Date taught: 20 December 2023
9D – Hate List
Theme: Professions people love to hate. How to deal with difficult situations.
correlation not causation (phrase) [C2] – means that just because there is a connection between two things (in which one thing changes as the other does) does not necessarily mean that one causes the other.
pitch (n) [B2] – a speech or act that attempts to persuade someone to buy or do something
elevator pitch (n) – a short but effective explanation that is intended to persuade someone to buy a product or accept an idea; It’s the idea that you should have a practiced, pithy speech on hand that, within 20-30 seconds – the length of a ride in a lift – can convince the listener of whatever it is you’re talking about. This can be for investment, a new idea, a new strategy, or, as it’s often used, to clearly explain your business and what you do.
party / cocktail pitch (n) – a brief and informal way of explaining what you do for a living; a simple, clear version of what you do and who you BEST do it for, and why you do it. It’s the idea that you can explain your profession briefly at a party and make a good impression on the person you are describing it to.
smarty pants (n) – someone who wants to appear to be clever
smart ass (n) – (offensive and often seen as a curse word) someone who is always trying to seem more intelligent than other people in a way that is annoying
smart alec (n) – (informal, but not necessarily offensive) someone who tries to appear clever or who answers questions in a clever way that annoys other people
burns a hole in one’s pocket (idiom) – If money is burning a hole in your pocket, you are very eager to spend it, as if the money is spent as quickly as if it were to fall out of your pocket, and it burns in your pocket and draws your attention to it and makes you want to spend it quickly
spend it as soon as you get it – (see burns a hole in one’s pocket)
nepotism (n) – the act of using your power or influence to get good jobs or unfair advantages for members of your own family
living above/beyond your means (idiom) – to spend more money than you receive as income
read between the lines –
preconceived notions (n) – sometimes referred to as unconscious biases, are opinions that are formed without any proof or evidence. Examples include prejudices, stereotypes, and various other types of unconscious bias.
generational wealth (n) – refers to any kind of assets that are passed down from one family generation to another. These assets can include stocks, bonds, real estate, family businesses, and any other investments.
white collar (adj) – relating to people who work in offices, doing work that needs mental rather than physical effort
blue collar (adj) – Blue-collar workers do work needing strength or physical skill rather than office work.
worked their way up from the bottom –
entry-level position –
gopher/gofer (n) job – someone whose job is to be sent to get and carry things such as messages, drinks, etc. for other people in a company
dirty jobs –
overworked, underpaid and unappreciated (idiom) – usually used to refer to how you are treated at your job, and that you are mentally fatigued, although may not necessarily – it indicates as it sounds that you feel that you work too much or too much is expected of you, that you feel you are not being paid an appropriate wage or you are not paid what you are worth, and that you are not appreciated as an asset, or as important of an asset, at your workplace
service industry (n) – a business that does work for a customer, and occasionally provides goods, but is not involved in manufacturing.
turn the tables (idiom) – to change from being in a weaker position in relation to someone else to being in a stronger position
a necessary evil – A necessary evil is something that people do not like, but they realize that it is necessary for it to exist. Traffic wardens are called a necessary evil because (a) people don’t like getting parking tickets, but (b) it is necessary to control parking in crowded towns.
members of the public –
“…only doing their job” – The usage of “job” in this reference is the key focus of the idiomatic phrase, along with the justification that they were “only” or “just” doing their job. This is often used as an excuse by those who are either apathetic or embarrassed by their job and use this phrase as an excuse that it was not their personal choice in the actions they took, that they were merely executing the actions required by their job positions.
“…they often behave like pigs” – This is more of a simile. The are making a comparison between the person and an animal, but they are not calling them one directly, they are using the word “like” in the comparison. Pigs are usually seen as dirty, so if someone is being compared to a pig they are usually calling them dirty. They are also often referred to as cops/police officers.
pig (n)– (A) An animal with pink, black or brown skin, short legs, a broad nose and a short curly tail. (B) Pigs are kept on farms for their meat (called pork) or live in the wild. (C) A person who you find unpleasant or offensive; a person who you think is dirty or greedy. (D) (slang, offensive) an offensive word for a police officer
snort (v) – the sound a pig makes, or to make a loud sound by breathing air out noisily through your nose, especially to show that you are angry or think something is silly
scum of the earth (idiom) – the worst type of people that can be imagined
pet peeve (n) – something that especially annoys you
meter maid / traffic warden (n) – someone whose job is to make certain that people do not leave their cars in illegal places
high turnover rate (n) [C2] – the rate at which employees leave a company and are replaced by new people
it’s not for everybody –
it takes a special person –
call center (n) – a large office in which a company’s employees provide information to its customers, or sell or advertise its goods or services, by phone
on the flip side (n) – an opposite or unattractive result of a popular or attractive action
telesales (n) – the advertising or selling of goods or services by phone
Additional Listenings:
Attribution: Image by master1305 on Freepik
English With Dixie 