Video lesson#25: Boarding order

 Have you ever board a flight?

Have you noticed that year after year the boarding order is getting more and more complicated?

Have you ever thought that you were one of the first passengers to enter a plane and then discovered that you were one of the last ones?

If your answer is "yes" to any of these questions I´m sure that you are going to enjoy this short video from the comedians Key & Peele

Have fun!

Vocabulary

Boarding: entering a plane or a ship.

First class passengers: person who flies with the most expensive and highest quality service on a plane.

Business class passengers: person who flies with better conditions that the ones you get when you buy a cheap flight ticket on economy class

Wheelchair: a chair on wheels used by people that are unable to walk.

Priest: man with religious duties in the Christian Church

Nun: a member of a female religious group that lives in a convent. 

Rabbi: religious leader and teacher in the Jewish religion

Imam: leader in the Islamic religion

Computer bag: a bag used to carry laptops or similar electronic devices.

Damn it!: expression of annoyment or disatisfaction

Cranky: easily annoyed or upset

 
 

Video lesson#21: Toss a coin (Peaky Blinders´scene)

On today´s video lesson we are going to learn some vocabulary and expressions used in gambling and negotiations with the help of Tommy Shelby, main character of one of the better Tv shows ever: The Peaky Blinders.

The series takes place in Birmingham (U.K.) during the period between World War I and II, where a family of gypsies called The Peaky Blinders rules over the city.

One of the things I enjoy most about this show and especially about Tommy Shelby is his use of the English language, combining British slang with very polite and well spoken English, depending on the situation and the context.

Anyway, as always you will find a list of vocabulary below that will help you understanding and enjoying this video. Pay special attention to expressions like toss a coin, heads or tails or

Cheers!

VOCABULARY

To melt: to turn something solid into something liquid. 

Canal: a long, thin stretch of water that is artificially made either for boats to travel along or for taking water from one area to another.

To sale: to exchange something for money.

Yard: an area of land in which a particular type of work is done. It´s also a unit of measurement equal to 91,4 centimeters.

To settle: to go and live somewhere, especially permanently.

Deal: an arrangement or agreement, especially in business.

To spin a coin/ to toss a coin: to throw a coin up into the air and guess which side will land facing up, as a way of making a decision.

Heads or tails: the two sides of a coin; the heads are the side where there is the face of a King, Queen, etc. and the tails is the other side, where the value of the coin is written.

To fuck: to have sex with someone.

For fuck sake: rude expression used to express confusion mixed with annoyance.

Joke: something that is said or done in order to make people laugh.

Sacred: considered to be holy and deserving respect.

To bet/ To take a bet: to risk money, or other valued things, on the result of an event.

Witness: a person who sees an event happening.

The terms of an agreement: the conditions that control an agreement.

Wager: amount of money that you risk in the hope of winning more or the agreement that you make to take this risk.

OBE: another word to call someone like brother.

Grave: a place in the ground where a dead person is buried.

Property: an object or objects that belong to someone.

Video lesson#20: Pulp Fiction´s intro scene

Another great scene on a greater movie that takes place in a restaurant.

I´m quite sure that most of you have watched the most iconic of Quentin Tarantino´s movies more than once so I think it´s time to take a deep look into it´s vocabulary, that you will find below.

You will find lots of phrasal verbs and expressions used in informal American English, as most the main characters are a couple of criminals (as most of the characters in this movie). You will also learn some curse words that are very common in spoken street language and an interesting list of the different jobs in a restaurant.

For all these reasons I think this is a really good clip to improve your English.

Enjoy the scene and, of course, enjoy the music!

 

Vocabulary

Garçon: a waiter in a French restaurant. It also means “boy” in French.

Coffee shop: a small, informal restaurant where drinks and small meals are served.

To rob: to take money or property illegally, often using violence

Bar: a place where drinks, especially alcoholic drinks, are sold and drunk.

Liquor store: a shop that sells mainly alcoholic drinks to be taken away and drunk at home.

Gas station: a place where fuel is sold for road vehicles.

To blow (your head) off: to make your head explode

To stick up: to threat someone with a gun in order to steal from them.

To catch with the pants down: to be embarrassed by something that happens because you are not prepared for it.

To expect: to think or believe something will happen.

To bet: to risk money on the result of an event or a competition. Also, to be certain that something is true or will happen.

To cut down: to reduce the amount or number of something.

