Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 999, Being Vague and Unfocused.
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, Episode 999.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
I'm happy today.
This is Episode 999.
You can visit our website at ESLPOD.com.
On this episode we're going to listen to a dialogue between Terry and Bonnie about being vague and unfocused.
Let's get started.
I'm pumped and ready to help paint the community center this weekend.
What time are we supposed to get there in the morning?
I'm not sure.
Sophia was a little vague about that.
She told people to show up when they can make it.
That doesn't sound like an auspicious start.
How many people are supposed to be there?
I'm a little fuzzy on that too.
Sophia didn't have a sign-up sheet.
She just told people to show up if they could.
I hate to say it, But Sophia is the worst person to be organizing this.
Her heart is in the right place, but her head is in the clouds.
I don't think I've ever met a more absent-minded person.
I know what you mean.
She always seems to be daydreaming.
What if she's as vague as she usually is?
I'll try speaking to her on a different frequency.
Earth to Sophia, Earth to Sophia.
Our dialogue begins with Teddy saying I'm pumped and ready to help paint the community center this weekend.
To be pumped.
P-U-M-P-E-D means to be very excited, to be prepared and eager to do something.
To do something with a lot of enthusiasm.
That's what Terry is saying here.
He's pumped pumped. to paint the community center this weekend.
A community center would be a building that is used by people in a certain neighborhood, a certain part of town for meetings and classes and things of that nature.
Community centers are usually built by the local government.
He says, what time are we supposed to get there in the morning?
Bonnie says, I'm not sure.
Sophia was a little vague about that.
To be vague, V-A-G-U-E, means to be unclear, not very specific.
Bonnie says that Sophia was a little vague somewhat vague about what time they should get to the community center in the morning to paint.
Bonnie says she told people to show up when they can make it.
To show up is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to appear, to come, to be present at some event or at some location.
Normally, you show up for work at 8 o'clock in the morning or maybe 9 o'clock in the morning.
That's one possible use of to show up.
Often, it's used to mean to attend.
How many people showed up at the meeting last night?
How many people attended?
How many people went to the meeting?
Bonnie says that Sophia said that people should show up when they can make it.
To make it here means to be able to do something, especially to be able to go somewhere for some purpose.
I wanted to go to the movie last night, but it was raining and I didn't make it.
I didn't actually go.
Thierry says, that doesn't sound like an auspicious start.
Auspicious, A-U-S-P-I-C-I-O-U-S, means favorable, indicating that something good will happen.
It's not a common word in English conversation, but you will read it.
You will sometimes also hear people say auspicious when talking about something that indicates that this event is going to go well or, in this case, that this event is not going to go well.
Terry says this doesn't, this does not sound like an auspicious start.
How many people are supposed to be there, he asks.
Bonnie says, I'm a little fuzzy on that, too.
To be fuzzy, F-U-Z-Z-Y, here means to be vague, to be unclear, not to be very specific.
Bonnie says, Sophia didn't have a sign-up sheet.
The word sheet, S-H-E-E-T, here means a sheet of paper, a piece of paper.
A sign up sheet is a piece of paper where you put your name down to indicate that you are going to participate in something or you are going to do something.
A sign up sheet would be used for some event or for which you want to know who is coming or how many people are coming.
Terry says, There are two common expressions there.
First, To have your heart H-E-A-R-T in the right place.
To have your heart in the right place means that you have good intentions.
You want to do the right thing.
You want to do good.
To have your head in the clouds means that you're not a very practical person.
You're not a person who worries about the details, about the specifics of something.
In other words, you're not a very good person to plan or organize something because you're not paying attention to the specific details that you need to pay attention to.
Sophia then wants to do the right thing, but she's not a very practical person.
Her heart is in the right place, but her head is in the clouds.
Terry says, I don't think I've ever met a more absent-minded person.
To be absent-minded, A-B-S-E-N-T, M-I-N-D-E-D, one word, means to be forgetful, to be unable to concentrate or focus.
There's an old expression, the absent-minded professor, referring to someone who teaches at the university.
We think of professors as being absent-minded because, although they are very smart, they have a lot of intelligence, they are often not very practical.
So we have this image of the absent-minded professor.
Sophia is also considered to be absent-minded by Terry.
