Episode 0101
Summary
Two friends catch up, discussing their weekend plans. Speaker 2 asks Speaker 1 if he went to the roller rink, but Speaker 1 explains he met a new 'foxy lady' and spent time with her instead. Speaker 2 then shares that their friend Jim went to the rink with Sherry, who paid for everything. Speaker 1 comments on Jim's habit of needing money, then suggests they go grab some food, which Speaker 2 eagerly agrees to.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
Hey, man, how's it hanging?
Hey, man. Everything is just groovy, baby.
Did you go to the roller rink on Saturday?
I heard it was far out, man.
I wanted to, but I ran into this foxy lady that just moved to my block.
I was chatting her up a bit and then we mellowed out at her place.
Right on, right on.
Well, Jim went to the rink with Sherry and he said it was dynamite!
He was low on bread, but Sherry paid for everything.
Gravy!
Jim is such a jive turkey, man.
He's always hitting me up for cash.
Anyway, you want a book and go grab some grub?
Yeah, man, I'm starving.
Summary
This audio is an English lesson from 'EnglishPod' focusing on 1970s American slang. Hosts Marco and Erica introduce and explain several common phrases from that era, including 'roller rink', 'a block', 'far out', 'foxy lady', 'mellow out', 'right on', 'gravy', 'to book', 'to chat someone up', 'to hit someone up for cash', and 'to grab some grub'. The lesson features a short dialogue between two speakers demonstrating the use of these phrases, followed by detailed explanations and example sentences. The hosts emphasize the informal nature of these phrases and how some are still understood or used today, often with a nostalgic or humorous intent.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
Hello English learners, welcome back to another edition here with us at English Pod. My name is Marco.
And I'm Erica.
And today we are doing the third part of our Old English series and today we're transported back to the 1970s.
That's right. So we're gonna learn some 1970 slang. Some phrases that were really popular back in the 70s but are also still in use today.
Exactly. So it's gonna be a very cool lesson today. And before we start with the dialogue, let's take a look at some of the words that we're gonna find in vocabulary preview.
Vocabulary preview.
Well, we have two words for you in vocabulary preview and they're both found in the dialogue. The first one, roller rink.
A roller rink.
A roller rink.
Okay, so a roller rink. Let's break that down and let's look at the first part.
Alright, so roller. We might recognize this from rollerblades or roller skates.
Okay, so yeah, when you go rollerblading, roller skating, those things that you put on your feet to skate.
Right, wheels, not not like a blade or a knife.
Exactly. So that's roller. And what about rink?
Rink is the place where you do skating.
Okay, so if you go to a roller rink, it's this big area where everyone can rollerblade or roller skate.
That's right.
Okay. And what about the next word?
A block.
Block.
A block.
Okay, so this is a noun, a block.
And a block is a part of a city that is surrounded by four streets.
Okay, so a city is made up of many blocks.
Yep.
And everyone lives on a block.
Exactly, so it's a square within the city.
Alright, very good. So these are the two words that we previewed and we're gonna listen to them now in the dialogue. We're gonna hear two guys just talking about normal everyday things, but we're gonna be listening to them in '70s.
Hey man, how's it hanging?
Hey man, everything is just groovy, baby.
Did you go to the roller rink on Saturday? I heard it was far out, man.
I wanted to, but I ran into this foxy lady that just moved to my block. I was chatting her up a bit and then we mellowed out at her place.
Right on, right on. Well, Jim went to the rink with Sherry and he said it was dynamite. He was low on bread but Sherry paid for everything.
Gravy! Jim is such a jive turkey, man. He's always hitting me up for cash.
Anyway, you want to book and go grab some grub?
Yeah man, I'm starving!
Okay, groovy dialogue.
Yeah, really nice, huh?
Alright, so some interesting language in here and like we said, it sounds a bit strange, but a lot of this is still used today in modern English. So why don't we look at some of these words in language takeaway?
Language takeaway.
Alright, on language takeaway today, we have the first word, far out.
Far out.
That was far out. To be far out.
To be far out.
Okay, so it's just another way of saying cool. Cool, that was nice.
Cool.
It was really cool. So they went to the roller rink, it was far out, it was really cool, but the other guy couldn't go because he saw a foxy lady.
A foxy lady.
Okay, foxy lady.
So basically a foxy lady is a really good-looking or sexy woman.
Right, commonly you would hear some men referred to an attractive woman as a fox.
Okay, so foxy lady. Now, Marco, can we say a foxy man?
No, this is a phrase that you would only use for women.
