Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 556, Scheduling an Appointment.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 556.
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.
Transcription by CastingWords This episode is called Scheduling an Appointment.
It's going to be a conversation between Ann and Serge about setting up a meeting, arranging a meeting between two people.
Let's get started.
Hello.
Hi, Anne.
It's Serge.
I'm calling to make an appointment for Leanne.
She wants to meet with Miles next week sometime.
Let me take a look at his appointment schedule.
Let's see.
Can Leanne be here on Tuesday at 2 o'clock?
No, she's tied up all Tuesday afternoon, but I could shuffle around some of her commitments to free her up on Tuesday morning, if that helps.
Unfortunately, Tuesday morning is out.
I could bump someone on Wednesday afternoon at 3 o'clock.
Can Leanne be here at that time?
She has an appointment at 2.30 in this office, but it shouldn't last more than a half hour.
She should be able to make it by 3 o'clock if she's not running late.
Better yet I may be able to finagle something, maybe push back that appointment until she gets back to the office.
Why don't you pencil her in for now?
Okay, I'll do that.
But can you confirm with me by Monday?
Sure.
I'll give you a heads-up no later than noon on Monday if I can't push back her other appointment.
Okay, sounds good.
Tell me, do you ever feel like we're spinning our wheels, spending our days making, changing and cancelling appointments?
Yeah, every single day.
Anne begins by saying hello, answering the phone.
Serge says, Hi, Anne.
It's Serge.
I'm calling to make an appointment for Leanne.
To make an appointment is to schedule a time to do something, usually to meet with someone.
Serge says that Leanne wants to meet with Miles next week sometime.
Ann says, let me take a look at his appointment schedule.
Your appointment schedule is a calendar showing when you have meetings.
Ann says, let's see.
Can Leanne be here on Tuesday at 2 o'clock? meaning 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
Serge says, no, she's tied up all Tuesday afternoon.
When we say we are tied up, we mean we are busy.
We are not available.
I meant to answer his email this afternoon, but then I got all tied up with other things.
I was busy.
I was occupied.
Serge says that he could shuffle around some of Leanne's commitments to free her up on Tuesday morning.
To shuffle around is a phrasal verb meaning to move or change things, to reorganize things in a different position, either physically in space or temporally in time.
People often use this when talking about their schedule.
I'm going to shuffle around my schedule so that I can see you tomorrow morning.
Serge says he can shuffle around some of Leanne's commitments, some of her obligations, some of her other meetings most likely to free her up.
To free someone or something up means to make someone or something available, to change things so that they are no longer tied up, they're no longer busy.
Let me see if I can free up some time to see you this afternoon.
Let me see if I can move some of my meetings so that we can talk this afternoon.
Serge is offering to free up Leanne on Tuesday morning.
Anne says, unfortunately, Tuesday morning is out.
When we say something is out, we mean it's not possible.
It's not an option.
I cannot do it at that time or day.
So Tuesday morning is not possible.
Then Ann says, I could bump someone on Wednesday afternoon at 3.
To bump B-U-M-P.
Someone means to change when something will happen so that something else can happen.
For example, my friend was supposed to sing today at the performance, but she was bumped by another singer.
They decided that they wanted someone else to sing.
We often use this expression when, for example, you are flying and the airline sold too many tickets, which happens frequently.
They sold more tickets than they had seats for, And so they had to force some people to take a different plane.
We would say they were bumped.
That's the meaning here.
Anne is going to try to move someone on Wednesday afternoon.
Serge says that unfortunately Leanne has an appointment at 230 in this office, but it shouldn't last more than a half hour.
To last as a verb means to go on for a certain amount of time, not to end until a certain amount of time has passed.
So, for example, someone might ask, How long is this rain going to last?
Meaning, how long will it be raining?
You might say, well, until probably 5 o'clock this afternoon.
It will last until 5 o'clock.
Both bump and last have additional meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for those explanations.
Serge says that Leanne should be able to make it meaning arrive to the meeting by 3 o'clock if she's not running late.
To run late means to be behind your schedule, to be doing things later than you had planned because things took longer than expected.
If you tell someone you are going to meet them at a cafe at 8 o'clock and you see that you are not going to arrive on time, you would want to call them or text them and tell them that you are running late, that you will be there at whatever time you will be there, hopefully not too late.
