1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:07,280 Okay, let me ask you something. Have there been any fireworks in your 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:13,679 house or your office? Have you had any plans that have gone up in 3 00:00:13,919 --> 00:00:21,359 smoke? You haven't been grilled by your spouse or partner, have you? 4 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:30,559 I hope not. This podcast English Lesson and Dialogue is all about summer festival 5 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:39,840 idioms that you can use in the business scene. Let's study together. Welcome 6 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:45,119 to another Happy English podcast coming to you from New York City. And here's 7 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:50,039 your English teacher, Michael. All right, thank you John, and thanks 8 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:57,320 everyone. It's Michael here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 9 00:00:57,679 --> 00:01:04,480 And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode six seventy three, Summer festival 10 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:12,840 idioms in Business English. Yesterday was Independence Day here in the USA, which 11 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:19,079 is a holiday with lots of fireworks, and it got me thinking of some 12 00:01:19,599 --> 00:01:26,200 related idioms. Today. Let's have a look at six idioms that have a 13 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:33,920 connection to summer festivals which you can use in daily conversation and even in the 14 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,120 office. Now, listen to a conversation between two office workers. This is 15 00:01:38,159 --> 00:01:42,840 a bit slower than natural speed. You can hear the conversation again at regular 16 00:01:42,879 --> 00:01:47,680 speed. At the end of this lesson, Hey, Jen, what was 17 00:01:47,719 --> 00:01:51,640 the deal with all the fireworks going on in the office this morning? Oh? 18 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,239 Hi, Tom, Remember when Jack did his social media presentation and he 19 00:01:56,319 --> 00:02:01,400 told the boss that if we tried doing that, sales would skyrocket. Yeah, 20 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,799 he was totally hot dogging it for like a week after that meeting, 21 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,680 right. Well, the truth is, it seems like his plans for big 22 00:02:08,719 --> 00:02:13,400 sales went up in smoke. I had a feeling that was going to happen. 23 00:02:14,039 --> 00:02:17,319 So the boss was grilling him pretty bad. Eh. Oh, yeah, 24 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:22,639 the boss was totally raking him over the coals for that. Poor Jack. 25 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:29,159 When will he ever learn? Oh my, Jack is always getting in 26 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:35,840 trouble in the office. Let's check out these idioms. First of all, 27 00:02:35,879 --> 00:02:44,479 we have fireworks in the conversation. Tom asked Jen what the deal was with 28 00:02:44,599 --> 00:02:50,719 all the fireworks in the office. You know, when you see fireworks in 29 00:02:50,759 --> 00:02:57,319 the sky, they are bright and explosive. Well, with that image, 30 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:05,840 we use fireworks to mean an outburst of anger or a strong emotional reaction. 31 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,759 Here are some examples. There were a lot of fireworks in the meeting when 32 00:03:10,759 --> 00:03:17,840 the boss started criticizing Kim for her poor sales results last month. You should 33 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:23,479 have seen the fireworks when Bobby told his parents he was going to quit his 34 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:30,400 job and become an artist. There were a lot of fireworks between the two 35 00:03:30,479 --> 00:03:38,280 political candidates during the debate. Next is skyrocket. Jack told the boss that 36 00:03:38,439 --> 00:03:47,599 his plan would help sales skyrocket. When something skyrockets, it rapidly increases or 37 00:03:47,919 --> 00:03:54,719 goes up very quickly, just like a rocket shooting into the sky. For 38 00:03:54,800 --> 00:04:01,800 example, after the successful marketing campaign, sales of the new products skyrocketed, 39 00:04:02,199 --> 00:04:10,560 exceeding all expectations. The price of housing in the city has skyrocketed over the 40 00:04:10,599 --> 00:04:15,959 past few years, making it difficult for new home buyers. The company's stock 41 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:23,800 value skyrocketed after they announced the merger. The next one is hot dogging. 42 00:04:24,439 --> 00:04:30,639 It seems like Jack was hot dogging after his presentation. When someone is hot 43 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:36,160 dogging, it means they are showing off or boasting, usually because they want 44 00:04:36,199 --> 00:04:44,800 to get attention or admiration. Here are some examples. Sam totally annoyed her 45 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:50,879 coworkers by constantly hot dogging about her perfect sales record. The basketball player was 46 00:04:50,959 --> 00:04:57,079 criticized for hot dogging on the court instead of playing as part of the team. 47 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,000 Those young guys spent the whole week weekend hot dogging while driving around in 48 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:11,680 their fast cars. The fourth idiom is to go up in smoke. Jenny 49 00:05:11,759 --> 00:05:17,040 said that Jack's plan for big sales went up in smoke. If something goes 50 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:25,639 up in smoke, it fails or disappears unexpectedly, often after a lot of 51 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:30,800 effort has been put into it. For example, our plans for a weekend 52 00:05:30,959 --> 00:05:36,600 getaway went up in smoke when our car broke down on the way. The 53 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:43,800 company's expansion plan went up in smoke due to a lack of support from investors. 