Culips ESL Podcast

Learn English idioms and slang – The numbers are skyrocketing

Culips — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:37:22 +0000

What goes up must come down! Things are always changing in today’s world, and that’s why we decided to make an episode about things going up and going down. Especially in the news, we often hear about increases and decreases, and they use lots of different expressions to talk about this. This time, we’re talking about numbers, such as prices, statistics, and other amounts. Listen to this episode and we’ll see if our numbers start to soar!

Maura:	These expressions are often used in business, especially talking about money or amounts of things. To be honest, when I got the idea for this episode, Harp, I was listening to the news. I heard a bunch of these expressions used on the news, and that’s what inspired this episode.
Harp:	Oh, I like it. Yeah, you’re right. They use these expression a lot in the news to talk about things like the price of stocks going up or going down.
Maura:	Right. They might use these expression to talk about statistics, too, like “35% of people believe this.” So that’s the kind of stuff that you hear on the news.
Harp:	Yeah. These expressions are always about an amount.
Maura:	All right. Let’s get to the first expression. The first expression is to skyrocket.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A cottage	The great outdoors
To skyrocket	To soar
A homonym	To be liking – Is this correct?
What does up must come down	To nosedive
Back to the subject	At any rate
To hold off	To jump at the chance
To sink	A start-up
Other expressions to talk about decreasing and increasing

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Customer service

Culips — Mon, 13 May 2013 00:55:04 +0000

Everyone likes to get good customer service, but we don’t always get it. In this episode, we talk about tipping (where, when, and how much), and about how to handle a situation when the service was not so good. Harp and Maura also share their own perspectives of what it’s like to work in customer service. Is the customer realty always right?

Maura:	When you go to a restaurant and you sit down, when someone takes your order and brings you your food, you should be giving them a tip at the end. Now, the amount that you tip is really up to you.
Harp:	Yeah, it varies. And this is where the quality of service can definitely come in, because you can leave 10% if it was bad service, or if it was really good service, you can leave 20%.
Maura:	Or even more. Now, when Harp says 10%, she means 10% of your bill. So, for example, if you bought a meal and it cost $10, then a 10% tip is one dollar.
Harp:	Now I have a question for you, Maura.
Maura:	I hope it’s not a more difficult math question, because I won’t be able to do it.
Harp:	Nope. But I’ve had this discussion with my friends. Do you tip on the amount before taxes or after taxes?

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

That very thing	How much and whom to tip in Canada
The bill	A grey area
To swear	Interac and the tip function
What to do when you get bad customer service	To be taken advantage of
The squeaky wheel gets the oil	On the other end of the line
Across the board	The customer is always right
The other side of the coin	Minimum wage

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Like water off a duck’s back

Culips — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:32:20 +0000

When someone says something negative or critical about you, sometimes it can bother or upset you. But it’s important not to take things like this too personally, just like this week’s expression: like water off a duck’s back. In this episode, we look at idioms that mean that you don’t let someone’s negative comments affect you. We think that’s good advice. Check out this episode to hear about brushing things off and constructive criticism.

Maura:	In this example, someone was really upset about getting in trouble with her boss, about not meeting deadlines, and she talked about another colleague, Sheila, who didn’t get upset. Sheila treated the boss’s comments like water off a duck’s back. They didn’t bother her and she didn’t get upset.
Harp:	Yeah. Sheila didn’t let the boss get to her. She didn’t let his negative comments and his yelling at her get her upset.
Maura:	And that is important. Sometimes you should listen to criticism. This is actually called constructive criticism, when someone is just trying to give you advice so you can improve yourself and be better. That’s important, but it’s also important that if someone is saying something negative to you, you don’t take it too personally, either.
Harp:	Yeah. It’s important to not be too sensitive when people are trying to give you constructive criticism, or even when they’re just criticizing. It’s important to just not let it affect you too much.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To get the hang of something	To let something get to you
Like water off a duck’s back	Constructive criticism
To nag	To brush something off
Right off the bat	To suck
To put your nose to the grindstone	To laugh something off
To get under your skin	Cool
Not to sweat something

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Canadian myths

Culips — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:04:57 +0000

Many cultures around the world have traditional stories that have been told for many years. We were recently asked whether Canada has any interesting myths, so here’s an episode all about our some of our stories. We talk about Canada’s Bigfoot, a flaming ghost ship, and our lost mines. You’ll have to judge for yourself whether you think these myths are true or not. Thanks to our listeners for suggesting such great topics!

Maura:	So Canadians have their own Bigfoot. Interesting. Now, are there any other myths that you heard out West?
Harp:	Yes. The other one—I love this one because I love his name—the Ogopogo.
Maura:	OK. The Ogopogo. I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. What is it?
Harp:	You’ve never heard of the Ogopogo?
Maura:	No, tell me about it.
Harp:	Well, the Ogopogo is a lake monster, and he exists in the Okanogan Lake.
Maura:	OK. So, I have heard of the Loch Ness Monster, which is a really famous kind of thing—monster—that lives in Scotland. It’s the same idea then, right?
Harp:	Exactly. The Ogopogo is similar to the Loch Ness Monster.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To see something through another person’s eyes	Word of mouth
That’s just a myth	Long-standing
Do tell	Bigfoot/sasquatc
That’s the thing	A hoax
The Ogopogo and other Canadian lake monsters	To give someone the benefit of the doubt
The Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait	Lost mines
Fishy	To lose track of something

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Canada Post

What’s your personality?

Culips — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:10:39 +0000

In this episode, we talk about personality! Harp and Maura start by talking about introverts and extroverts, and the positive and negative qualities of both. They also discuss astrological signs. Do you think that when someone is born can determine their personality? Can a person’s personality change over their lifetime? Listen to this episode to hear what Harp and Maura have to say about it.

Harp:	If we talk about extroverted people, they’re very outgoing. They’re usually telling jokes or stories, and people are listening to them. They really like being the centre of attention. They like other people’s attention to be on them.
Maura:	Yeah. These kinds of people are the life of the party. They’re friendly. They don’t feel shy about striking up conversation with a complete stranger.
Harp:	Sometimes they can come off as a little bit of a show-off, ’cause they always want to talk about themselves and their stories.
Maura:	Yeah. There are really pros and cons to both of these personality types. If you’re extroverted, you’re very friendly, but you can also seem, maybe, loud- mouthed or arrogant. And introverted people are thought to be more intellectual, but you could also seem, maybe, rude because you’re quiet all the time, or people might think you’re a hermit because you stay in and don’t go out very much.
Harp:	Yeah. And oftentimes, with introverted people, you might think they’re cold because they don’t show their feelings as much.
Maura:	Yeah. That’s true. But I think you really hit the nail on the head earlier, Harp, when you said that some people can be introverted and extroverted in different situations. It’s not so fixed to say that one person is always introverted and one person is always extroverted.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Cut and dried	The Perks of Being a Wallflower
To strike up a conversation	To come off as something
A hermit	To hit the nail on the head
The Myers-Briggs personality test	Technically
Zodiac signs, astrology, and horoscopes	Blood type
It goes to show	Like
It’s not an exact science	To come out of your shell

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Let’s put it on the shelf for now

Culips — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 17:49:43 +0000

Sometimes we don’t want to discuss something right now. We want to discuss it later instead, because it is not immediately important. In this case, we can put something on the shelf and talk about it again in the future. This week’s episode is about putting those kinds of things on the shelf. You don’t want to forget about something completely, but it just doesn’t have priority. Don’t put listening to this episode on the shelf! Listen and start using the expressions right away.

Maura:	The beginning of this expression sounds just like the first expression, but it’s different at the end. To put something on the back burner.
Harp:	Yes. To put something on the back burner.
Maura:	And this means just the same as to put something on the shelf. When you put something on the back burner, you are not going to deal with it right now, you’re going to temporarily put it on hold. And at some time in the future, you will deal with it.
Harp:	Yeah. You’re not gonna give it immediate action or thought, you’re gonna let it go for a little bit and not think about, and later you’re gonna deal with it.
Maura:	Right. It’s something that doesn’t need to be discussed right now. Now, a back burner is actually part of a stove. And when you put something on the back burner, it’s not something that needs your immediate attention while cooking. You can kind of put it on the back and just let it simmer on its own; you don’t need to pay close attention to it. The same goes for whatever you’re dealing with. If you’re not going to give it full attention right now, you can say you put it on the back burner.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To do your own thing	To put something on the shelf
A secretary	To deal with something
Funny story	To find common ground
Extra hands	To put something on the back burner
A lemon	To put something on ice
A city councillor	A time frame

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

The corporate world

Culips — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:53:43 +0000

Work! Love it or hate it, most of us have to do it. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about the corporate world and what it’s like nowadays. Almost everyone hopes to make as much money as they can, and some people work to climb the corporate ladder in order to get prestige as well. Harp and Maura also talk about the latest interview trends and discuss what the job market currently looks like. This is a super-informative episode, and some of the ideas in this episode were suggested by two Culips listeners!

Harp:	It seems that more and more people are working around the clock because of things like smart phones and laptops at home. People are always connected so they feel like they have to respond to emails, they have to answer calls.
Maura:	That is definitely true. The idea of working just 9 to 5 doesn’t really exist if you’re in the corporate world and you’re trying to climb the corporate ladder. Now, another part of working and living in the corporate world is the rat race.
Harp:	The rat race.
Maura:	And we want to give a very special thank you to one of our Culips listeners, who suggested that we talk about the rat race, on Facebook.
Harp:	Yeah. Thanks, Ehsanaagha.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To climb the corporate ladder	On the other hand
A go-getter	A career path
VP and CEO	The glass ceiling
To take something	To work around the clock
To get around something	A workaholic
The rat race	A shout-out
A split-second decision	The STAR approach to answering behavioural questions
Baby boomers	Booming

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Let bygones be bygones

Culips — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:07:01 +0000

This episode is all about forgetting the negative things that happened to us in the past and moving forward with our lives. This is always a good idea, so we’ve got a few expressions to remind us of this. If you had an argument with someone, or if something didn’t happen the way you wanted it to, it may be better not to think about it anymore. Put the past behind you and listen to this episode.