So Serge says that she should be there by 3 o'clock if she's not running late.
Better yet, he says, I may be able to finagle something.
Better yet is an expression used to introduce another idea or another solution that you thought of that would work better than the one you were talking about previously.
So I give you plan A, and then I think, oh no, plan B is better.
So I'll say, better yet, let's do plan B. It's always supposed to be a better idea.
Better yet, Serge says, I may be able to finagle, F-I-N-A-G-L-E something.
To finagle means to be perhaps very smart about something, very clever.
It could also mean that you're being tricky.
You're doing something that you would not normally do in order to get what you want.
We use this somewhat informal verb to in situations that are difficult, but we think we can somehow arrange it so that it will be possible.
Serge is going to try to finagle something, try to figure something out.
Maybe push back that appointment until she gets back to the office.
To push back an appointment or a meeting is to move it to a later time or even to a later day.
You were going to meet someone Tuesday, but then...
They were going to be busy, so they asked to push back the meeting until Friday, to change it to a later date or time.
Serge is suggesting that he push back Leanne's appointment, her 230 appointment, so that she can make a 3 o'clock meeting.
Serge says, why don't you pencil her in for now?
This expression to pencil P-E-N-C-I-L someone in means to write someone's name on a calendar showing when they plan on meeting that person, but still waiting for final confirmation.
The reason we say pencil is because a pencil is something you write with that you can erase if you make a mistake.
A pen, of course, cannot be easily erased, most pens.
So that's why we use the word pencil, and we actually make it a verb, to pencil someone in.
It means to put their name down for a certain time, but knowing that you have to wait until the person says I can definitely do it.
So it's when you're not definite, when you're not certain about something.
Ann says, okay, I'll do that.
I'll pencil her in.
But can you confirm with me by Monday?
To confirm is to verify that something is true or correct.
So Serge is going to have to call Anne back sometime before Monday to say definitely certainly, yes or no.
Leanne will be at the appointment.
Serge says, sure.
I'll give you a heads up no later than noon on Monday if I can't push back her other appointment.
Heads up means I'm giving you information in advance.
Sometimes heads up means a warning.
If you are out playing baseball and you throw a ball and it goes towards someone who doesn't see it coming, you would yell heads up.
You're warning them that they might get hit in the head with a baseball.
Well, it doesn't always have to be related to your head.
It can be a warning about anything, or it can be information about something that will happen in the future.
I'll give you a heads up when I am about to leave my office.
That means I will call you or communicate with you before I leave my office or when I know what time I will be leaving my office.
So Serge is going to give Ann a heads up no later than Monday at noon.
Ann says, okay, sounds good.
Tell me, do you ever feel like we're spinning our wheels?
To spin your wheels means to be involved in a lot of activities that keep you very busy but that don't accomplish very much.
You don't seem to get very much done, but you are constantly busy.
That would be spinning your wheels.
Serge says, yeah, every single day, meaning simply every day.
Single is just used to emphasize, to stress something happens every day, without missing a single day.
Now let's listen to the dialogue this time at a normal speed.
Hello.
Hi, Anne.
It's Serge.
I'm calling to make an appointment for Leanne.
She wants to meet with Miles next week sometime.
Let me take a look at his appointment schedule.
Let's see.
Can Leanne be here on Tuesday at 2 o'clock?
No, she's tied up all Tuesday afternoon, but I could shuffle around some of her commitments to free her up on Tuesday morning, if that helps.
Unfortunately, Tuesday morning is out.
I could bump someone on Wednesday afternoon at 3 o'clock.
Can Leanne be here at that time?
She has an appointment at 2.30 in this office, but it shouldn't last more than a half hour.
She should be able to make it by 3 o'clock if she's not running late.
Better yet I may be able to finagle something, maybe push back that appointment until she gets back to the office.
Why don't you pencil her in for now?
Okay, I'll do that.
But can you confirm with me by Monday?
Okay.
Sure, I'll give you a heads up no later than noon on Monday if I can't push back her other appointment.
Okay, sounds good.
Tell me, do you ever feel like we're spinning our wheels, spending our days making, changing and canceling appointments?
Yeah, every single day.
If you think that Dr. Lucy Say wrote today's script, let me just confirm that with you.
She did.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you 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.