54 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:48,879 Debbie's dreams of becoming an actress went up in smoke when she failed the 55 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:58,360 audition. Next, we have grill. Someone Tom mentioned that the boss was 56 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:03,600 grilling Jack. A grill is a place outside where you can cook food, 57 00:06:04,079 --> 00:06:12,160 and a grill usually has a lot of hot energy. Well, we use 58 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:17,680 that same image when we talk about grilling a person. That means that you 59 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:28,920 are intensely questioning or interrogating someone, often to obtain information or to clarify a 60 00:06:29,079 --> 00:06:34,240 situation. Here are some other examples. The detective grilled the suspect for an 61 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:41,279 hour about the robbery, trying to get to the truth. During the press 62 00:06:41,319 --> 00:06:48,600 conference, the journalists grilled the politician about his controversial statements. My parents grilled 63 00:06:48,639 --> 00:06:56,519 me when I came home after midnight. And speaking of outdoor cooking, one 64 00:06:56,639 --> 00:07:02,079 kind of grill is heated with coal. Jen mentioned that the boss was raking 65 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:09,839 Jack over the coals. When you rake someone over the coals, it means 66 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:16,560 that you severely reprimand or scold them, usually for their mistakes or poor behavior. 67 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:23,839 Here are some examples. Because his marketing plan was a failure. The 68 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:30,439 boss raked Jack over the coals. The teacher raked her students over the coals 69 00:07:30,839 --> 00:07:35,399 for not studying enough for the mid term exam. Eddie's parents raked him over 70 00:07:35,439 --> 00:07:43,000 the coals when they found out he had taken their car without permission. Now 71 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,680 listen to the conversation again at natural speed while listening for the idioms from this 72 00:07:46,759 --> 00:07:50,360 lesson. Hey, Jen, what was the deal with all the fireworks going 73 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,800 on in the office this morning? Oh? Hi, Tom? Remember when 74 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,519 Jack did his social media presentation and he told the boss that if we tried 75 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:03,600 doing that, sales would skyrocket. Yeah, he was totally hot dogging it 76 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,040 for like a week after that meeting. Right. Well, the truth is, 77 00:08:07,079 --> 00:08:09,319 it seems like his plans for big sales went up in smoke. I 78 00:08:09,399 --> 00:08:13,199 had a feeling that was going to happen. So the boss was grilling him 79 00:08:13,199 --> 00:08:16,839 pretty bad. Eh oh, yeah, the boss was totally raking him over 80 00:08:16,879 --> 00:08:20,959 the coals for that. Poor Jack, When will he ever learn? Keep 81 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,199 in mind, the best way to remember this and any vocabulary is to take 82 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:31,959 the word or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true for you or 83 00:08:31,519 --> 00:08:37,480 true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Well, I'm sorry 84 00:08:37,519 --> 00:08:43,360 to say this, but we need to wrap things up. Please don't rake 85 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:48,000 me over the coals. By the way, if you'd like to get more 86 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:54,159 practice using your English, why don't you join my podcast Learner's study group. 87 00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:00,919 There you can make new friends, join me for live group coaching every week. 88 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:07,759 Plus get the pdf, transcript and audio download for every Happy English podcast 89 00:09:07,919 --> 00:09:15,120 in the past and in the future, and each episode has exercises where you 90 00:09:15,159 --> 00:09:20,879 can practice this English point with speaking and writing checked by me. To learn 91 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,519 more or to see some of the example sentences from this lesson, just visit 92 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:33,799 my Happy English dot com and choose podcast lesson six seventy three. Remember, 93 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,240 learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here 94 00:09:39,279 --> 00:09:45,120 to help you. On your journey. 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