James' boss saw that he was still in the office and gave him an extra assignment more work to do.
The expression.
To add insult to injury means to make a bad thing worse, to take a bad situation and make it even a worse situation.
Well, that's what Juanita did when she didn't show up on time to pick up James.
James's boss gave him more work to do.
She says that James didn't finish his work until well after 10.
Well after means much later than 10.
So 10.20, 10.30, 10.40.
That would be well after 10.
Chuck says, I can see why James is pissed off at you.
To be pissed off is a very informal expression, not a nice expression, an expression you would only use as an adult and only with other adults, not something you would say around a child.
To piss as a verb is an informal and somewhat vulgar word meaning to urinate.
To be pissed off means to be very angry.
It's a very impolite way to say that you are upset or annoyed.
So if you say to your boss, I'm pissed off, you can expect to be fired.
Don't use that expression unless you are with a very close friend or family member.
Juanita then asks, what time is it now?
And Chuck says, it's 12.03, three minutes after 12.
Juanita says, oh my God, I'm late again.
What am I going to tell him?
Oh my God is an expression of surprise.
Some people don't like using the word God that way.
They may say, oh my gosh. but a lot of people do, so it's important to know what it means.
She says I'm late again.
What am I going to tell him?
Chuck says tell him it was all my fault.
I'm the one to blame.
And again he makes a joke.
My incredible charm made you lose track of time.
Charm is the ability to make other people like you and admire you.
It's an attractiveness about a person.
The character James Bond in the 007 movies is a character with a lot of charm.
The ladies love him.
Well, Chuck is saying that his charm made Juanita lose track of time.
To lose track of time means to forget about the time, to be so busy that you don't remember what time it is.
Now let's listen to the dialogue again, this time at a normal speed.
What time is it?
It's a quarter to twelve.
Why?
At noon, on the dot, I'm supposed to meet James.
On the dot?
What if you don't get there until a few minutes past four?
Will you turn into a pumpkin?
Knock it off.
I have good reason to be on time.
I was supposed to meet him at the movies at 830 last Saturday and I didn't turn up until ten till nine.
We missed the first ten minutes of the movie.
That doesn't sound too bad.
You don't know the half of it.
The week before that.
I was supposed to pick him up from work at a quarter after 5 and I didn't show up until nearly 20 minutes to 6.
To add insult to injury, James' boss saw that he was still in the office and gave him an extra assignment to do that night, and he didn't finish until well after 10.
I can see why he's pissed off at you.
What time is it now?
It's 12.03.
Oh my God, I'm late again.
What am I going to tell him?
Tell them it was all my fault.
My incredible charm made you lose track of time.
The script for this episode was written by the very charming Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on 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 2008.
