Episode 0133

And my name is Catherine and today we're talking about being clean.

Yeah, we're going to be doing the laundry, right?

It's a very important part of everyone's weekly schedule.

And not only important, but I find it to be a little bit difficult because, you know, like washing machine and what clothes you should mix with what and you know, how much detergent and how long, it's such a complicated process.

Well, let's say this. It might not be difficult, but it's very easy to mess up.

Exactly. Yeah, that's the problem. It's very easy to like just ruin your favorite T-shirt if you don't do laundry correctly.

Right. So, we're going to be looking at a lot of vocabulary and phrases related to this topic.

And uh before we get started with the dialogue, why don't we take a look at vocabulary preview?

Vocabulary preview.

Okay, so central to all of these phrases and words that we're going to be hearing is a a thing, an electric thing that helps us wash our clothes.

Right, a washing machine.

All right, pretty simple, right? So washing is uh to wash, washing, and machine. So they go together, washing machine.

Now, you know, a lot of people don't like to use washing machines. They say it doesn't really clean the clothes as well as doing it by hand.

Really? Well, I'd say most clothes get get washed pretty well with a washing machine.

But if you have those hard to uh hard to get stains or some dirt, maybe it's good to have a washing board.

A washing board, yeah. Yeah, where you can really scrub it yourself.

And uh well, funny you mentioned that word stain because it's our second word that we're going to preview, a stain.

All right, a stain is some color, maybe some food or wine or grass that you can't remove from your clothes.

Right. So, it's very common. You're having a nice dinner and all of a sudden you spill wine on your shirt.

So you have a wine stain.

I hate that.

And uh you can also have stain on your you can also have a stain on your carpet, right? So if you spill some coffee on your carpet, it's got a little circle that's brown forever.

Right? Or even some people have stained teeth, right?

Exactly. So, those are the two words that we're going to be looking at today in vocabulary preview.

So, let's listen to our dialogue. Let let's see what's happening with these people that are doing laundry.

Okay. Let's go through this one more time. I don't want any more ruined or dyed blouses.

I I know, I know.

Okay. So, I had to separate the colors from the whites and put them in this strange looking contraption so-called washing machine.

Right. You have to turn it on and program it depending on what type of clothes you're washing.

For example, for delicates, you should set a shorter washing cycle.

Also, be sure to use fabric softener and this detergent when washing.

So complicated.

Okay, what about this red wine stain? How do I get it out?

Since this is a white T-shirt, you can just pour a little bit of bleach on it and it will do the trick.

Since you're washing delicates and cotton, you should set the dryer to medium heat and for 20 minutes.

You know what? I'll I'll just have everything dry cleaned.

Okay, so we've got someone who's maybe doing the laundry for the first time and uh he's not really understanding the instructions he's got.

Well, that's the thing, I tell you, it's a little bit difficult.

And well, it's very tedious at times to try and do laundry like this.

Well, the first thing it's maybe tedious about it is that you have to really worry about what colors go together.

Right. So, let's take a look at those words that were related to doing laundry now in Language Takeaway.

Language takeaway.

Okay, the first word we have is actually related to a joke we made earlier about pink socks.

So if you change the color of something, you're dyeing it.

Okay.

Dye. So, it's pronounced exactly the same way as, you know, to die, to not live anymore.

Die.

But it's spelled differently.

D Y E.

Okay. So, it can be a verb or an adjective.

Or a noun.

Or a noun.

So something that you put on clothes to change the color is called a dye. A dye. But uh to do this, to change the color of some clothes is to dye the clothes.

Mhm. So that's maybe what happens when you wash a red T-shirt with all your white T-shirts.

Then you have dyed shirts. You have pink shirts and

And also women when they go to the beauty salon, they dye their hair.

Exactly. So that means you change the color of your hair. It means it's a long-term change. It's not short, it's not like one day. It means probably for a long time.

So that's the correct word to dye, very different. Maybe some people say to paint, which, you know, you we understand, but the correct form would be to dye.

And next we have a word that describes a certain kind of clothing. We're not talking about pants or socks. We're talking about delicates.

Delicates.

So now this adjective delicate, which means it's very easy to break.

Fragile, right?

Yeah. But this is a noun, delicates.

Right. So, you think of something that's easy to break or to ruin, maybe you think of underwear. You know, underwear is something you wear under your clothing and so it's generally not as strong as a shirt or a pair of jeans.

And so we call these in English, delicates.

Mhm, very good.

So you have to be careful when you're washing your delicates because it's happened to me before. You like put them in with all the clothes and then you have stretched out boxers or something like that.

Yeah, so that's why many women, I know, wash delicates by hand. So you separate the clothes from the delicates.

Very good.