Maura:	This expression sounds very repetitive because it repeats the same word twice—bygones. So the expression is let bygones be bygones.
Harp:	Yeah. And bygones mean something from the past, something that happened at an earlier time. And so this expression, to let bygones be bygones, it means to let unpleasant things that have happened in the past stay in the past. You forget about them. You don’t bring them up again. You just let it go.
Maura:	Right. It’s like saying something that happened in the past happened in the past, not the present, so don’t think about it now.
Harp:	For example, if you had an argument or a fight with someone in the past, don’t bring it up again. Don’t think about it. Let bygones be bygones.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To let bygones be bygones	To bring something up
Miffed	To put something behind you
To flare up	To get down on yourself
To let sleeping dogs lie	Split infinitives
To be around	To be on someone
An old flame	To go down that road (again)
To come to your senses	To be right around the corner

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo eHow

It’s in mint condition

Culips — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 02:31:58 +0000

When buying or selling used items, it’s important to know what condition the items are in. In this episode, we talk about some expressions that are used to describe an item’s condition. We look at expressions to say that something is in excellent condition, bad condition, or somewhere in the middle. If you like looking for deals online from people selling their stuff, or if you’re a second-hand shopper, then this episode is worth a listen!

Harp:	These expressions are often used when you’re buying or selling something.
Maura:	All right. So, first we’re going to talk about an expression that means something is in very, very good condition; that it’s like brand new.
Harp:	Yeah. This expression is mint condition.
Maura:	You know, I really like this expression. It is mint condition.
Harp:	Yeah. Mint condition.
Maura:	Now, you know, I kind of remember when I was a kid and hearing this expression for the first time, and thinking that it was so strange. I didn’t understand, because I was thinking of mint, you know? Like the herb or, like, you have a mint after dinner. And I did not understand how mint condition could mean very good condition.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Mint condition	Brand new
New to someone	Or anything
Wear and tear	To see something for yourself
Craigslist	To keep on an eye on something
To have seen better days	Up close
To keep an eye out for something	To be in good shape

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Commuting

Culips — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:17:02 +0000

Most of us travel to work many times in one week. Some of us have a quick little trip and others spend hours on public transportation. This episode is all about that—travelling to and from work. Harp and Maura talk about what commuting is like in Canada, how people get to work, and how long it usually takes them. They also share their own experiences of getting to work every day. If you’re a commuter, listen to this episode on your way to work.

Harp:	And then we’re gonna talk about our some of our own personal experiences with commuting.
Maura:	You know, it is something very personal. Sometimes people love their commute, or they hate their commute. So people really have a strong feeling about it.
Harp:	Yes. I definitely agree with you.
Maura:	OK. So let’s start by talking about how people get to work in Canada.
Harp:	Well, I have to be honest; most people get to work by car.
Maura:	That is definitely true. I think, internationally, Canada and the US are known for drivers. People really like to drive around here.
Harp:	Yeah. People love their cars and they love driving to work, or anywhere.
Maura:	And most of the time, people are alone in their cars. So you have a car with one person driving to their workplace.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To commute/a commute	A carpool/to carpool
To take turns	Hardcore
A traffic jam	Right off the bat
The metro	No problem
To hold back	To see where this is going
To jaywalk	I don’t blame you

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Slowpoke

Culips — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:42:37 +0000

Some people like to move slowly and never rush, and we’ve got special names for these people. This episode focuses on the funny little names that we use to talk about this kind of person. Do you have a slowpoke in your life? Or are you a lollygagger yourself? Don’t be a dawdler—hurry up and listen to this episode!

Harp:	They’re walking really slowly. They’re taking their time. They’re a slowpoke.
Maura:	Yeah. You know, I’m usually not a slowpoke, and when I really want to get somewhere, slowpokes kind of bug me a little bit. It’s like, “Hurry up! Let’s go! Come on!”
Harp:	I know. It’s funny because I work downtown and often, on the main streets, so many people are slowpokes. And it’s because they’re on vacation, they’re taking it easy, while I’m in work mode and I’m trying to get somewhere really quickly and they’re just slowpokes.
Maura:	Yeah. But at the same time, slowpokes are normally laid back, they’re not stressed, they’re not in a rush. So I guess that’s the upside to being a slowpoke.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To be up to something	To get down to business
A slowpoke	To bug someone
To be in work mode	The upside
To take your time	To take time to smell the roses
What can you do?	To dillydally
A dawdler	To go from point A to point B
To have a look	A lollygagger

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Imgur

Media, advertising, and celebrity gossip

Culips — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 01:23:41 +0000

Nowadays, people are constantly in contact with media, and advertising is everywhere! This inspired us to make a Culips episode talking all about it. Do you still read the newspaper? Do commercials bother you as much as they bother Maura and Harp? Celebrity gossip is something that has become quite mainstream in Canada and the US. Are you hoping for your own 15 minutes of fame? Check out this episode, and listen to the newest form of radio—the podcast!

Maura:	Sometimes we have news sources on the Internet that are not available in hard copy, that you can’t get a hard newspaper version of. You can only read it on a website.
Harp:	Yeah. A popular one that I’m thinking of is The Huffington Post.
Maura:	Right. This one was created online, it never existed before, and you can’t buy a copy of it at a convenience store. So if you wanna read from The Huffington Post, you have to go online.
Harp:	It’s funny though, because it has a very traditional-sounding name, The Huffington Post. When I think of something that has post in it, I think of an actual newspaper, but it’s only ever been online.
Maura:	That’s a really good point. So maybe it’s trying to bridge the gap between a traditional newspaper and a new source of news online.
Harp:	Yeah. I think it is.
Maura:	Now there’s one more kind of media that I thought to mention, and this one is really fading and not popular like it used to be.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Mainstream	To cover (a news story)
A hard copy	To bridge the gap
To die out	An advertisement/a commercial
Catchy	Way back when
To hound someone	Spin
Public relations	15 minutes of fame
There’s no such thing as bad publicity	A medium and media

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast

Interviewing Erin

Culips — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 02:40:08 +0000

Maura has two sisters. In this episode, you get to meet one of them! Erin recently visited Maura in Montreal, so Maura took the opportunity to interview her about her travels. Erin has visited many countries and lived abroad, and Maura wanted to question her to find out about her favourites. What’s Erin’s favourite country for food? Which country had the friendliest people? Where were the best beaches? Erin has also been learning French, so Maura asks her about that challenge, too. Listen in to travel around the world with them.

Maura:	So I started off by saying how much you’ve travelled. Now I want to ask you a tough question. Can you name every country that you’ve visited?
Erin:	Let’s see. I think I can. Well I’ve lived in Canada. I’ve been to the United States. I’ve visited Belize, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Grenada, Antigua, Ireland, Uganda, Tanzania, Fiji, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. Did I say Thailand?
Maura:	I don’t know.
Erin:	Oh, I just remembered another country. I’ve been to Costa Rica.
Maura:	That’s a lot. I can see that you kind of went around the world and it was a map in your head.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Or we’d be here all day	To second something
A warm person	Friendliest
To come up to someone	A key word/phrase
To put someone at ease	Whatsoever
To play it	Via
To fly standby	To make a fool of yourself
To be dying to do something

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

The Valentine’s Day special

Culips — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:35:41 +0000

Valentine’s Day happens every year on February the 14th. And love is in the air! Or is it? In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about Valentine’s Day and all the traditions and debates that go with it. Some people love Valentine’s Day and others dread it. Some people believe in love at first sight and others are more practical. Are you seeing someone exclusively or are you playing the field? No matter how you feel about the day of love, you’ll enjoy listening to this episode!

Maura:	Often, the world of dating is referred to as the game because some people treat it like a game. How many people can they date, or if they can find the right person, or playing hard to get, or chasing someone. There is a lot of strategy involved when you’re dating someone.
Harp:	Yeah. That makes me think of the expression hate the game not the player.
Maura:	Right. It’s not the player’s fault that they are lying to people and being dishonest; it is the game of dating that makes them that way. I don’t know if I believe it.
Harp:	Me neither.
Maura:	But anyways, you can see the connection between the game and the player. The person who is the player is just playing the game of dating. Or so they believe.
Harp:	Yeah. And like I said, it’s a really negative term. It’s not something you want to be called.
Maura:	This term is usually used to talk about guys, maybe sometimes I’ve heard it refer to females, but most of the time when you’re talking about a player, you’re talking about a male.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To drop someone a line	Meant to be
To not give a hoot	Hallmark
Old and crotchety	To play the field
A player	A man-eater
A serial monogamist	Diehard
The stars align	To buy something
Love at first sight	A whole whack of something

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

Sleep on it!

Culips — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 20:08:59 +0000

Making decisions can be hard, especially making big, important decisions. In most cases, it’s best to take some time to think about a big decision. This episode focuses on expressions that talk about taking time to think about something. It could be anything from whether to buy a new car to how to solve a problem at work. Whatever you do, make sure you take the time to mull it over a little bit. But there’s no need to think over whether you want to listen to this episode. That’s easy—do it!

