Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 742, Admiring Someone from Afar.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 742.
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 download a learning guide for this episode.
This episode is called Admiring Someone from Afar.
When you see someone that you like at a distance, that's what we're talking about here.
It's going to be about love, of course.
Let's get started.
Look at her.
What I wouldn't give to get a date with her.
You should go talk to her and ask her for her number.
No way.
She's completely out of my league.
See that guy she's talking to?
He's the kind of guy who'll get her number.
See?
She's giving him her number.
I don't have a chance.
But look what he's doing with it.
He's throwing it away.
What a jerk!
Wait here.
Hey, where are you going?
I've got it.
Here it is.
Here's her number.
Call her.
Call her?
Out of the blue?
You're crazy.
She'll think I'm some kind of creep.
No, she'll think you're being bold.
She'll love that.
What am I supposed to say to her?
No, tell her the truth.
Tell her you saw her, admired her from afar, and wanted to ask her out.
What if she asked me how I got her number?
Tell her you'll tell her that when you see her on your first date.
You'll come off as mysterious.
She'll eat it up.
I can't do it.
There's no way I could do that.
Could I?
Yes, you can.
After all, no guts, no glory.
Perry begins our dialogue by saying to Lynn look at her what I wouldn't give to get a date with her.
The expression, what I wouldn't give, means that you want something very much.
You're willing to do a lot in order to get it.
Perry sees this woman, obviously a beautiful woman, and wants to have a date with her.
A date is a meeting between two people who may be romantically interested in each other, although we use the word date sometimes for other meanings as well.
Date can mean the day on the calendar, the month and day and year of something.
It can also be used sometimes for a non-romantic meeting, but here it's definitely a meeting that Perry would like to be romantic.
Lynn says, you should go talk to her and ask her for her number.
Her number is, of course, her telephone number.
Now, this is the obvious thing that a woman might say to a man.
But a man, most men anyway, are somewhat afraid of going up and talking to a strange woman.
So Perry replies, no way, meaning absolutely not.
She's completely out of my league.
L E A G U E. The expression.
To be out of your league means that someone or something is too good or of such high quality that you don't feel you are worthy.
When you say a woman is out of your league, you would mean she's so beautiful, she's so attractive that she would not be interested in someone as ugly as you.
Well, as ugly as me.
Well, this, of course, is an excuse for Perry not to go talk to her.
He says, see that guy she's talking to?
Apparently, this beautiful woman is talking to another man.
He's the kind of guy who will get her number.
He's the sort of person, the sort of man who will be able to get her to give him her number.
Lynn says, that guy has nothing on you.
The expression, to have nothing on someone... means that you are as good as that person.
That person has no advantages over you.
Lynn says the only thing that guy has that you don't is confidence.
Confidence is the feeling that you are able to do something because you have the ability to.
Speaking in English, as a foreign language or second language, requires confidence.
If you have confidence, usually you'll speak better.
Well, poor Perry doesn't have confidence in himself.
Perry says, see, she's giving him her number.
I don't have a chance.
I don't have any way I can be successful.
Lynn says, but look what he's doing with it.
He's throwing it away.
To throw something away means to put it in the trash, to dispose of it, we might say.
It can also be used to mean to waste an opportunity.
But here it means, I think, that he's taking the piece of paper and he's putting it in a trash can.
Lynn says, what a jerk.
Wait here.
What a jerk is Lynn describing this other man.
And so she tells Perry to wait where he is.
Perry says, hey, where are you going?
Lynn says, I've got it.
Here it is.
Here's her number.
Call her.
So Lynn goes over and picks up the telephone number that the other man threw away and tells Perry to call her.
Well, this is rather strange.
Perry says, call her?
Out of the blue?
The expression out of the blue, like the color blue B-L-U-E, means unexpectedly, without warning for something to happen, without any indication that it was going to happen.
This woman, of course, doesn't even know.
Perry may not have even seen him, So if he calls her, it would be completely unexpected.
It would be out of the blue.
Perry says, you're crazy.