To be insured: to have an insurance, which means that you pay a company money and they pay your costs if you have an accident, get robbed, etc.

Manager: a person in charge, responsible for a team or a business.

To plug the diners: a very rare expression that means “shooting the people”. A diner is a small and cheap restaurant, like the one where this scene takes place.

Waitress: a woman whose job is to bring the food to customers at their tables in a restaurant.

To take a bullet: to get shoot by a gun.

Register: a machine which record sales and in which money is kept in a restaurant or a shop.

Busboy: a person who works in a restaurant removing dirty dishes and bringing clean ones.

Wetback: an irregular immigrant in the United States, often from Mexico or other Latin-American country.

To give a fuck: to care. It´s a very informal and rude expression

Customer: a person who buys goods or a service.

Denver omelette: an omelette filled with ham, onion and green bell peppers.

Wallet: a small leather case for money, credit cards, etc.

Crowd: a large group of people.

To handle: to deal with something or someone.

Employee: someone who is paid to work for someone else

To be cool: to be calm and relaxed.

Prick: a stupid man.

To execute: to kill.

Motherfucker: an extremely offensive name for someone you hate or has made you angry.

Video lesson#19: Child portion (After life)

Hi! 

On today´s lesson we are going to watch a short clip of the hilarious show After Life, starring Ricky Gervais.

As you will see, the scene takes place in a restaurant and turns around a children menu that can´t be ordered by an adult…

As always, I have made a list of vocabulary below, so you can understand every detail and little joke.

Enjoy it!

 

Vocabulary

Hungry: wanting or needing food. Sometimes is confused with angry, that means “having a strong feeling against someone”

Café: a restaurant where simple and usually quite cheap meals are served. Spanish people usually mix it up with coffee, the dark drink, because in Spanish is café.

Loser: a person who is always unsuccessful at everything he does. It´s a common insult in English, but not a very hard one.

To fancy: to want to have or do something. Also, to be sexually attracted to someone. Very common in British English, not in American English.

Fish fingers: a long, rectangular piece of fish covered in breadcrumbs and cooked. It´s quite a typical cheap food eaten in United Kingdom.

Beans: the seeds of some climbing plants, eaten as a vegetable. There are different types of beans like green beans, baked beans or kidney beans. Another typical British food eaten mostly for breakfast.

To order: to ask for something to be made, supplied, or delivered, especially in a restaurant or shop. In this video they are ordering their food.

Portion: a part or share of something larger.

Concession: something that is allowed or given up, often in order to end a disagreement.

Video lesson#18: The Terminal (second part)

Let´s continue learning English with this movie, this time with the interesting and absurd conversation between Mr Navorsky  and Mr Dixon

This might be a little bit more difficult but with the vocabulary list below you should understand everything.

Vocabulary 

JFK: IATA code for New York´s John F. Kennedy airport.

Immigration: the act of someone coming to live in another country.

Interpreter: someone whose job is to change what someone else is saying into another language.

To suspend: to stop something from being active.

To issue: to produce or provide something official.

To revoke: to say officially that an agreement, permission, law, etc. is no longer in effect.

Visa: an official document that allows you to enter or leave a particular country.

In a nutshell: expression that means “using as few words as possible”.

Military coup: a sudden illegal, often violent, taking of government power by an army.

Casualty: a person injured or kill in a serious accident or war.

Leadership: the position or fact of being the leader.

Big Apple: common name for New York city.

To seal the borders: to close the borders of a country so no one can enter or leave it.

Asylum: protection or safety, especially that given by a government to people who have been forced to leave their own countries for their safety or because a war. 

Refugee: a person who has escaped their own country for political, religious or economic reasons or because of a war.

Unacceptable: too bad to be accepted, approved of, or allowed to continue.

Twilight zone: an area where two different ways of life or states of existence meet. It´s also a Tv show related to ghosts and mysteries.

Dilemma: a situation in which difficult choice has to be made between two different things you could do.

To detain: to force someone officially to stay in a place.

Crack: a very narrow space between parts of something.

To sort out: to deal successfully with a problem or situation.

International Transit Lounge: A waiting room at an international airport for passengers changing flights.

Free: having unlimited movement.

Uncle Sam: a popular way to name the Government of the U.S.A.

Video lesson#17: The Terminal

I´ve just remember this Steven Spielberg´s movie from 2004 that is perfect to listen to some specific airport vocabulary.