Harp:	Oftentimes it’s really good to sleep on it, to take that extra time to calm down, to think rationally, to think about the decision you want to make.
Maura:	Right. Especially if it’s a big decision, you don’t want to be too hasty. You want to take the time to think about it. And sometimes if you’ve had some sleep, you wake up the next morning and you do have a different perspective. The morning after something happens, you can have a different perspective on a situation.
Harp:	Yeah. Giving yourself some time and some room to think about it.
Maura:	You know, some people also believe that while you’re sleeping, your mind is still working and you’re still thinking about it. You’re working it out in your dreams or your subconscious is figuring it out. And then in the morning, you feel better about what you’re going to do.
Harp:	Yeah. I think that’s true.
Maura:	I like to sleep on it if I have a big thing to worry about.
Harp:	Me too.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To sleep on it	So, you know… (at the end of a sentence)
To go through with something	To mull something over
To be a matter of time	To learn the ropes
To mess up	To think it over
A cat person	I’m telling you
The way to go	Off and on
To conk out

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

Interviewing Pamela

Culips — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:58:37 +0000

Recently our friend Pam visited us at Culips, so we took the opportunity to interview her. Pam grew up mostly in Montreal, with a short stay in Saudi Arabia as a child. She speaks English, French, and German, and is currently doing her master’s degree. In this interview, Maura asks Pam about all these experiences and more! Listen in if you’re interested in learning languages and travelling. We know you are!

Maura:	And what do you remember from that time? I know it was a long time ago now, but what are some of the things that you remember as being different or foreign to you, even at a really young age? Can you remember anything?
Pam:	Well, to think back, some memories that I have from Saudi Arabia, keeping in mind that they are childhood memories… I was there from six to ten, so maybe the things I am still fond of in my mind now would probably be different if I went back. But one of the things I remember being very different was the flora—the trees and plants—because it’s a desert region, so there certainly isn’t the same kind of vegetation that we have here in Canada. But one thing that was very prevalent around the compound that we were living in was date trees, which are very, very tall trees, very abundant trees, where you could just go every day and pick dates up off the ground.
Maura:	Wow! That does sound really cool. I don’t think I have ever seen a date tree. They musta been really good directly from the tree.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

My dear friend	A master’s (degree)
Winter biking	A compound
Flora	Squash
That does sound really cool	Musta
To leave an impression on someone	A tease
Concordia University and the Simone de Beauvoir Institute

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

She knows it like the back of her hand

Culips — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 08:03:33 +0000

Sometimes we know just a little bit about something, and other times we know something so well that we have it memorized. This episode is all about expressions we can use to talk about having a very deep knowledge of something. We also have a popular expression for when you’ve got something completely memorized. You may have to listen to this episode a few times before you know these expressions like the back of your hand!

Harp:	The first expression is to know it like the back of your hand.
Maura:	Right. To know something, or to know it, like the back of your hand. Now, have a look down at the back of your hand right now. Looks familiar? I’m sure that you know if very well. You probably see it every day. This expression is used to talk about something that you know very well, just as well as you know the back of your hand.
Harp:	Yeah. When you know something very well, you can say that you know it like the back of your hand.
Maura:	You know, Harp, I’m kind of a freckly person, and I even have little freckles on my hand. And you’d think that I wouldn’t really be able to notice if I got a new one, but I can. A few times in my life, I’ve looked down and I think, “Oh, I’ve never seen that little brown freckle before. I guess I got a new one!”
Harp:	That’s interesting!
Maura:	So, anyways, all that to say I know the back of my hands very well.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To know something like the back of your hand	A freckle
All that to say	To get spit out
A sense of direction	Stage fright
Break a leg	To know something inside out
A little birdie told me	Excel
To know something by heart	Hardcore
The tibia

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo allisons daily drama

Party time

Culips — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 02:09:58 +0000

Parties can be thrown at any time of the year in North America, but they are especially common over the holidays. At this time of the year, there are all kinds of gatherings with family, friends, and colleagues. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about the different kinds of parties you might be invited to. Harp also talks about planning parties and about all the details you may need to consider. The girls also talk about a bunch of expressions with the word party in them. People love to party, so there are many expression about it!

Maura:	My family always gets together around Christmas and most of my family gets together for other holidays too, like Thanksgiving and Easter.
Harp:	Yeah. Same thing for my family We have a lot of parties during the holidays.
Maura:	Oh, really. Usually, my mom and my dad’s families, they just have one big party with everyone who’s invited.
Harp:	Yeah. I see a lot of people doing that.
Maura:	Yeah. It makes sense because everyone is together. Everyone gets to see each other at the same time.
Harp:	The holiday season, it’s a nice time. It’s a nice excuse to see each other when you’re so busy the rest of the year with your own lives and work and all of that.
Maura:	A lot of the time, I actually don’t see much of my extended family except for the holidays.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A holiday party	Extended family
A potluck	A Secret Santa
A housewarming party	Finger food
To take the pressure off	Decorations and décor
A tasting	To throw a party
To crash a party	To be the life of the party
To break the ice	To party hard
A party pooper

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Cherry Pop Studio

An interview with Maura

Culips — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:12:08 +0000

You’ve already heard our interview with Harp, now here’s the interview with Maura! How much do you know about Maura already? Do you know which countries she visited when she travelled around Europe? Do you know in which country she taught English? Set the record straight and check out this episode to get to know more about your other Culips host.

Harp:	After this time in Europe, did you speak French well?
Maura:	The saddest part is, Harp, when I was looking for places to WWOOF, that was my objective. I wanted to go and have a French immersion. But the only place that accepted me was a place, a farm, where the guy was from England.
Harp:	Oh no!
Maura:	Yeah. So I was in France but I was staying with English people, speaking English all the time. So I didn’t learn much French at all, unfortunately.
Harp:	But you’re very fluent in French now. Did you learn that mainly in Montreal?
Maura:	Yup. After I came back from my travels in Europe, I lived in Quebec City, which is even more French than Montreal, and I started learning French there. I took a class at the university there and when I came to Montreal, I took more classes and I did language exchanges, which I have to say helped me so much with my French.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Oktoberfest	A Mennonite
A stint	To end up somewhere
WWOOF	A safe bet
To not be far off	To get into something
To push someone	To look into something
To kill two birds with one stone	To use one’s time wisely
To stick (or put) your foot in your mouth

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

An interview with Harp

Culips — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 03:36:47 +0000

If you’ve been listening to Culips for a little while, you’ve already started to get to know the Culips hosts, Harp and Maura. And you’ll also know that in our Chatterbox episodes, sometimes we interview people. So here’s an interview with Harp, where she tells us about her life growing up and what she’s up to now. Along the way, she also drops a few expressions for you.

Maura:	So, what did you study at university?
Harp:	I studied political science.
Maura:	So does that mean you wanted to become a politician?
Harp:	I was actually thinking more of becoming a lawyer. And so it’s a really common route to go from political science into law. And I love politics. Even now, I read the news a lot, I’m always following what’s going on politically in Canada, the US, and even internationally.
Maura:	So, you grew up in Fort St. John, and then you lived in Edmonton, and then you decided to travel and move around. Where is the first place that you went?
Harp:	Well, you know, it’s funny, because I had travelled quite a bit in Canada, and even the US, when I was growing up, but I hadn’t really left North America until I decided, with a bang, to move to South Korea for a year.
Maura:	Wow! So, tell us about that experience.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To tune in	To keep an ear out for something
When I say…, I mean…	Fort St. John
Out west	A small-town feel
With a bang	To not speak a word of English
A built-in babysitter	To sink or swim
A cool vibe	A day job
To shoot the breeze	That’s because you like to shoot the breeze

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

Adulthood: Someday we all have to grow up

Culips — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 22:16:38 +0000

We all have to grow up someday! In this episode, we talk about becoming and adult and the different generations of adults in North America, and we discuss some of the slang terms that describe various types of adults. We talk about it all, up to having kids and going on parental leave. Listen in to find out whether Maura really is a yuppie!

Harp:	A yuppie is a young urban professional. That’s what it stands for.
Maura:	Right. So the Y-U-P at the beginning of yuppies stands for young urban professionals. This means that the people who are yuppies are young, they’re urban, which means they live in a big city…
Harp:	And they’re professional. They have some sort of professional career. They’re white collar; they usually work in an office; they have some sort of professional job.
Maura:	Right. And this also implies that they’re probably making pretty good money.
Harp:	Yes. Now in terms of young, a yuppie could be anyone who’s 21 who has a professional job, up to 40. There’s no real set age to be a yuppie.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

The two pronunciations of adult	The two way of saying the name of the letter Z
Or so	A baby boomer, Generation X, and Generation Y
A boomerang kid and the Boomerang Generation	A yuppie
White collar	Clean cut
Technically	A dink/a dinky
The suburbs	Maternity, paternity, and parental leave
A stay-at-home mom or dad

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image courtesy of English with Jo

We all mess up sometimes

Culips — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:33:00 +0000

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and this episode is all about expressions to talk about them. Some mistakes are small and minor, and others are really big. And sometimes we make embarrassing mistakes in front of other people—the worst kind or mistakes! But you shouldn’t make a mistake with these expressions once you’ve listened to this episode. So go ahead, check it out.

Harp:	So today we’re going to talk about some expressions when you make a mistake.
Maura:	Right. We can use these expressions to talk about when people have not done something well, when they’ve made a mistake or done something wrong.
Harp:	Yeah. And all of the expressions are a little bit different, but they’re all related to making mistakes.
Maura:	Right. So let’s start with the first one. The first expression that we’re going to look at is to mess up.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

There’s no end in sight	To mess up/to screw up
And I mean…	To say the least
To give it time	To get over something
To draw a blank	To butcher something
Renos	To learn your lesson
To choke	To strike out

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image courtesy of Search engine journal

Time for Bed

Culips — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:25:10 +0000

Every day we all go to sleep. Some people fall asleep as soon as they hit the bed and it takes others hours to get to sleep. In this episode, we’re talking all about sleeping habits and just how important sleep is! Throughout the episode, we discuss lots of expressions related to this important time of day—bedtime! Are you a morning person or a night owl? How important is it for you to get some shut-eye?