Okay, so foxy lady.
Foxy lady.
So after he met up with the foxy lady, they both just decided to mellow out at her place.
To mellow out.
To mellow out.
Okay, so mellow out. What does this mean exactly?
Basically, just to relax.
Right. So to relax, to take it easy.
Mhm.
To mellow out.
So what did you do on the weekend?
Oh, nothing. I just stayed at home and mellowed out.
Okay. Alright, and so the response to that was
Right on.
Right on. Right on.
Right, right on, right on.
And so basically they're saying, okay, good. I agree.
Yeah, this phrase you can say as good, yeah, that's nice or you can also say it as well correct, correct. I agree.
So why don't we listen to some examples of how we can use this word in other situations?
Example one.
Right on, you got a high score. That's amazing.
Example two.
You got the job? Right on.
Example three.
Jenny was right when she told me she thought Rick was no good for me. I should have listened to her.
Okay, so I think that's pretty clear. We can see how it means correct or also, okay, good.
Alright, right on. And now we also have another word that's similar to far out. He said gravy.
Gravy.
Gravy. Now, if you look it up in a dictionary, it's gonna tell you something else, right?
Gravy is a sauce you put on meat.
Right. But in this case we say gravy is cool.
It's nice.
Right? So gravy.
That was gravy.
Now, finally, at the end of their conversation, they said wanna book?
Okay, let's book.
Book.
So to book, now as a verb.
Yeah, interesting verb. It basically means to leave a place quickly.
Okay, so we have to book, the police are coming.
Right. Or I gotta book, guys, I'm late.
Uh-huh, so book, to leave quickly, to leave suddenly.
Yeah, and that word is used quite commonly today, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, it's used among like younger people, you would say, yeah, let's book, this party is dead.
Okay, great. So there's a lot of pretty cool phrases in this dialogue, pretty groovy phrases. Why don't we hear them again in context?
Hey man, how's it hanging?
Hey, everything is just groovy, baby.
Did you go to the roller rink on Saturday? I heard it was far out, man.
I wanted to, but I ran into this foxy lady that just moved to my block. I was chatting her up a bit and then we mellowed out at her place.
Right on, right on. Well, Jim went to the rink with Sherry, and he said it was dynamite. He was low on bread, but Sherry paid for everything.
Gravy! Jim is such a jive turkey, man. He's always hitting me up for cash.
Anyway, you wanna book and go grab some grub?
Yeah man, I'm starving!
Alright, so now that we understand these six words that we saw in language takeaway. It's time for us now to take a look at some great phrases that we can use today in fluency builder.
Fluency builder.
Okay, so at the start of the conversation, there was an interesting way he started talking to his friend, right?
Alright, he said, how's it hanging?
How's it hanging?
How's it hanging?
Okay, so basically, how is it going? How are you?
Now, you notice in the spelling that we do have a G at the end, ING, right?
Yeah, but usually you don't really pronounce the G in this context, because it's very informal. So, how's it hanging?
How's it hanging?
So he said everything was just groovy and then he started telling him about how he met a girl and he chat her up a bit.
To chat her up.
Okay, so to chat somebody up.
So when you chat someone up, um, you, you talk with them, right?
Yeah, you're making conversation.
But it's, it's sort of, it's more than just conversation, isn't it?
Yeah, you're trying to be a little bit flirty and maybe saying nice romantic phrases or something like that.
Yeah, so usually it's between a woman and a man, right? And it's the man who chats up the woman.
Yeah, exactly.
So a little bit of a sexist phrase here.
To chat someone up or to chat up a girl, right?
Okay, so he was chatting her up.
That's right. And so they were talking about how Jim went to the roller rink, but he didn't have any money, right? Because Jim is always hitting his friends up for cash.
Okay, so to hit someone up.
To hit someone up.
So before we explain this word, let's listen to some other examples so then we can maybe understand the meaning.
Example one.
Can you believe Patrick? He came up to me a month ago and tried to hit me up for some money.
Example two.
When I was a kid, I used to always hit my dad up for lunch money.
Example three.
This is the last time I lend you money. Don't even try to hit me up for more.
Alright, so when you hit someone up for something, you ask for it.
So usually it's to ask for money, right?
That's right.
Okay, so to hit someone up. And now for our last phrase, let's book and let's go grab some grub.
To grab some grub.
Grab some grub.
Okay, let's break this one down. With the final word, grub, what are we talking about?
Grub is an informal way of saying food.
Okay, so to grab some grub is to get some food quickly.
Yeah, let's go get some food.