I think Perry's right.
Lynn is a little crazy here.
I mean, he doesn't even know this woman.
The woman doesn't even know who he is.
Perry says, she'll think I'm some sort of creep.
A creep, C-R-E-E-P, is the same as a jerk.
It's a negative way of describing someone who behaves in a bad or very unlikable way.
Lynn says, no, she'll think you're being bold.
To be bold, B-O-L-D means to be confident, to have courage, to show an ability to take risks, not to be fearful.
Lynn says she'll love that.
Perry says, what am I supposed to say to her?
Hi, I stole your phone number and I'd like a date.
Stole S-T-O-L-E is the past tense of steal S-T-E-A-L, which means to rob someone, to take something that isn't yours.
Perry says that he can't really call up this woman and say that he stole her telephone number.
Lynn says, no, tell her the truth.
Tell her that you saw her, admired her from afar, and wanted to ask her out.
To admire someone means to like them very much, to respect them very much.
It doesn't have a romantic meaning.
Meaning, in all cases, you can admire a president.
You can admire a famous person.
You could admire your parents, people that you respect.
We sometimes use the phrase to look up to.
I look up to my father.
I think he's a great man.
I admire him.
It can also be used in the sense of thinking that someone is beautiful.
That's how Lynn is using it here.
She says he should tell this woman that he admired her from afar.
A-F-A-R.
Afar means at a distance, from a distance, far away.
Lynn says he should ask her out.
To ask someone out means to ask them to go on a date with you, a romantic date.
Perry says, Lynn responds, You'll tell her when you see her on your first date.
You'll come off as mysterious.
She'll eat it up to come off as means to make other people believe a certain thing, to see you in a certain way, to leave a certain impression on someone.
He came off as an intelligent person That is the impression that I got from him.
That is my idea of him from that situation or that encounter.
He came off as a jerk.
That would be a very negative way of describing your impression of someone or a creep.
Well, Lynn thinks that Perry will come off as mysterious something or someone that is difficult to understand or identify.
She says this woman will eat it up.
To eat it up means to accept something eagerly, usually because you want to believe it.
It's something that you believe perhaps already.
And so when someone tells you, you accept it very quickly.
Perry says, I can't do it.
There's no way I could do that.
Could I?
Lynn says, yes, you can.
After all, no guts, no glory.
This is an old expression, no guts, G-U-T-S, no glory, G-L-O-R-Y.
Guts is courage, strength, bravery.
Glory is courage, something wonderful that happens, something that you want to happen, that will give you great pleasure or perhaps great fame.
So the expression no guts, no glory means that if you don't take any risks, if you're not brave and courageous enough, then you won't gain anything.
You won't be able to get something that you want.
There's another expression, no pain, no gain.
Meaning, in order to get something good, you often have to go through some pain.
And certainly, asking a woman out on a date for a man can be pretty painful.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
No way.
She's completely out of my league.
See that guy she's talking to?
He's the kind of guy who'll get her number.
That guy has nothing on you.
The only thing that guy has that you don't is confidence.
See?
She's giving him her number.
I don't have a chance.
But look at what he's doing with it.
He's throwing it away.
What a jerk.
Wait here.
Hey, where are you going?
I've got it.
Here it is.
Here's her number.
Call her.
Call her?
Out of the blue?
You're crazy.
She'll think I'm some kind of creep.
No, she'll think you're being bold.
She'll love that.
What am I supposed to say to her?
Hi, I stole your phone number and I'd like a date.
No, tell her the truth.
Tell her you saw her, admired her from afar, and wanted to ask her out.
What if she asks me how I got her number?
Tell her you'll tell her that when you see her on your first date.
You'll come off as mysterious.
She'll eat it up.
I can't do it.
There's no way I could do that.
Could I?
Yes, you can.
After all, no guts, no glory.
While she comes off as mysterious, she's admired from afar.
That's because no one knows what she looks like.
It's our own scriptwriter, Dr. Lucy Say.
Thanks, Lucy.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2011 by the Center for Educational Development.