Harp:	There are the early risers, the people who wake up early, get a good start on the day. They’re in bed usually on time or early, and they wake up early.
Maura:	Right. So these are people who like to get a good night’s sleep normally, but they also don’t like to waste the morning lying in bed. They would rather wake up and get started.
Harp:	Yeah. And you can call someone who’s an early riser a morning person.
Maura:	Right. This is the kind of person who wakes up early and they’re already happy and capable of having a conversation.
Harp:	Yes. Most people are not like this, I would say.
Maura:	Yeah. A lot of people wake up in the morning and they’re groggy, they’re kind of out of it for, maybe, 15 minutes, maybe 30 minutes, or until they have their first cup of coffee.
Harp:	Yup. To me, it’s funny because my mom is not a morning person and she is barely awake until she has two cups of tea in the morning.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Shut-eye	An early riser/a morning person
A good night’s sleep	Groggy/out of it
To hit snooze	A late riser
A night owl	The crack of dawn
I’m talking…	A naps/a catnap
A siesta	An insomniac
Your mind is racing	A spring chicken
To toss and turn	To count sheep
Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image courtesy of [photostock]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You’re late!

Culips — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 02:07:25 +0000

The idea for this episode came from a Culips listener, Igor, who thought this might be an interesting topic. He was late to meet his friend, and his friend said, “I’m getting old here!” So here’s your episode, Igor. In it, Maura and Harp talk about the importance of being on time and what to do if you’re late in Canada. They also explain Igor’s friend’s expression, and give you a few others you might hear if you’re late!

Harp:	In Canada, it’s very important to be on time.
Maura:	It is important to be on time. When you make a plan to meet someone at 3 o’clock, you should be there at 3 o’clock. Seems quite logical to me, but I guess because I’m Canadian, that’s why it makes sense.
Harp:	Yup. And we know in other places being late is very often normal and when you say 3 o’clock, everyone knows that you mean 4 o’clock, but here in Canada, if you say 3 o’clock you mean 3 o’clock.
Maura:	Right. And it’s easy to figure out because you don’t have to add another hour or be there early. The time that you’re supposed to meet is the time that you should be there. It is of course important to be on time in Canada and the US, but how much time do you think is socially acceptable to be late?

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Better late than never	To show up
On time	Fashionably late
Who’s counting?	Under control
To stand someone up	I’m getting old here
I don’t have all day	Take a chill pill
A rhyme	To waltz in
Without a care in the world	From now on
To grace us with your presence

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image courtesy of [sdmania]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You’ll never guess what I got wind of!

Culips — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 01:39:49 +0000

People love stories, especially stories with secret information in them. In this episode, we talk about expressions that people use when they telling a story, whether it’s true or possibly not. These stories might be told by a person who heard it directly from a trustworthy source or by someone who just loves to gossip! Sometimes it’s hard to know the difference. Listen to this episode if you’ve ever heard a story through the grapevine.

Maura:	To get wind of something means that you learned something new or heard something new and this new thing that you learned is often supposed to be a secret.
Harp:	Yes. And often, the person or the source of the information is unknown or kept a secret as well.
Maura:	Right. Instead of saying who you heard this information from, you just say that you got wind of it. So you don’t actually have to say where you heard this new, possibly secret, information.
Harp:	Yeah. It’s like the wind told you this secret.
Maura:	Right. It’s like you were just minding your own business and the wind passed by you and you just happened to hear some new information.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To come on over	To get wind of something
To keep your mouth shut	To mind your own business
Have I got something for you!	To hear something through the grapevine
To spread like wild fire	A little birdie told me
Two weeks’ notice

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image courtesy of [Master isolated image]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You eat like a bird

Culips — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:30:17 +0000

Eating is something people do every day, so there are tons of expressions about it. In this episode, we talk about the amount that people eat. Sometimes we have big appetites and other times we don’t want to eat much. Sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and we make so much food that we can’t eat it all. By the end of this episode, you’ll probably want a snack.

Maura:	Now that we’ve talked about not eating very much, let’s look at some expressions that have to do with eating a whole bunch of food.
Harp:	This is much more like me.
Maura:	The next expression is to eat like a horse.
Harp:	Yes. To eat like a horse.
Maura:	And this makes sense because a horse is a pretty big animal, so we can imagine that it must need to eat a lot because it’s so big.
Harp:	Yup. And it seems like horses are just eating all the time.
Maura:	That’s true. You always see their mouths moving and chewing and chomping.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To eat like a bird	To nibble
To take food to go	A buffet
To see	To eat like a horse
Didn’t you just go a couple of days ago?	To go through a phase
To grab a bite	To build up an appetite
My eyes are bigger than my stomach	To finish your plate
Leftovers

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Cheez Burger

I’ve got you wrapped around my finger

Culips — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 16:56:41 +0000

Some people are able to control others. This could happen because one person really likes another person, because they want to make a good impression, or because they have been manipulated by the other person. When one person is under another person’s control, sometimes it doesn’t take much for the controlled person to do just what the controlling person wants them to. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about these controlling relationships.

Harp:	When you have someone wrapped around your finger, it means you have control over them.
Maura:	Right. You can manipulate the person and get them to do things that you want them to do or get them to act in a certain way.
Harp:	Or get them to buy you what you want.
Maura:	Oftentimes, when one person has someone wrapped around their finger, they have a relationship and the person who is being in controlled really likes the person who’s controlling them.
Harp:	Yeah, exactly. It’s one of the reasons why they do things for the person, because they like them.
Maura:	It makes sense. If you like a person, you wanna help them out, but sometimes if you notice that someone is helping you a lot, you could get them to do more and more things for you and so then you have someone wrapped around your finger.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A hashtag	To be trending
To have someone wrapped around your finger	To help out
To take advantage of someone or something	To mother someone
To sweet talk someone	To come in handy
To have someone eating out of the palm of your hand	To get something out of it
To milk it	To make up for something
To have someone in your back pocket	To play favourites

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©Silje Ekstrom

A Canadian Childhood

Culips — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 03:32:44 +0000

We were all kids once! But depending on where you live in the world, this can be quite a different experience. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about the stuff that Canadian kids have to do, like chores, and the stuff that kids mostly want do, like the activities their parents sign them up for. They also talk about their own Canadian childhoods and reminisce about Saturday morning cartoons and playing hide-and-go-seek on their neighbourhood streets.

Maura:	There’s also a kind of kid that we call latchkey kids.
Harp:	Yes. A latchkey kid is a kid who gets home earlier than his or her parents and they have to open the door themselves and usually make a snack for themselves and maybe start homework by themselves.
Maura:	So it’s a kid who comes home to an empty house and they have to have their own key because no one is there to let them in.
Harp:	Yeah, exactly. So that’s a latchkey kid.
Maura:	Were you a latchkey kid?
Harp:	No. When I was young, my grandparents lived with us, so they were always at home when we came home from school.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

You guys	A chore
To get on someone’s case	To have it easy
A silly goose	A latchkey kid
To not be your thing	Brownies and Girl Guides
Not a single kid	To sign up for something
Hide-and-go-seek	I spy
A distant memory	Youth is wasted on the young
The grass is always greener on the other side

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Forbes

What a klutz!

Culips — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:34:52 +0000

Sometimes people accidentally fall, trip, or break things. In fact, there are so many incidents like these that we’ve got a bunch of expressions to talk about them. In some cases, a person might just have a clumsy moment, but other people are clumsy all the time! In this episode, Harp and Maura give examples of what clumsy people do and explain the expressions we can use to talk about them!

Maura:	Now, a person who is a klutz is a clumsy person, is the kind of person that we just described, who might often break things or walks into things or falls down.
Harp:	Exactly. When someone does something like this, you can call them a klutz, or when someone’s doing it all the time, they’re a klutz.
Maura:	Right. So you might be starting to think of someone that you know who is a klutz, because we all know people who are really clumsy.
Harp:	Yup. I’m thinking about someone at my work. He is always running into things and dropping things. I would never give him a nice glass. I’m sure he would break it. He’s such a klutz
Maura:	Yeah. Sometimes there are just people who often have accidents and break things. Sometimes it’s funny, but sometimes if they break something or hurt themselves, it’s not so funny.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Clumsy	A klutz
On the other hand	A pain in the butt
A teacup/mug	To be all thumbs
Fine motor skills	You know what they say
To get the hang of something	The two pronunciations of vase
To have two left feet

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©Mugen

Hobbies

Culips — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 18:25:57 +0000

Here’s another episode based on a great episode idea from a Culips listener! Outside of work or school, hopefully you have some free time just for yourself. In this episode, Maura and Harp discuss hobbies, what hobbies are popular in Canada and the US, and their own hobbies, past and present. Does it really sound natural to ask someone directly, “What are your hobbies?” We’ll answer that question for you too!

Harp:	I have to be honest; I didn’t actually ever make anything. I just knit long pieces that could maybe be a scarf, but I didn’t know how to finish it, so I just threw in the towel and gave up knitting.
Maura:	Sometimes that happens, too. We start a hobby and then time passes and we realize that we’re not interested, or maybe it’s too difficult, like in your case, and you just want a change. You don’t wanna do it anymore.
Harp:	Yeah, exactly. What about you? What were some hobbies you did when you were young?
Maura:	Well, when I was a kid, I took dance lessons.
Harp:	Oh, that’s fun. What kind of dance?
Maura:	I pretty much took it all. I started in ballet, and I took tap dancing for a year or two, and the rest of the years I was doing jazz dancing.
Harp:	Oh, that’s fun.
Maura:	It was pretty fun and I liked it, but when I become a teenager, I didn’t really wanna do it anymore.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Free time, spare time, a pastime	An artist
Out there	Knitting, scrapbooking, and cross-stitching
The metro	To go through a phase
What do you do in your spare time?	To stick with someone
To take something up	To suck at something
To throw in the towel	Ballet
To have two left feet

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©iStock

Interview with a Brit living in Canada: Helen

Culips — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 17:13:07 +0000

Helen is an old friend to us at Culips, and we’ve finally recorded an interview with her for you. She’s British, but has been living in Canada for some time now, so in this episode, we talk about England and Canada, and get her opinion on both! You’ll find out how she ended up here and why she’s never left. (And if you’d like to hear another type of English accent, this episode’s for you.)