I´m quite sure you know this movie about an Easter European citizen who becomes stuck in New York´s J.F. Kennedy airport. In fact, it´s inspired in the true story of Mehram Karimi Nasseri who lived for almost 18 years (from 1988 to 2006) in Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, in France.

Anyway, it´s a great movie and I´m sure you will enjoy this short video with the first scenes of the film.

The vocabulary it´s quite easy, except from some technical airport terms that I´ve listed below.

So, welcome and enjoy your stay!

 

Vocabulary

Arrival: the act of someone or something that reaches a place, in this case the airport.

Gate: part of the airport where travelers are allowed to get on or off an aircraft.

To line up: to stand in a line

Booth: a small place like a box that a person can go into. In an airport is the place where customs officers check the travelers passports, visas and flight tickets.

I-94 form: is a form used by the U.S, Customs and Border Protection to keep track of the arrival and departure to/from the United States of people who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents.

What´s the purpose of your visit, business or pleasure?: polite question asked at the customs to inquire about the reason of your travel

Return ticket: flight ticket to the origin of your flight, normally the city or country you are living in.

Enjoy your stay: polite sentence used in airports and accommodations to wish the visitor a good stay.

Passport: an official document containing personal information and usually a photograph that allows the person to travel to foreign countries and to prove who they are.

Customs: the place at a port, airport or border where travelers´ bags are examined for illegal or taxable goods.

Forged document: illegally falsified documents such as passports, visas, etc.

IBIS: acronym of Interagency Border Inspection System.

To claim your luggage: to demand your luggage in an airport.

Yellow cab: a taxi from New York city, where the taxis are yellow cars.

Inn: hotel.

Keep the change: polite sentence used to tip waiters, taxi drivers, etc. while giving them the money that is left of a payment.

Video lesson#12: To tip or not to tip

To tip or not to tip, that is the question...

At least for Mr Pink, the main character of this clip from Quentin Tarantino´s first movie: Reservoir Dogs.

Watch this little video (with English subtitles) and take a look at the vocabulary below to understand all the money-related vocabulary, all the expressions, jokes and rude language used by these gangsters.

#Note: You might notice how they use the verb don´t with the third person (He don´t/ She don´t) instead of using the correct form (He doesn´t/ She doesn´t). Although it´s grammatically incorrect it´s very common in spoken English, especially in the United States.

Vocabulary

Check: a list showing what you have eaten and how much do you have to pay. It is also called bill in British English.

Tip: extra money given to the waiter in a restaurant to show that you have liked the service.

Buck: a dollar.

To change someone´s mind: to have an idea that you didn´t have before.

To shoot: to fire a bullet.

To cough up: to give money, especially when you do not really want to.

Green: dollar notes (because of their green color).

To tip: to give a tip.

Chick: a young woman.

To make: in this sense, to earn money.

To make shit: to earn a little amount of money.

To quit: to leave your job.

To have the balls: to have courage.

Let me get this straight: expression used when you want to understand or clarify something.

To deserve: to have earned something because of the way you have behaved.

To suck: to move the tongue and muscles of the mouth around something inside your mouth.

Dick: penis

To order: to ask for something to be made, supplied or delivered, especially in a restaurant or shop.

To fill: to put a substance into an empty space.

To be busy: to work hard or to have many things to do.

To starve: to become very weak or even die because there is not enough food to eat.

Minimum wage: the smallest amount of money that employers are legally allowed to pay to their employees.

To deem: to consider or judge in a particular way.

Worthy: deserving respect, admiration or support.

To bust your ass: to work hard.

Bullshit: complete nonsense or something that is not true.

Occupation: job.

College: university.

Non-college graduate: a person who has not gone to college.

To make a living: to earn enough money to buy the things you need to live.

To tax: to make somebody pay a tax (an amount of money paid to the Government).

To be fucked up: to be stupid and not reasonable.

On a regular basis: occurring in regular time intervals.

To sign: to write your name.

To play ball: to cooperate with others.

To type: to write using a machine such as a typewriter or a computer.

The rent: the money you pay monthly to the owner of the house you are living in.

Rambler: a person who enjoys walking on the countryside.

To ramble: to walk for pleasure, especially in the countryside.

Cheap bastard: a man usually of good socioeconomic status that never pays.

Goddamn/goddamned: rude expression used to emphasize what you are saying.

So, what do you think? Should you tip the waitress next time you go to a restaurant?

Leave your answer in the comments