Bonnie says, I know what you mean.
She always seems to be daydreaming.
To daydream is to imagine things that aren't actually happening right now and may never happen during the middle of the day.
Normally, we think about dreaming as something that you do at night when you're sleeping.
Daydreaming is to be imagining things happening right now instead of, of course, actually doing your work.
If you are sitting at your desk in your office at work and daydreaming, your boss will not be very happy.
You're supposed to be working, not dreaming about your vacation anymore next year in Hawaii or in France, or wherever you take your vacation.
You daydream about pleasant things, things that you want to happen or that might happen.
Terry says, I'm going to call her right now and pin her down.
To pin P-I-N someone down is is a phrasal verb meaning to make them give you a specific answer to your question, to make them give you the details of something, especially when that person has been vague about the issue that you are asking about.
Thierry says she meaning Sophia, needs to attend to the nitty-gritty if this project is going to get done.
To attend A-T-T-E-N-D to something means to pay attention to something, to address something, to take care of something.
Notice that you...
Use this expression with the preposition to at the end.
It's always something you are attending to.
This is different than the verb to attend, which can mean something similar as to attend to, but it could also mean to show up to go to a certain place.
Here, in this sentence, it means to take care of or pay attention to something.
Jerry wants Sophia to attend to the nitty gritty.
Nitty, N-I-T-T-Y hyphen gritty, G-R-I-T-T-Y, refers to the specific details.
Sophia hasn't attended to the nitty gritty here.
She hasn't told people exactly what time they should be there or found out even how many people are going.
Bonnie says, what if she's as vague as she usually is?
What if, in other words, she doesn't give Terry the details he's looking for?
Terry says, I'll try speaking to her on a different frequency.
Earth to Sophia, Earth to Sophia.
Terry's making a joke here.
The word frequency is normally used to talk about measuring radio waves.
Here, really, it refers more to a particular channel for audio or radio communication.
In order for two people to talk to each other on a radio, they both have to be on the same frequency, on the same channel.
And that in fact is another common expression in English, to be on the same frequency.
We even say to be on the same wavelength when we are talking about someone who is thinking the same way.
We are someone to whom we can communicate our ideas easily.
Wavelength is another term you will hear people use when talking about radio communication.
When Terry says he is going to try to speak to Sophia on a different frequency, he means he's going to try to reach her, to communicate with her, because she doesn't seem to understand normal human communication.
Then he uses the expression Earth to Sophia.
When you say Earth to someone...
You are trying to get their attention.
But the idea is that this person isn't paying attention.
It's almost as if this person were from another planet and you, being on planet Earth, are trying to communicate to this person.
Perhaps this expression became popular during the era of space exploration in the 20th century.
I'm not sure.
But it means that you are trying to communicate with someone who seems to not be listening or not be paying attention to what you are talking about.
It's a... somewhat insulting way to talk to someone.
If you feel as though someone isn't listening to you or isn't paying attention to you, you might use this expression as a joke to get the person to pay attention.
We may also use this expression when someone has an idea that is completely unrealistic or very incorrect, very wrong.
The person doesn't seem to be thinking rationally.
Someone says, I'm going to walk from New York City to Paris.
Well, you might use the expression here Earth to Jeff.
You can't walk from New York to Paris, at least not very easily.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I'm pumped and ready to help paint the community center this weekend.
What time are we supposed to get there in the morning?
I'm not sure.
Sophia was a little vague about that.
She told people to show up when they could make it.
That doesn't sound like an auspicious start.
How many people are supposed to be there?
I'm a little fuzzy on that, too.
Sophia didn't have a sign-up sheet.
She just told people to show up if they could.
I hate to say it, but Sophia is the worst person to be organizing this.
Her heart is in the right place, but her head is in the clouds.
I don't think I've ever met a more absent-minded person.
I know what you mean.
She always seems to be daydreaming.
I'm going to call her right now and pin her down.
She needs to attend to the nitty gritty if this project is going to get done.
What if she's as vague as she usually is?
I'll try speaking to her on a different frequency.
Earth to Sophia, Earth to Sophia.
There's nothing vague or unfocused about our wonderful scripts here on ESL Podcast.
That's because they're written by the wonderful Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2014 by the Center for Educational Development.