Maura:	What is your current status? Are you a Canadian citizen yet, or what?
Helen:	I’m a permanent resident and I just applied for my citizenship. If I get it, it should be in the next couple of months and you have to sing the national anthem in French and pass a little test about the history of Canada, so that’s going to be fun.
Maura:	Is it any easier, being a citizen of England or the Commonwealth, to become a Canadian citizen? Because I hear stories from other people, from other countries, who have to go through a really long process and fill out all this paperwork.
Helen:	I think, like anywhere else in the world, it depends where you’re from. France and England definitely have an advantage: French for Quebec and England for Canada. I have some Mexican friends and Argentinian friends and things like that, who’ve had a hard time integrating so easily. But I think yeah, we’re pretty lucky in Europe that we can move here pretty easily.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To keep it up	No matter
Next door	A good 2 weeks
The Commonwealth	Paperwork
A path	All year round
A boot	A lorry
A chemist	Old-school
The imperial system vs. the metric system, and stones	You guys

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Culips©

Never look a gift horse in the mouth

Culips — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 20:57:37 +0000

You can’t always get what you want, but you should appreciate what is given to you. This episode is about accepting what people give you and not being critical, even if it is not exactly what you wanted. We have some very old expressions in English to remind people to be grateful, like never look a gift horse in the mouth. But nowadays, with gift receipts, do you think this proverbs still holds true?

Maura:	So at that time, when a person looked their gift horse in the mouth, they were checking it to see if it was a good gift. And that’s not really a nice thing to do. You know, imagine you give someone a gift and they’re just evaluating it to see if it’s a very good gift. That’s not really nice.
Harp:	Yeah. They’re trying to see how expensive it is or if there’s a price tag on it.
Maura:	Yeah. Nowadays, it would be like giving someone a shirt and that person would then try to check the name brand to see if it was really expensive or not.
Harp:	Yeah. It’s just not very polite. You should appreciate the gift that you’re given.
Maura:	I agree. So, let’s give an example with this proverb, to never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Harp:	OK.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Never look a gift horse in the mouth	The other day
Him or ‘im	To be fed up
A bonus	A gift receipt
A delicate balance	When in doubt
Beggars can’t be choosers	To be picky
That’s the thing	To be set on something
It’s better than nothing

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Thomas Solberg Andersen©

Take it easy

Culips — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 15:33:04 +0000

From time to time, we all need to take a break and relax. Sitting back and listening to a podcast might even be the way that some of you choose to relax. In this episode, Maura and Harp talk about taking it easy and just chillin. This could mean doing something as simple as vegging out after a long day at work, or taking a vacation for some serious R&R. Get comfortable, put your feet up, and listen to this one!

Maura:	Today we are going to talk about…
Harp:	Relaxing!
Maura:	Ah. Just saying the word makes me want to sit back in my chair and put my hands behind my head.
Harp:	Maura, snap out of it. We’ve got work to do here.
Maura:	So today we’re gonna talk about relaxing and what people do in their free time, when they’re not working.
Harp:	Yep. So we’re gonna start with talking about some vocabulary that we use when we’re talking about relaxing and when we talk about free time.
Maura:	And then we’re going to also share with you what people do in Canada when they’re relaxing, and specifically what Harp and I like to do in our free time.
Harp:	Exactly. Then we’re gonna talk about the ultimate relaxation: when you go on a vacation.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To sit back	To snap out of it
To chill	To hang out
To take it easy	To put your feet up
R&R	To be a fan of something
To veg out	To be in the middle of something
A spa	To feel zoned out
To spring up	A staycation
A nap	To trickle down

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Dreams Time

Listen to Natural English Conversation: We’re cooking up a storm

Culips — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:17:36 +0000

Everybody eats! That’s probably why we have so many expressions related to cooking and food. This episode is about filling our bellies with square meals and going back for seconds. Harp and Maura love to eat, but before you can eat, someone has to prepare the food! In this episode, the hosts share their own styles of cooking and talk about some of their best recipes. Listening to this one will make you hungry!

Harp:	Sometimes I’m just kind of lazy or sometimes I just don’t have enough time to cook a good square meal.
Maura:	Right. A square meal. Sounds really funny, like the meal should be in the shape of a square, but that’s not what it means.
Harp:	No. A good square meal is a good, healthy, filling meal.
Maura:	Right. A kind of meal, like you said, that is healthy and makes you feel really full and satisfied after you eat it.
Harp:	Exactly. I think of some home cooking, either some chilli maybe or a nice chicken dish, something filling and healthy.
Maura:	And I think a square meal would also include food from the four food groups. So you maybe would have a little bit of meat and then you would have some fruit and vegetable, and dairy.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To cook up a storm	To be filling
A square meal	The four food groups
A happy camper	To have seconds
Leftovers	Home ec
To break something up	A cooking machine
You’re making me blush	To make something from scratch
To grab a bite

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Double Translate

Culips English learning podcast is for people who want to have fun while learning natural, everyday English, focusing on idioms, expressions, and slang. Every week we have a new, free audio episode available on our site and through our website, iTunes and Stitcher. In all our episodes, we always speak English as it’s actually used in day-to-day life, and we give you plenty of explanations of new or interesting terms along the way. Learn to speak English like a native speaker by listening to natural conversation.

They’re on the prowl

Culips — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:29:07 +0000

If you’re single, then this episode is for you! This time, Maura and Harp look at slang and expressions related to going out, meeting people, and finding someone you’re attracted to. More and more, people are staying single into their 20s and even into their 30s, so there are lots of names for people on the dating scene. Listen to learn about the meanings of cougar and metrosexual.

Maura:	Now, when someone’s on the prowl, they might actually pick up someone.
Harp:	And to pick up someone doesn’t mean that they lift them up, it means that they start talking to them, get their attention. They pick up someone.
Maura:	Right. So, at a bar, if a person was there and they saw another person that they were interested in, and they went over to that person and tried to make a conversation with them, that would be picking them up.
Harp:	Yeah. And they often use a pick-up line, which is a one-line statement that’s supposed to be kinda smart or witty, sometimes it’s funny, to try to get the person’s attention.
Maura:	Right. Harp, let’s think of some pick-up lines that we know.
Harp:	Oh, one I remember is when a guy comes up to a girl and he says, “Did it hurt?” And then she’ll say, “Did what hurt?” “When you fell from heaven.”

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To be on the prowl	To pick up
A pick-up line	To hook up
A meat market	To check out
Do tell	To feel out of place
Happy hour	A metrosexual
To get all dolled up	A cougar
Desperate	Cheesy

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Go Local Prov

An interview with Georgina

Jessie — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 15:35:28 +0000

Here’s another friend of Culips—Georgina! She speaks English, French, Cantonese, and Japanese, all fluently! In this episode, we talk to her about her experiences learning these languages, and we find out what she recommends for learning to speak another language. This episode is sure to motivate you. Georgina is proof that we can all learn to speak other languages

Maura:	So we always try to choose someone to interview that has something a little bit interesting about them that we can talk about. And I have to say that out of all the people that we’ve interviewed on Culips, I think that Georgina speaks the most languages, which is pretty cool and I’m pretty jealous of, I have to say..
Georgina:	Thanks. That’s very flattering of you..
Maura:	So, first tell us a bit about yourself. You’re from Montreal and what else do we need to know about you?
Georgina:	Uh, I’m from Montreal. I’ll tell you how many languages I speak. Because I was born in Montreal, obviously I speak English and French. Um, I’m Chinese, so I also speak the Chinese dialect of Cantonese. And because I love Japan, I, uh, for the past five years, I have been learning how to speak Japanese. So I speak those four languages.
Maura:	Very impressive
Georgina:	Thank you.
Maura:	So, you grew up in Montreal and you grew up speaking three different languages then, right?
Georgina:	Basically, yes.
Maura:	And how did you learn and manage three different languages at the same time?

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To come in handy	Um and uh
Every know and then	Like
Might as well	Canadian and Chinese food
For starters	CEGEP
I would say	To break into something
To do something on the side	An open door

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©Song cast

We’re just shooting the breeze

Jessie — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 03:40:45 +0000

Every once in a while people have unimportant, yet fun, conversations. Sometimes it’s nice to talk with a friend about nothing really important. We must do it often in English, because we’ve got a ton of expressions for it! Listen to Harp and Maura explain and give examples in this episode. They’re not just gabbing!

Maura:	Right. To shoot the breeze means to talk about stuff that isn’t really important.
Harp:	Exactly. It’s when you’re talking to someone and it’s not a substantial conversation. You’re not talking about world politics, you’re just talking about something kinda simple, fun, nothing important.
Maura:	So, Harp, what kinds of topics do you think are not that important? What kinda stuff?
Harp:	That’s an interesting question because it depends on who the person is. But if I’m telling you about how I went shopping and I bought some new clothes and a little story about when I was shopping, it’s nothing too important, it’s…
Maura:	Right. Or maybe you’re telling a friend about what you had for lunch today or a delicious cake that you made last night; just some little story about your life that doesn’t affect anyone, really.
Harp:	Yeah. When you shoot the breeze, it means you’re just having a simple conversation about something that’s not very important.
Maura:	Right. And the origin of this expression is really interesting.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To shoot the breeze	To have to do with something
Same old	As chatty as ever
To overhear something or someone	To chitchat
To depend on/to depend	To chew the fat
To gab & to yak	To be in a rush
Verbal diarrhea

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©Glossy Icons

Elections

Culips — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 04:22:05 +0000

With some important elections coming up in Canada and the US, it’s the perfect time to talk politics on Culips. In the province of Quebec, where Culips is based, we’ve just had an important election, and there’s also an American election that is currently making news all around the world. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about voting, how it works in Canada, and their own experiences voting over the years. So listen up if you’re interested in the political process in Canada.

