Original post can be found here:
Date taught: 6 Dec 2023
9B – Local Hero
Theme: The attraction of superheroes.
two wrongs don’t make a right (idiom) – used to say that if somebody does something bad to you, the situation will not be improved by doing something bad to them
Crimes:
- armed robbery () – the crime of stealing from somewhere or someone using weapons
- grand theft (n) – the crime of stealing a lot of money or something very valuable
- petty crime/theft (adj) – (of a crime or criminal) not very serious
- assault (n) [C1] – Assault charges typically involve the threat of violence and inducing fear in a victim.
- battery (n) – Battery charges are essentially when threats are carried out, and a physical attack occurs.
- hijacking (n) – the use of violence or threats to take control of a vehicle, especially a plane, in order to force it to travel to a different place or to demand something from a government
- hot-wire (v) – If someone, especially a thief, hot-wires a car, they start its engine using a piece of wire rather than the key.
- bootleg (adj) – used to describe something that is made secretly and sold illegally.
- kidnapping (n) – the crime of taking somebody away illegally and keeping them as a prisoner, especially in order to get money or something else for returning them
- mugging (n) – the crime of attacking somebody violently, or threatening to do so, in order to steal their money, especially in a public place
- homicide (n) – the act of killing another person, particularly when referring to it as a crime
Homicide is a general term and can also refer to a killing that is not a crime, for example because the person was trying to defend themselves. There are also different degrees of criminal homicide, for example depending on whether the killing was deliberate or planned in advance. - manslaughter (n) – the crime of killing somebody illegally in circumstances that make it a less serious crime than murder (for example because it was not deliberate or not planned in advance)
- smuggling (n) – the crime of taking, sending or bringing goods secretly and illegally into or out of a country
- vandalism (n) – the crime of destroying or damaging something, especially public property, deliberately and for no good reason
highway robbery (idiom) – the fact of someone charging too much money for something
Example: You wouldn’t believe some of the prices they charge; it’s highway robbery.
steal (n) – a product that has a very low price, or a price that is much lower than the original cost; SYN: bargain
Example: I picked up a new iron in the sale – it was a steal.
devious licks trend – a challenge in which North American middle school and high school students posted videos of themselves stealing, vandalizing, or showing off one or more items they stole in their school, typically from a bathroom (or, in some cases, merely pretending to have done so). The trend went viral on TikTok in 2021 and has resulted in the arrests of many students as well as various warnings being issued by police departments.
devious (adj) [C2] – behaving in a dishonest or indirect way, or tricking people, in order to get something
lick (n) – On social media, lick is primarily a synonym for “theft.” For example, an office worker might post “check out this lick” alongside a photo of supplies they stole from their office. You may also see lick used to mean “an easy mark” or “a (likely illegal) side hustle,” but those meanings are less common than “theft.”
illicit (adj) – illegal or disapproved of by society
anti-theft (adj) – intended to prevent something from being stolen
telepathy (n) – the direct communication of thoughts or feelings from one person to another without using speech, writing, or any other normal method
Vocabulary from Class:
the point (idiom) [B2] – the most important part of what has been said or written
losses and gains –
Goliath (n) – a very large and powerful person or organization
up-to-date (adj) [B1] – modern, recent, or containing the latest information
Pumping them out at a steady pace
traction
gain a following –
drama –
Dramatic comedy
Obscure, little known
Newby / noob / rookie –
The premise
Establishing lore
Subverting expectations
Stylized
World-building
Not on my A-game
Indestructible
Invincible
Wolverine
Spoilers
Device
Differentiation
Spiderman
A-Train
Doping (athletic performance-enhancing drugs) – drug cocktail
Actor vs character
The ends justify the means
Raven
dynamic / static
The Riddler
Freudian slip
Truth, Justice and the American Way
Superman: Red Son
superhuman abilities
cosplay
de-escalation
never bring a knife to a gun fight
bullet-proof vest
lingo
well-versed
asthetic
monkeying around
community service
malicious
bite the hand that feeds you
friendly fire
Archie Comics
Additional Listenings:
Additional Resources:
- Who is that masked man? The real-life superhero who inspired a wild podcast, by The Guardian
- C1: Topic Dictionary, from Oxford Learners Dictionary – Crime and Punishment
- C2: Topic Dictionary, from Oxford Learners Dictionary – Permission and Obligation
- Stealing – SMART Vocabulary cloud with related words and phrases, The Cambridge Dictionary
Attribution: Photo by Totte Annerbrink on Unsplash
English With Dixie 