And now if you're washing delicates or you're washing towels or T-shirts, it's always a good idea to use fabric softener.

All right, fabric softener, what are these two words? One of them you understand already, maybe it's soft, softener.

Mhm, so it makes it soft.

Yeah, something that makes something softer. We've got fabric softener, so that's something that makes the clothes that you wash softer.

Mhm. So fabric is any type of material, right? Like a textile.

Yeah. So it could be cotton or silk.

Or nylon.

Linen. So these are all kinds of fabrics.

So you pour a little bit of this in your washing machine and your clothes come out really nice and soft.

All right, and we'll also to wash your clothes, to actually make them clean, you use detergent.

Right, so many people might want to say the word soap because soap is what we use to wash our hands and our dishes, but here we have detergent, so this is a special soap for your clothes.

Right, laundry detergent.

Yeah, you could just say laundry, you could just say laundry detergent or simply detergent.

Mhm. And now in order to remove those nasty stains that maybe are very hard, uh you would use a chemical called bleach.

All right, so bleach is the dangerous chemical because it smells very strong. And it can change the color of your clothes to white or yellow. So we usually only use bleach with white clothes.

Mhm. I actually had a friend who changed the color of his hair to white using bleach. He put bleach on his head and on his hair and it just turned white.

Oh wow. So many people do that because they want to go from dark colors to light colors.

And in that case you wouldn't say, you could say that he dyed his hair white, but usually you would say he bleached his hair.

It so we understand that it turned white.

Exactly. So those five words we just looked at in language takeaway, they're important, they're related to doing laundry.

So, uh before we move on, let's listen to our dialogue again, but a little bit slower.

Okay. Let's go through this one more time. I don't want any more ruined or dyed blouses.

I know. I know.

Okay. So, I had to separate the colors from the whites and put them in this strange looking contraption so-called washing machine.

Right. You have to turn it on and program it depending on what type of clothes you are washing.

For example, for delicates, you should set a shorter washing cycle.

Also, be sure to use fabric softener and this detergent when washing.

So complicated.

Okay, what about this red wine stain? How do I get it out?

Since this is a white T-shirt, you can just pour a little bit of bleach on it and it will do the trick.

Since you are washing delicates and cotton, you should set the dryer to medium heat and for 20 minutes.

You know what? I'll just have everything dry cleaned.

So here at English Pod, we like to also provide you listeners with some phrases that allow you to increase your fluency. So that means sound more like a native English speaker.

And so today let's check out these phrases in Fluency Builder.

Fluency Builder.

All right, so on Fluency Builder, we're going to be looking at four words or four phrases.

So, uh the first one was really easy. When she was telling the guy or instructing him how to do the laundry, she said, "Let's go through this one more time."

No, it didn't. So it's not actually to go through an object like to pass.

So it's let's repeat or let's rehearse again.

Okay, so normally we say this when there are many different steps to do something.

So, "Let's go through this again." When you leave work, you go home, you unlock the door, you open the door, and then so, it's it means that there's a there's a process, you know, there are many steps.

And so, "Let's go through this again" is a way for us to say, let's let's think about and discuss this process.

Mhm, very good. So, we also use it maybe when we're studying. So, "Let's go through this subject one more time."

We go through chapter five again.

Exactly. So you would reread a chapter five.

All right, so, um why don't we listen to a couple of more examples of how we could use "go through"?

Example one.

I want to go through chapter five again before the exam tomorrow.

Example two.

David, do you have time this afternoon to go over the details of this new project?

Example three.

I went through my contract and it says that I am entitled to 15 vacation days a year.

Now this next phrase is very common when we're using sarcasm, when we're trying to make jokes.

So we say so-called.

Right. So, she said this so-called contraption.

It's like she doubts that it's really a washing machine.

So I could say, "Her so-called boyfriend wants to go out tonight."

So I say that because he doesn't really act like a boyfriend.

Mhm. So to being sarcastic, it's a very good way and easy way of demonstrating sarcasm.

Yeah, actually in the 1990s in America, there was a very famous TV show called My So-Called Life.

Mhm. All right. So this is my so-called life. It's almost like, it's not really like I have any control over it, so.

Yeah. Or I don't really have a life because it's kind of boring.

Yeah, so my so-called life, not bragging.

It's a joke.

So so you can say it my so-called friends, my so-called job. Basically, you can almost be sarcastic with anything.

Yeah, but be careful that you uh that you know that it's a joke because if you're trying to be serious, you might make some people angry.

Right.

And now, well, she was explaining the whole process of how to do it and when she recommended using bleach, she said, "That should do the trick."

Trick. So dogs do tricks, right?

Right, but to do the trick, right? What what what is she saying?

It's got a different meaning. All right, so she's saying this should work. This should fix your problem.