Harp:	In the US, they have set election dates for the federal level, but not in Canada.
Maura:	I think it would be a good idea to do that, too.
Harp:	Yeah. You know something interesting that I learned while I was doing research for this episode?
Maura:	What’s that?
Harp:	You know, I’ve noticed it but I didn’t understand why, but in Canada, almost all of the time, elections happen in either the spring or the fall.
Maura:	Well, I would say that the winter isn’t a good time because it’s so cold and the weather can be really nasty. So, if by chance the election is on a day when there’s a snow storm, people might not be able to come out to vote.
Harp:	Exactly. And because we have such a short summer, people are always on holidays in the summer, so that’s why we have fall or spring elections.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A political party	A riding
Catchy	To follow an election
To throw out promises	An empty promise
An attack ad	A scrutineer
Elections Canada	To be none of someone’s business
Strategic voting	A candidate
The Official Opposition	Right wing and left wing

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Business Review Canada

Maura’s road trip: What actually happened

Culips — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 03:30:39 +0000

This past July, Culips podcast host Maura took a road trip west through the United States, into the Rocky Mountains, and then east back across Canada. Before she left, she shared her plans in the Culips episode Maura’s Road Trip, and now she’s back with a new episode to tell you what happened while she was on the road. Maura’s been posting pictures on the Culips Facebook page and talking a bit about her trip there, but in this episode, she gives even more details about her adventure. So sit back, listen, and imagine taking your own road trip!

Harp:	Very cool. I saw that you ate some deep-dish Chicago-style pizza.
Maura:	I did. I was really excited to try the pizza. And I can tell you that it was very heavy on the stomach. There was tons of cheese on it.
Harp:	Yeah. It looked like there was a lot of cheese. I’m sure it was good.
Maura:	It was pretty good. I like cheese, so…
Harp:	That’s cool. So where did you go after Chicago?
Maura:	After Chicago we drove a lot, trying to cross states. Now I don’t know if I remember all of the states correctly but…
Harp:	I was just going to ask you.
Maura:	We drove through Wisconsin and Minnesota and Michigan. That’s not the right order, just so you know. And eventually we got to North Dakota, which is when the landscape started to look really interesting and we saw the Badlands.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Color Jam	Heavy on the stomach
You answered my question	Sulphur
Breathtaking	I think glacier, I think cold.
To go with the flow	Cowtown
Insane	Mosquito city
The Forks	All in all
Win-win

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: Curbly

Buying a home according to Harp

Culips — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:45:09 +0000

If you’ve ever bought a home, you know just how complicated it can be. And if you never have, here’s your chance to learn about the process… in English! Harp recently bought a condo, and in this episode, she tells us all about how she was looking for a place with character and what set the place she eventually bought apart from the others. For vocabulary and expressions related to buying a home, listen to this one!

Maura:	One little thing I wanna point out is that, often, we call a place where someone lives a house. It might be a house, but it might be an apartment or a condo. I don’t know why we do this, but any place, any home that someone has, sometimes we just call it a house. So, if we start calling Harp’s condo a house, it’s not because it turned into a house, but it’s just because it’s the place where Harp lives and it’s just a habit to naturally call it a house.
Harp:	Good point.
Maura:	So, Harp, when you were looking around, what kind of things were you looking for in a home?
Harp:	Well, I had my basics. I wanted two bedrooms. I was really hoping for an open concept. I really, really wanted something that had the Montreal charm, you know, the stained glass windows, the old moldings, nice wood floors. But in end, I didn’t get it.
Maura:	So what kind of things, or how many things, did you have to compromise on when you finally found a place?
Harp:	The character was the big thing that I compromised on. I ended up buying a newer condo rather than an older place that had character.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A house	Open concept
When it comes down to it	To have character
To luck out	To never want to step foot somewhere again
To put an offer in	To set something apart
To close the deal	A piece of cake
To cut costs	On top of it
A housewarming party	Don’t you worry

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: marriageadvicenow

Birds of a feather flock together

Culips — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 15:53:33 +0000

Do you know anyone else just like you? Sometimes we see two people who act or look or even think alike. It happens often enough that we’ve even got some expressions in English for it! The next time you see two people who look a lot alike, you can tell them they’re like two peas in a pod. Or if you find yourself with two people who both have a great idea at the same time, you can tell them that great minds think alike. Listen to this episode to get some more explanations and examples of these expressions and others!

Harp:	Yeah, exactly. When you think about it, your friends have very similar tastes to you or often at least one or two things that you both like.
Maura:	Right. So, this proverb does have some truth to it. Birds of a feather flock together, or, people who like the same things spend time with each other
Harp:	And when you think of this expression, birds of a feather flock together, and you think about different communities in Canada, you can really see this working. For example, in most of the larger cities, you have Little India or Chinatown or Little Italy. People who have similar backgrounds or culture or language live around each other.
Maura:	Right. And this is even true when you live abroad. I know that when I lived in Japan, I had a lot of friends who were also English-speaking people from other countries. So it’s also true for expats.
Harp:	Definitely. If I think of my parents, they have a lot of Punjabi friends who live close by, because it’s easier to speak in Punjabi for them than English.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

You don’t know what you’re missing	Birds of a feather flock together
To be drawn to something or someone	To have some truth to it
Chinatown and other communities	An expat
A tearjerker	To bawl
To be like two peas in a pod	To grow apart
Great minds think alike	And fools never differ
To get on the road	To play out

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: National Geographic

Who wants to eat out tonight?

Culips — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 03:45:20 +0000

Here’s another episode suggested by one of our awesome listeners! Going out to restaurants is pretty simple, but there are so many details to consider, like how to order exactly what you want, where to sit, and how to pay. Harp and Maura love going out to eat, and in this episode they share some popular restaurant expressions and talk about what to do in different restaurant situations. You can take this episode to go!

Maura:	You know, I’m sure by the end of this episode, I’m gonna be really hungry.
Harp:	I’m sure as well.
Maura:	Even though I just ate dinner, but I’ll be hungry again.
Harp:	That’s what happens when we talk about food.
Maura:	That’s it. So, let’s get started with the restaurant experience.
Harp:	All right. Well, I guess it starts when you walk in and you’re waiting to be seated.
Maura:	Right. Now sometimes when you walk in, it’s not even clear if you should wait to be seated or you should seat yourself. Sometimes there’s a sign that says “Wait to be seated” or “Seat yourself,” but sometimes you’re kind of standing there and you’re not sure what to do.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

What are you waiting for?	To eat out
The best bet	A booth
A bring-your-own-wine restaurant	I’ll have, I’d like, and other ways to order
The bill or the cheque	Tipping
To punch something in	A sweet tooth
Popular option with main dishes	Types of eggs and other breakfast choices
A fave	A guilty pleasure
To take it to go or to get take-away	A waitress or a waiter

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: ©iFood

Maura’s road trip

Culips — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 03:45:38 +0000

Have you ever gone on a long trip in the car? If you have, you’ve been on a road trip! This summer, Maura is going on a road trip across Canada and the United States. In this episode, Harp interviews Maura about the upcoming trip. Listen to find out where Maura plans to go and what she plans to do. And remember, it’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey.

Harp:	Today, I’m going to interview someone.
Maura:	Who are you going to interview, Harp?
Harp:	I’m going to interview you! Yes, I’m going to interview you, Maura, because you’re about to start a big road trip.
Maura:	Yes, and I’m so excited. This summer, I’ve planned to go on a really big road trip, about 3 of 4 weeks, across the United States and then back to Montreal through Canada.
Harp:	Wow! So you’re driving across the country, basically?
Maura:	Pretty much, right. Our trip is starting in Montreal, of course, where Culips broadcasts from, and that is located kind of in the centre, but more eastern side of Canada. And then visit my family. And I’m from Kitchener, Ontario, which is not very far from Toronto. After that we’re going to drive down into the United States, west. And then we’re going to come back up into Canada, into Alberta and the Rocky Mountains, which is really our destination. Spend some time there, and then drive back to Montreal, through Canada.
Harp:	That sounds like a really long trip and a lot of driving.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A road trip	A round trip
It’s not about the destination	Any day
The Rocky Mountains	A short cut
The Windy City	Yogi Bear
A bed and breakfast	To fly by the seat of your pants
Bootlegging	The Prairies
A back-up plan	The pronunciation of route
A cat sitter	Bon voyage

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Global Road Trips

Try not to step on anyone’s toes

Culips — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 03:00:16 +0000

Most people don’t like to be bothered or to disturb other people, but sometimes we do it anyway. In this episode, we look at expressions describing when someone is disturbed by another person. It could be something said or done that upsets this person, and it could be intentional or unintentional. We don’t want to ruffle any feathers with this episode, but these are good expressions to know.

Maura:	If you imagine an animal that is in a cage, so they have bars around them, they’re trapped inside. If you come around and start shaking the cage and banging on it, that bothers the animal inside. They don’t like the noise and they don’t like to feel disturbed.
Harp:	Exactly. If you think about a little bunny or a hamster in the cage and you shake the cage, you’re gonna bother the animal.
Maura:	Right. It makes noise and it moves around. It’s the same idea, except this time you’re bothering a person. So, in other words, you’re rattling someone’s cage.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To rattle someone’s cage	To snap
To be up to someone	To start from square one
Constructive criticism	To be off base
To ruffle someone’s feathers	To step on someone’s toes
To get over something	Touchy
To stand out

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Smart Sayings for Today

We all have to settle down someday

Culips — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 03:31:11 +0000

Here’s an episode all about growing up. We all have to do it one day, don’t we? To settle down and to lay down some roots are expressions that we can use to talk about a time in a person’s life when they begin to do more adult things. There’s also often a time in a person’s life when they want to be little bit irresponsible and maybe do something a little bit crazy. We’ve got an expression for that too!