Alright, so maybe it's time for us to grab some grub, um and while we're doing that, you can listen to the dialogue one last time.
Hey man, how's it hanging?
Hey man, everything is just groovy, baby.
Did you go to the roller rink on Saturday? I heard it was far out, man.
I wanted to, but I ran into this foxy lady that just moved to my block. I was chatting her up a bit and then we mellowed out at her place.
Right on, right on. Well, Jim went to the rink with Sherry, and he said it was dynamite. He was low on bread, but Sherry paid for everything.
Gravy! Jim is such a jive turkey, man. He's always hitting me up for cash.
Anyway, you wanna book and go grab some grub?
Yeah man, I'm starving!
Alright, so some interesting phrases and even though some of these words you may not really commonly hear anymore, they might still be used in movies or something that's related to the disco era, because it's very, very popular still, right?
Yeah, that's right. Some of our more advanced users could even use a lot of these phrases in a kind of funny way to reference back to 1970.
Yeah, exactly. So it's fun and, well, you will use them or you will hear them from time to time even today.
And remember, if you have any questions about the language you hear in these lessons, check out our website at EnglishPod.com.
Exactly, we're there to answer any questions and uh we'll see you guys there.
Thanks for listening and until next time. Goodbye.
Bye.
Summary
This audio is an English vocabulary review that defines informal English words and phrases. It features a main narrator (Speaker 1) who provides definitions and example sentences, and a second speaker (Speaker 2) who repeats the vocabulary words. The first part of the audio introduces each word with its definition, followed by Speaker 2 repeating the word. The second part repeats the word, then Speaker 1 uses it in an example sentence. Emotions vary from neutral for definitions to happy or sad in the example sentences.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
The English Pod Audio Review. Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.
Popular dance music, especially of the late 1970s.
Disco.
House.
Crib.
A performance especially by a band.
Gig.
Used to say that something makes sense.
Right on.
An authority figure, like the boss or government.
The man.
A negative situation.
Bummer.
How's it going? How are you?
How's it hanging?
Cool, excellent, enjoyable.
Groovy.
An enclosed place for roller skating.
Roller rink.
The latest, cool.
Far out.
Sexy, attractive.
Foxy.
Part of a neighborhood surrounded by four streets.
Block.
Talk informally to a person you're attracted to.
Chat someone up.
Relax.
Mellow out.
Money, informal and old-fashioned.
Bread.
Alright, cool.
Gravy.
A person who is unreliable or irresponsible.
Jive turkey.
Ask someone for money.
Hit someone up for.
Leave quickly.
Book.
Food, informal.
Grub.
Let's try that faster.
A person who is unreliable or irresponsible.
Jive turkey.
Used to say that something makes sense.
Right on.
Food, informal.
Grub.
Popular dance music, especially of the late 1970s.
Disco.
Part of a neighborhood surrounded by four streets.
Block.
An authority figure, like the boss or government.
The man.
A negative situation.
Bummer.
Leave quickly.
Book.
Money, informal and old-fashioned.
Bread.
A performance especially by a band.
Gig.
An enclosed place for roller skating.
Roller rink.
The latest, cool.
Far out.
Sexy, attractive.
Foxy.
House.
Crib.
Talk informally to a person you're attracted to.
Chat someone up.
Ask someone for money.
Hit someone up for.
Cool, excellent, enjoyable.
Groovy.
Relax.
Mellow out.
Alright, cool.
Gravy.
How's it going? How are you?
How's it hanging?
Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.
Groovy.
Where did you buy that groovy shirt? I really like it.
Groovy.
The party at Paul's house last night was groovy.
Groovy.
James has a groovy new motorcycle and he said he would let me ride it.
Far out.
I went to the cinema and saw the new Star Trek movie. It was far out.
Far out.
You got a job at Morgan Stanley? That's far out, man! Congratulations!
Far out.
Did you see how fast that car went? That was far out!
Mellow out.
I don't feel like going out tonight. I think I will just mellow out here at home.
Mellow out.
Chopin really mellows me out when I'm feeling tense.
Mellow out.
After final exams, let's go down to the beach and mellow out.
Right on.
Right on! You got a high score! That's amazing!
Right on.
You got the job? Right on!
Right on.
Jenny was right on when she told me she thought Rick was no good for me. I should have listened to her.
Book.
This party is really boring. Let's book and go to another bar.
Book.
The police arrived and started arresting people, so my friend and I booked as fast as we could.
Book.
Dan saw his ex-girlfriend at the restaurant and started to get nervous, and he ended up booking.