Mhm. So that should do the trick.

So Marco, uh, I've been having this itch on my foot and I and I just can't, I can't seem to to figure out what to do with it. Do you have any suggestions?

Yeah, you should maybe just put some ointment on it and that should do the trick.

Yeah, so very easy. It's just a way of saying that should solve your problem.

All right, great. So, that should do the trick or it will do the trick.

Mhm. And well, we have one last phrase, all set.

All set. So, this is another phrase that uh that has two words that always go together to mean, uh well, we're finished. We're done.

Everything is ready.

Everything is ready.

Or after a meeting you can say, "Are we all set here?" That means, are we finished? Is it time to leave?

Very good.

So, we are almost all set. Let's listen to this dialogue one last time.

Okay. Let's go through this one more time.

I don't want any more ruined or dyed blouses.

I I know, I know.

Okay. So, I had to separate the colors from the whites and put them in this strange looking contraption so-called washing machine.

Right. You have to turn it on and program it depending on what type of clothes you're washing.

For example, for delicates, you should set a shorter washing cycle.

Also, be sure to use fabric softener and this detergent when washing.

So complicated.

Okay, what about this red wine stain? How do I get it out?

Since this is a white T-shirt, you can just pour a little bit of bleach on it and it will do the trick.

Since you're washing delicates and cotton, you should set the dryer to medium heat and for 20 minutes.

You know what? I'll just have everything dry cleaned.

Have you ever had any laundry mishaps? Have you ever lost a sock, dyed something?

Have I ever.

I hate doing the laundry.

Why?

So what it's it's time-consuming. It takes a lot of time and I just I have no patience.

And so normally when I was in well at least when I was in college, I would take all of my laundry in a bag and I'd throw it in the washing machine and I'd put it on cold, you know, because cold water it's okay for all colors, but hot water makes the colors bleed.

I took out the clothes and put them in the dryer, and afterwards I saw all my clothes were clean except for my three sweaters which were small enough for babies.

Oh, you shrunk it.

Yeah, I I shrunk three brand new sweaters.

Oh. That's too bad.

The problem that I have when doing laundry is that I forget that I started doing laundry, so all of a sudden, you know, I'm doing laundry in the morning and then clothes are are washed, but they're still in the washing machine and I remember like the next day.

So then the clothes are like kind of smelling like kind of humid because they're moldy.

Cause they're moldy.

Yeah, it's so I have to re-wash them and it's just like a pain.

Yeah, but doing laundry is sometimes so time-consuming, but let us know what you think. Do you like doing doing laundry or have you ever lost a sock? I think everyone has lost a sock or something in their washing, right?

I don't know what happens.

So weird.

So come to our website Englishpod.com, uh give us all your feedback, question, comments, or suggestions, and we're always there.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

To change the color of something such as hair or clothing.

Die.

Place with washing machines and dryers, usually coin operated and self-service.

Laundromat.

A machine.

Contraption.

To press and smooth clothes with a heated iron.

Iron.

To accomplish the desired task.

Do the trick.

To stiffen clothes with a chemical compound.

Starch.

Ready, prepared.

All set.

A cord, rope or wire on which clothes may be hung to dry or air.

Clothesline.

A way to clean clothes without water.

Dry clean.

Basket or space where dirty clothes are put.

Clothes hamper.

Let's try that faster.

A way to clean clothes without water.

Dry clean.

A cord, rope or wire on which clothes may be hung to dry or air.

Clothesline.

To change the color of something such as hair or clothing.

Die.

Basket or space where dirty clothes are put.

Clothes hamper.

A machine.

Contraption.

To press and smooth clothes with a heated iron.

Iron.

Ready, prepared.

All set.

To accomplish the desired task.

Do the trick.

Place with washing machines and dryers, usually coin-operated and self-service.

Laundromat.

To stiffen clothes with a chemical compound.

Starch.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Die.

Nicole goes to the beauty salon every three months to get her hair dyed.

Die.

Die.

Why did you dye your hair green?

Contraption.

He tried to fly over the Atlantic in a homemade contraption.

Contraption.

What does this contraption do?

Contraption.

Leonardo da Vinci was a great inventor that designed many different contraptions.

Do the trick.

If we use a piece of cork, it might stop the leaking and do the trick.

Do the trick.

The soup was too salty, so I added some potatoes, which did the trick.

Do the trick.

If the sauce tastes a bit sour, add a teaspoon of sugar, that should do the trick.

All set.

All set.

We have our luggage and passport, so we are all set to go to the airport.

All set.

The preparations for the wedding are all set.

Dry clean.

If you want to remove that stain, you need to have that dry cleaned.

Dry clean.

I try and avoid having my clothes dry cleaned. It's too expensive.

Dry clean.