Maura:	So, we could say that someone is settling down and buying a house or someone is settling down and beginning their career. So you can really be specific about how that person is settling down.
Harp:	Yeah. Because a person doesn’t need to do all of these. They don’t need to have a serious job, get married, have a family, all of them at the same time. You can do just one and be settling down.
Maura:	Imagine doing them all at the same time? I’m tired just thinking about that. OK. So our first expression then was to settle down. So we’re going to now look at another expression with a similar meaning.
Harp:	Yes. Our next expression is to lay down some roots.
Maura:	Right. To lay down some roots.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To take something on	To act your age
To settle down	Mommy and daddy
One day	To get hitched
To lay down some roots	To build a life
To sow your wild oats	Sow, so, and sew

Let’s go to the movies

Culips — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:30:10 +0000

Movies are an important part of almost every culture on the planet. They’re made for entertainment, but we can also learn about languages and cultures from them. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about famous movie quotations that are part of pop culture and may be used in regular conversation. They also talk about some of their own favourite movie memories. Which of the movies talked about in this episode have you seen?

Maura:	Sometimes people might even use a movie quotation that’s not really well known or is more obscure and you’re like “What are you saying?” and they’re like “Oh, it’s from this movie.” But there are some that almost everyone does know, and so when you use one of these lines, people know that you’re referencing that movie and you’re kind of making a joke.
Harp:	Exactly. And the one that I always think of is “I’ll be back.”
Maura:	I love that one. So, the movie line “I’ll be back” is from The Terminator. And it was Arnold Schwarzenegger in that movie who says, “I’ll be back.” So that’s why when we say it we put a little accent on it.
Harp:	Yeah, definitely. If you can hear both of us when we’re saying this, we’re definitely trying to have an accent.
Maura:	So, this one I think is really popular because it can be used so easily, any time that you’re meeting with people. It could be at work—only if you’re with close colleagues that know you very well—or it could be at a party. But for whatever reason, you leave the room and you’re going to come back in a few minutes, you can use this line. You can say, “I’ll be back.”
Harp:	I love the way you say it. It’s so funny.
Maura:	See, I also like to use this line with a very straight, serious face like Arnold Schwarzenegger did in The Terminator.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Mmhmm	A fuzzy memory
Back in the day	La-Z-Boy
To curl up	To go to the movies
Quote vs. quotation	A line
The Princess Bride	Dumb and Dumber
A flashback	Let’s put another shrimp on the barbie
I’ll give you that	To laugh your head off

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast,Image: Irene Haider

She has a bun in the oven

Culips — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 02:36:04 +0000

In this episode, Maura’s friend Melanie visits to talk about slang terms for being pregnant. Melanie is a bit of an expert on this topic, because she’s pregnant herself! There are tons of expressions to talk about being pregnant. Some of them are polite and some of them are a little bit rude. But don’t worry; Maura and Melanie will explain which are which. If you’re in the family way, you’ll especially enjoy listening to this episode.

Maura:	So the first one is to have a bun in the oven.
Melanie:	To have a bun in the oven.
Maura:	Right. To have a bun in the oven. And this expression means that someone is pregnant. If you think of it this way, the bun is the baby and the oven is the womb, or the woman’s body. And, so, if someone has a bun in the oven, this means that they’re pregnant.
Melanie:	It’s kind of a cute expression. I can picture the little bun in the oven getting bigger and bigger and growing to a full-sized bun.
Maura:	Right, just like a baby. Right now it’s still kind of small in your belly I’m sure and it will continue to grow.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A giveaway	Morning sickness
Nesting	To glow
To have a bun in the oven	The womb
Preggers	Magazines at the supermarket
To put two and two together	To be knocked up
To be in the family way; to be with child; to be expecting	What to Expect When You’re Expecting

This episode’s a nail-biter

Culips — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 03:36:53 +0000

Some movies and television shows can be very tense and dramatic, and we’ve got a handful of expressions to talk about them. This episode’s all about the exciting things we see on screen or read in books that keep us wanting to know more and make us anxious to find out the results. Check out this episode and we promise that we won’t leave you hanging!

Harp:	And this expression comes from this, because people usually bite their nails when they’re nervous or they’re anxious, so that’s where this expression comes from. So you don’t actually need to bite your nails to use this expression.
Maura:	Right. We can call anything that makes us nervous or anxious a nail-biter, something that we want to see the results of.
Harp:	Yeah. So if you’re reading a book and you really wanna know what the ending is, it’s a nail-biter. Or if you’re watching a competition and you wanna know who wins, it’s a nail-biter.
Maura:	Right. Especially when it’s very exciting and we can’t wait to see what the resolution is going to be.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A nail-biter	To be tied
A cliff-hanger	A soap opera
A trilogy/a sequel	Closure
A page-turner	I got you a little something
You shouldn’t have	A bookworm
To not want to put a book down

At the workplace

Culips — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 03:26:38 +0000

Let’s go to work! You can listen and relax while Harp and Maura talk about trends in the workplace in Canada and the US. You’ll learn about things like casual dress at the office, free gym memberships, and other perks. They also talk about current trends in changing jobs and going back to school. This episode will make great water cooler talk!

Harp:	Yeah, definitely. It’s important not to be a workaholic and spend 60, 70, 80 hours in the office or doing work. It’s important to have a good balance.
Maura:	Right. We do have a lot of workaholics though, especially with technology and having a smartphone with you all the time. But more and more, people are realizing that it’s not healthy for you to work that much. You have to have a little bit of play time.
Harp:	Exactly. You have to have downtime, time to relax and just enjoy life and not think about work.
Maura:	Now, I know that there are some things that the workplace, or someone’s particular place of employment, is doing to make it easier for people to have a better balance between their work and their personal life.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A workaholic	Downtime
Flex time	Telecommuting
Water cooler talk	Perks vs. benefits
On site	To unwind
A lifer	A thin line
To raise a red flag	To downsize

Board games aren’t boring!

Culips — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 01:21:27 +0000

Who doesn’t like to play games? We’ve got an episode for you all about board games, which ones are popular in Canada and which ones Harp and Maura have memories of playing. Have you heard of The Game of Life? Do you know Monopoly? Listen and learn here about games and game vocabulary.

Harp:	I’ve played a lot of checkers when I was young, but never chess.
Maura:	Yeah. Checkers is pretty easy to play. There aren’t too many rules. I’ve probably played chess once or twice and I just wasn’t interested because there was so much memorizing with all of the rules. And if you wanna get good or enjoy playing chess, I think you have to keep playing so that you just start to know the rules by heart.
Harp:	Yes, I agree. And it’s a game you always have to think a couple of steps in advance. I think now, present. “If I move this little piece, what does that do?” That’s it.
Maura:	What are some of the other top games on the list?

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A board game	Game pieces and dice
To be honest	It’s been ages
Settlers of Catan	Hardcore
A learning curve	A sore loser
To take the fun out of something	To go on forever
Connect Four	A travel version
Tic-tac-toe	To sound like a deal

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: Immanuel

English idioms: to walk on egg shells, to walk on pins and needles, to tread lightly, etc.

Culips — Mon, 28 May 2012 03:30:56 +0000

Sometimes we have to be sensitive to how other people are feeling. We might even act a certain way because we don’t want to upset them. In this episode, we talk about expressions used for this kind of situation. You might need to walk on pins and needles to keep others happy around you. Too bad everyone isn’t happy all the time!

Maura:	So maybe there’s someone in your life who is having a very bad day. This is the time when you might walk on eggshells, because you wanna be sensitive to how they’re feeling and you don’t wanna disturb them.
Harp:	Exactly.
Maura:	It could be just that specific time or maybe there’s someone in your life who is always sensitive and always gets disturbed easily. So in that case, you might always walk on eggshells around them because you know that they get upset very easily.
Harp:	Yes, exactly. If it’s someone who gets angry or upset really easily, you might walk on eggshells around them all the time.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Why not	To walk on eggshells
To snap	To be grounded
You know what I mean?	To walk on pins and needles
To bug someone	To clean up after yourself
To hold a grudge	A detention
To tread lightly	At the drop of a hat
IT	Anything and everything

Here’s Michael Gilday, a Canadian short track speed skater!

Culips — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:45:07 +0000

In this episode, Maura interviews Michael Gilday, a Canadian short track speed skater. She asks about what it’s like to prepare for the Olympics, and they also talk about Michael’s hometown of Yellowknife in the north of Canada and his experiences learning French. Have you ever seen the aurora borealis? Would you like to find out how learning French helped Michael in speed skating? Listen to this episode to hear all about it.

Maura:	So four years old, that seems quite young to decide to get into speed skating.
Michael:	I think at that time, it was more of a, sort of, I wanted to learn how to skate. And then as you get going, I think pretty quickly though you get into the full deal. But, yeah, that was when I joined the club or so I’m told by my parents…anyway.
Maura:	Are your parents athletes?
Michael:	In that they are recreational, they are active people. My dad was actually my coach for a long time but he didn’t have any background in skating. He was just an interested parent and he volunteers and he liked to help out, so he was my coach for a long time until I moved away from my hometown to attend university and to skate at a higher level.
Maura:	OK, cool. Now, I know that through all of your competitions you’ve been all around the world. So what are some of the most memorable places you’ve been to?
Michael:	Yeah, well I’m really lucky because when we travel to World Cup competitions, they are all over the world. So I’ve been to many different countries. This year actually we were… One of my favourite trips of all time was actually to Nagoya, which is in Japan. We got to do a little bit of adventuring there, especially with the food and that let us sort of get immersed a bit more in Japanese culture. And even though we were often playing sign language, because I really don’t speak a lick of Japanese, it was fun and it was a new adventure and it was something that I really enjoyed.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To strike up a conversation	To compete head to head
Etc.	To never turn back
A lick of	A perk
Choices	Canadian stereotypes
The aurora borealis (the northern lights)	Yellowknife
To screw up	To broaden your horizons
To happen overnight	So-and-so
To not take any prisoners	Across the board

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast

Sounds that mean yes and no

Culips — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:42:28 +0000

In every language, there are funny little sounds that we make that are very important! In English, we have lots of noises we make while speaking. In this episode, we’re looking at sounds that mean yes and no. Listen closely as Harp and Maura give their best examples of mmhmm, uh-huh, and uh-uh using different tones. Are you going to learn from this episode? Mmhmm.

