Episode 0123

Hello everyone, welcome back to another podcast here at English Pod. My name is Marco.

And I'm Erica.

And today we're looking at another one of our lessons for English of the past decades, and this time it's the 1990s.

Well, you know, the 1990s is a little easier for most of us to remember.

Yeah, I guess it's a little bit more recent. We're gonna be looking at a lot of language that is still used today. Most of these words and phrases are still used today, so they're gonna be very useful and you're gonna sound a lot more native.

Right. So, before we get started with this lesson, why don't we take a look at vocabulary preview?

Vocabulary preview.

We have two words we're going to hear in the dialogue. Now, the first one is a mall.

A mall.

M. A. L. L. Mall.

All right, so a mall is basically short for shopping mall.

Mhm. And a shopping mall is a big building with many stores inside.

Right. So it's like a shopping center.

Mhm. And our last word for vocabulary preview is gang.

The gang.

The gang.

Okay, so a gang is a group of people, right?

Yeah, it's a group of people you can call your friends, the gang. We're gonna go out with the gang tonight.

Yeah. Now, we sometimes hear this word, um, to have and it has a negative meaning, right?

Right, like street gang.

Yeah. So people who are who fight and deal drugs and all that sort of stuff.

Right. So it can have a negative and a positive meaning, so but it just depends on how you use it.

Yeah, but in the dialogue, we'll hear it with a positive meaning.

Right. So, that's all the words we have for vocabulary preview. Let's listen to this cool and hip dialogue from the 1990s and we'll come back later and explain some words.

Max, what's up? Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.

Okay, okay. Geez.

Well, it sounds like this guy's got some problems at school, huh?

Yeah, he got an F on his paper, but you always can count on your friends to try and cheer you up by doing something.

Yeah. But they use some really great phrases and vocabulary words, so why don't we look at those now in language takeaway?

Language takeaway.

All right, on language takeaway, we're gonna be looking at five words. And well, let's start with the first one.

So the guy was talking about his really cool new shoes, his new Adidas, right?

Mhm.

And his friend said, 'Those are dope!'

Dope.

Dope.

Okay, so it's pretty easy to understand when something is dope.

It's really awesome.

It's cool.

Yeah, it's great.

Right, it's great. So, that's dope.

Mhm. And it's an adjective, right?

Mhm.

So his friend said those are dope and he said, 'You're gonna be getting mad props from the gang.'

Okay, so mad props. Mad props.

Mad props.

We can divide this word in two. So let's take a look at the first part, mad.

Mad.

So we understand that mad is angry, right?

Yeah, but it can also mean a lot.

Or like amazing.

Or really.

So if I say you have mad skills.

You're really good at something.

Mhm.

Or you can say she has a mad amount of shoes.

All right. So he's going to get mad props. Now, props is like respect or compliments.

Yeah. So, so his shoes are so cool that he's gonna get a lot of respect or a lot of compliments from his friends.

Exactly, mad props. Mad props.

Mad props.

So, they started talking about girls and he mentioned that this girl started tripping.

Tripping.

Tripping.

So to trip.

Right. As you notice, it's tripping, it doesn't have the G at the end, which isn't really grammatically correct, but that's kind of the way it's pronounced.

Yeah, we we would never say the G.

Right. So, if somebody is tripping...

They're, um, they're getting really upset. They're getting really angry.

Right, they're causing trouble.

Mhm.

So, why don't we listen to a couple of examples of how we could use trippin' for different situations?

Example one.

Leanne was tripping 'cause I got dirt on her car.

Example two.

Even though I apologized for calling her fat, Genie was tripping all night.

Example three.

He sent me 43 text messages and called me about 20 times. That guy is tripping over me.

Okay, so that's pretty clear, um, tripping.

All right. Now, moving on to our next word, uh, they wanted to go somewhere and he said, 'Come on, let's bounce!'

Let's bounce.

Let's bounce.

I'm gonna bounce.

Now, uh, bounce basically means let's leave. Let's get out of here.

But we might be more familiar with this this word as in like a ball, right? A ball bounces off the floor.

Exactly. So, I guess it's kind of the same. You kind of bounce off the floor and leave that place.

Yeah. Let's bounce.

Okay, so for our final word, now this guy who got a bad mark on his his paper, he was nervous about what his dad would say, right?

Right.

'Cause his dad was going to go postal.

Mhm. He said, 'My dad is gonna go postal.'

To go postal.

Now, if you go postal, it means you go crazy.

Yeah, you really freak out.

You go you get very angry.

Yeah, like really angry.

This word comes from the nineties because during a time, it was very common in the United States that postal workers, mailmen, were going a little bit crazy and, you know, they started shooting people and, uh, delivering some strange packages.

Well, I guess so people who work in, um, the post office, maybe don't have the most exciting jobs, and that drives them a little crazy.

Exactly. That's why and but now they have a a term named after them.

All right, so why don't we listen to our dialogue for the second time. We're gonna slow it down. And then we'll come back.

Max, what's up? Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.

Okay, okay, geez.

Okay, so I think that was a little easier to understand. You know, we've got a lot of pretty strange words and phrases, some interesting slang.

Yeah, and I want to take a look at this slang now, so let's get started with Fluency Builder.

Fluency builder.

Okay, so the guy with the new shoes, he asked his friends, 'Have you seen Betty lately,' right?

Right.

And the his friend replied, 'Don't even go there.'

Right. He was like, 'Dude, don't even go there.'

Don't even go there.

So what does he mean when he says, 'Don't even go there'?

He means don't talk about it. I I don't wanna talk about it.

Right. Don't even touch that subject. Don't even mention it.

Don't even mention it.

Right. So if somebody wants to talk about a topic that you think is sensitive or you don't want to talk about, you just say, 'Hey, don't don't even go there.'

So, Marco, what do you think about the new tax law?

Uh, don't even go there. I don't even want to talk about politics.

Okay, so I think that's that's a really actually quite helpful phrase, um, to avoid talking about an uncomfortable subject.

Right. So he said, 'Don't even go there,' and he started talking about the girl and she was tripping. And then he said something interesting. He said, 'I was like, look, you knew how I was before you got with me.'

Yeah, I really like this phrase. Now, I wanna focus on the first part, I was like.

I was like.

I was like.

Now you might hear a lot of native English speakers use these three words before they start telling you what they said.

So it's like saying I I said or I I told him.

Yep. So this actually is really common, especially with people under the age of 30. So why don't we hear a few more examples of how it's used now?

Example one.

Example two.

Example three.

I told the teacher that I didn't finish my homework and he was like, 'I'll see you after school.'

So if you're telling a story or you're maybe talking to somebody and you want to explain what you said, you can say, 'I was like, hey, what are you doing?' And she was like, 'What?' So you can have a an entire dialogue based with, 'I was like, she was like, we were like.'

Uh-huh. Okay, so I was like, it's super, super useful.

So, now our next word, now they they saw their friend who got the bad mark in in school and the guy said, 'Dude, get over it.'

Get over it.

Get over it.

So, if somebody tells you to get over it.

Stop worrying about it.

Okay. Or...

Stop thinking about it.

All right. So if somebody is sad because maybe his girlfriend broke up with him, you would say, 'Get over it!'

Get over it.

Yeah, stop thinking about it, let it go. It's in the past.

Yeah. And you you commonly use this for, um, when somebody is upset about a small thing, something they shouldn't worry about.

Mhm. Get over it.

Yep. Now, why don't we go on to our final word. At the end of the dialogue, they said, 'I'm gonna open a can of whoop-ass.'

Okay, so to open a can of whoop-ass on somebody. To open a can of whoop-ass.

To open a can of whoop-ass.

So, again, let's break this down before we explain it.

Okay, I think we have to take one step back here. To whoop someone's ass is to beat them up, right?

Right. To to punch them and hurt them.

Right. So to whoop somebody's ass.

Mhm. So if I open a can of whoop-ass, what does that mean?

It means you're gonna beat them up.

So it's just a funny, very informal way of saying like, in this can, I'm gonna open it and I'm gonna start hitting you or something like that.

Exactly. But it's never literal. It's not like you're actually gonna beat somebody up. It's just kind of like...

It's kinda a joke.

Yeah, it's an empty threat.

Yeah.

All right, so some really interesting words and phrases in this dialogue. I think we should listen to it for the last time. And then we'll come back and talk a little bit more about this great decade.

Max, what's up? Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.

Okay, okay, geez.

Well, Marco, in the dialogue, I heard one of the guys say, 'What's up,' but he said it in a really strange way, didn't he?

Yeah, exactly. He said, 'Wassup.'

Okay, so what what's up with that?

So, in the nineties, it was popular instead of saying, 'What's up,' you would just kind of double the S and just say, 'Wassup.' And then it became very famous with a TV commercial for a certain beer.

It's still used today informally between friends. You'll go, 'Hey, wassup,' 'wassup.'

Yeah.

So, you'll use it.

Yeah, so the commercial made it actually quite cool and and famous to talk like that.

Maybe, but I guess only time will tell.

Yeah, that's right. All right, so really cool stuff and, uh, as we heard, typical music from the nineties. And another interesting thing was the nicknames: Four Eyes, Mad Max, very popular among young kids.

Mhm. So, remember, if you have any questions about this language or anything else about this lesson, come to our website at EnglishPod.com.

Right, you can leave all your questions and comments there, and, uh, we hope to see you guys there.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Recognition, informal.

Mad props.

Slaying way of saying I'm the best and more.

All that and a bag of chips.

Being agitated, upset.

Tripping.

Wearing gold or precious stones.

Bling bling.

Informal of saying let's go.

Bounce.

Something is cool, it's great.

The bomb.

To act violently or aggressively.

Go postal.

Expression used to say my mistake or I'm sorry.

My bad.

An informal way to introduce a piece of dialogue.

I was like.

That sounds good to me. I agree.

I'm down with that.

What's up?

What's up?

Let's try that faster.

Slaying way of saying I'm the best and more.

All that and a bag of chips.

Wearing gold or precious stones.

Bling bling.

To act violently or aggressively.

Go postal.

Informal of saying let's go.

Bounce.

What's up?

What's up?

Something is cool, it's great.

The bomb.

That sounds good to me. I agree.

I'm down with that.

An informal way to introduce a piece of dialogue.

I was like.

Recognition, informal.

Mad props.

Expression used to say my mistake or I'm sorry.

My bad.

Being agitated, upset.

Tripping.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Mad props.

Mad props.

Mad props.

I was like.

I was like.

I was like.

I told the teacher that I didn't finish my homework and he was like, I'll see you after school.

Bounce.

Come on, let's bounce. I had to be home soon.

Bounce.

All right guys, I have to bounce. I'll see you later.

Bounce.

I am getting a bit tired of this party. Let's bounce.

Tripping.

Leanne was tripping because I got dirt in her car.

Tripping.

Even though I apologized for calling her fat, Genie was tripping all night.

Tripping.

He sent me 43 text messages and called me about 20 times. That guy is tripping over me.

Go postal.

I was so angry at work with the new workload. I was afraid I'd go postal.

Go postal.

Don't tease Kyle right now. He might go postal.

Go postal.

My ex-girlfriend went postal on me when I broke up with her.