What is a Member?

Harp:	Mmhmm. Uh-huh.
Maura:	So, these can be used just like the word yes. They can be used to answer someone, so when you use these sounds in response to a question, it’s like you’re saying yes.
Harp:	Or these sounds can be used to agree with someone; to show that you agree with what they’ve said.
Maura:	Right. Just like yes. Now, here’s where it’s a little bit different. You can also use these sounds to show someone that you’re listening to what they’re saying. So, in English, when you’re listening to someone talk and maybe they’re talking for 30 seconds or they’re telling a bit of a longer story or something with more detail, the listener has to show that they’re listening.
Harp:	Yes. And if you’re in person you can just nod, but oftentimes you add a little bit of noise.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Mmhmm	We could go on
Un-huh	A fishing rod and bait
Guess what	What’d you do?
To end up	To call it a day
To make a sound/noise	At the last minute
Uh-uh	Would rather
A board game	Anyway and anyways

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast; Image: The giving heart™

Explaining English idioms – To sell like hot cakes; They can’t make them fast enough.

Culips — Sun, 06 May 2012 03:00:47 +0000

Here’s an episode all about popular items. The expressions we talk about are used when something is in demand, which means that people are buying a lot of it. You can use these expressions to talk about the trendiest items of the moment. For example, new Apple products always sell like hot cakes. They can’t seem to make them fast enough! Listen to this episode and learn more about these expressions and others.

What is a Member?

Maura:	So, if we imagine that in the past, at a special event like a fair or some kind of community gathering, there would be a person who was making hotcakes and selling them and they were very popular. So lots of people would buy them, they were in high demand. Well, that’s where the origin of this expression is supposed to have come from.
Harp:	OK. That makes sense.
Maura:	Right. So now we can use this expression, selling like hotcakes, to talk about a whole variety of items. And usually this expression is not used to talk about food.
Harp:	Yeah. It’s usually an object, not food.
Maura:	Right. So this expression originated from the popularity of hotcakes, or pancakes, and now we use this expression to talk about some kind of item that people love and they buy a lot of.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Drop someone a line	To sell like hotcakes
To line up around the block	To fly off the shelves
Tickle Me Elmo	The Hunger Games
They can’t make them fast enough	To keep up
To crave	You betcha
What	What can you do?

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: Cartoonstock.com

English idioms: to toot your own horn, to pat yourself on the back, etc.

Culips — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:15:18 +0000

Have you done something extra special lately? In that case, you may want to toot your own horn! This episode is all about speaking well of yourself. It’s all about how to do it while staying humble. For example, we don’t want to want to toot our own horn, but we think our podcasts are pretty fun and informative!

What is a Member?

Maura:	Right, and that means that you talk about that experience. So if you did really well on a project at work, you toot your own horn when you tell other people about what a great job you did. Or if you did really well on a test, you toot your own horn when you tell other people about how well you did.
Harp:	Exactly. And if we think about this, to toot your own horn, if someone blows a horn, it’s a celebration. It makes a noise and it gets people’s attention. If you talk about your own accomplishments, you’re celebrating your own success.
Maura:	Right. You’re drawing attention to yourself. And if you toot a horn, you definitely draw attention to yourself.
Harp:	Definitely
Maura:	Now, one possible origin for this expression is a connection to royalty.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To toot your own horn	To draw attention to yourself
The job hunt	Lemme
Report cards	Who didn’t?
Straight A’s	To rub it in someone’s face
To pat yourself on the back	To pat someone on the back
On your own	Parallel parking
Spelling bee

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: Zazzle

The dentist in Canada and some related vocabulary

Culips — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:00:49 +0000

Here’s an episode about going to the dentist in Canada and some related vocabulary. Not many people like going to the dentist, but we hope you like this episode anyway! Harp and Maura also tell some of their own stories about appointments they’ve had, both good and bad. They also discuss some expressions with teeth: to have a sweet tooth and like pulling teeth. You’ll probably want to brush your teeth after listening to this episode!

What is a Member?

Harp:	Maura, how often do you go to the dentist?
Maura:	I was hoping you weren’t gonna ask, Harp. When I was younger, I used to go often. But I don’t have insurance, and so I don’t go very often.
Harp:	When was the last time you went to the dentist, Maura?
Maura:	The last time I went to the dentist, I think, was about a year and a half ago.
Harp:	OK. Not too bad then.
Maura:	No, it’s not so bad. But I think there was a period where I didn’t go for about 5 years.
Harp:	Yeah, because if you don’t have insurance, it’s very expensive to go to the dentist in Canada.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A checkup	A cavity
A baby tooth	To get kicked out
To get fed up	When it comes to
A drugstore	To grind your teeth
To have a sweet tooth	To quit cold turkey
To rub off on someone	Like pulling teeth
The gum line

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: InfoBarrel

To get dolled up–Culips English Podcast

Culips — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:34:16 +0000

Here’s an episode about getting fancy! From time to time we all have to dress up for a special occasion, and so we may need to use these expressions. There are a few expressions we can use to talk about someone who is dressing more formally than they normally do. How do you feel about getting all gussied up? Or would you rather dress down?

What is a Member?

Harp:	You don’t have to be wearing a ball gown to use this expression.
Maura:	Right. Especially for women, they do their hair and they do their makeup, but for guys too, they might get a haircut or do their hair a special way. They might also pay extra attention to shave their face.
Harp:	Yes, definitely.
Maura:	When I think of this expression, to get dolled up, I always think of dolls.
Harp:	Yes, exactly. Because for a doll, you can dress them up and put new, fancy clothes on them.
Maura:	Right. And dolls normally look pretty and cute, so I make that connection when I think of this expression.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To dress/to dress up/to dress down	To get dolled up
Fancier/more fancy	The final touch(es)
To get all gussied up	A girls’ night out
To head out	It’s a plan
You going for work?	To take someone up on something
To get decked out	Back in the day

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: Hot Beauty Spot

Fat Chance—Culips English Podcast

Culips — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:17:23 +0000

Sometimes there are things that are not likely to happen, and we’ve got a few expressions to talk about them! Have you ever dreamed of flying to the moon? Or maybe you hope that your boss will give you the day off tomorrow. Fat chance. Listen to this episode to learn a bunch of new expressions, including slim chance.

What is a Member?

Maura:	So, there is an example where we use the expression fat chance. And this means that there is not a good chance of that happening.
Harp:	Exactly. There’s very little chance that I’m ever gonna marry Brad Pitt.
Maura:	Sorry to break it to you, Harp, but it’s true. There’s probably a very small chance and it’s almost impossible that you’ll marry Brad Pitt.
Harp:	I would say it’s impossible.
Maura:	So, that is how we can use fat chance. And like we said, we didn’t use fat chance in a sentence, we just responded to the idea of marrying Brad Pitt by saying fat chance.
Harp:	Yeah, ’cause this is the student that always answers the question, always puts his hand up, or her hand.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

Fat chance	To break something to someone
Nah	A slim chance
Wish me luck	A long shot
What’s going on?	To cross your fingers

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: Culips

School—Culips ESL Podcast

Culips — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:08:38 +0000

Here’s an episode idea we got from Daniel on Facebook. Thanks again for the suggestion! In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about elementary and high school in Canada, including sharing their own experiences. They also tell you about different names for types of students and use some natural expressions, as always. What’s school like where you’re from?

Maura:	So the first one is teacher’s pet.
Harp:	Yes, a teacher’s pet.
Maura:	And this is the kind of student who’s always interested in learning and always wants to get really, really good marks at school, which is a good thing. Right, Harp?
Harp:	Definitely.
Maura:	But other students can find it kind of annoying.
Harp:	Yeah, ’cause this is the student that always answers the question, always puts his hand up, or her hand.
Maura:	Right. And this kind of student is always trying to be really nice to the teacher because this student wants good marks.
Harp:	Yes, definitely. This is the kind of student that brings in an apple for his teacher.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A teacher’s pet	To bring in an apple for the teacher
A class clown	To get kicked out
A slacker	To hand something in
To doodle	To stare off into space
To come out of your shell	The dog ate my homework
To skip school/to play hooky	Wannu
A slumber party	Let me tell you

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo: cliff1066™

Viral Videos—Culips English Podcast

Culips — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 16:04:18 +0000

With the Internet and social media, people are on computers and cell phones more than ever! This means that there are all kinds of new terms that have been created to describe all the new trends and innovations online, one of which you already know: podcast! Listen to this episode to learn some of English’s cutting-edge vocabulary.

Maura:	Those are some viral videos, and check out our Facebook page because we’ll post some of these videos this week so you can check them out. Now, another expression that has become popular recently is to say that something is trending.
Harp:	Yes. If something is trending.
Maura:	Yeah. So if something is trending, it means that it’s very popular online at the moment.
Harp:	Yes. Something that is popular online, you could say something is trending.
Maura:	And you know something is trending when a lot of people are talking about it on Twitter or people are making comments or posting about it on Facebook. Another way that we know something is trending is when a lot of people do searches for it. So it’s become a really, really popular topic to be searched.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

To swear	To go viral
A viral video	In a matter of…
To catch on	A flash mob
To trend	Twitter
A podcast	This American Life
A blog/a blogger	Brand recognition
Julie and Julia	Religiously
Cyberspace

Podcast/ Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast