78. Christmas – It’s all about Family (with James)

[1:10:00]
L: Oh dear, no one is going to understand what we are talking about.
J: We’re taking the mickey out of our Queen, because it’s our right.
L: Taking the mickey.
J: Taking the mickey.
L: Making fun.
J: Or in a more coarse way. “Taking the piss”. I hope you don’t mind me saying me that Luke.
L: I don’t mind.
J: If you say “taking the piss”, that’s a very British thing to do, which means joking at someone, someone else’s expense.
L: Making fun of someone.
J: But it’s also a good thing to be able to take that. And to take the piss back but not to be too offended, because it’s how we get our humour.
L: Basically, what my brother is trying to say is that in England we often make fun of each other, but it’s the same everywhere, you know, it’s the same everywhere.
J: Yeah, but some people aren’t always sure, because we like to do a dry way, not always obvious, it’s a joke.
L: We do in a sarcastic kind of way, which if you’re not used to it, if you watch English people in the pub. It looks like they just insulting each other.
J: And they are.
L: But they’re also just making fun. But it’s the same everywhere. When I lived in Japan, I used to hang out with Japanese people and they just insulted each other all the time too. It’s the same thing.
J: The same, international.
L: So (Luke is trying to quiet James) Luke’s English Podcast. Yeah. Not James’s English Podcast. Okay? I’ve got to put him in his place sometimes. He can be a bit over the top.
J: Bloody hell. Bit touchy, isn’t he?
L: I’m just trying to finish it off.
J: Wind it up.
L: Okay. Finally “Boxing day”. So 24th is Christmas Eve, 25th is Christmas Day, 26th is Boxing Day. Why do we call it “Boxing day”? No one really knows. They are various theories.
J: Well, nobody really knows…
L: There is various theories. One theory is that it’s when the employers in factories would give gifts to their employees and they put those gifts in boxes, so “boxing day”. So that’s one theory. Another theory is when you like, take all of the presents and things that you’ve been given, you put them in boxes and take them home. Right? Or another theory is that you put like all of the wrapping paper and the decorations and things back into a box.
J: Are you sure this isn’t…?
L: These are theories.
J: From you, have you looked this up on Youtube, on Wiki?
L: Yeah, I have. Yeah.
J: And “no one knows what the boxing day is”. Why?
L: Why? You tell me why?
J: I don’t know. I just wondered if you’ve done your research.
L: Oh, for God sake.
J: I think you should…
L: I’ve done a lot of research, because I get, every year…
J: Okay guys, if you know what “boxing day”… let’s call guys… listeners… if you know what “boxing day” called “boxing day” just write in the comment or email Luke.
L: Yeah.
J: Or better still just send him some money.
L: Oh yeah, that would be good.
J: That’s the best way to show your gratitude. Buy him pint, buy me a pint.
L: I think that’s the end of this episode.
J: Can I just another little reference you should watch. The original British sitcom “The Office”. Not the American one, the British one, Ricky Gervais one. Check out “The office Christmas party” on Youtube, because that’s a good example of kind of a traditional English, seen in a kind of slightly sad way and yet a funny way and it shows… it’s hard to explain.
L: Wait a minute. You’re talking about a tv show called “The office”.
J: Yes.
L: There is an episode of the office called “The Christmas Special” and in that episode there is a Christmas party and that’s quite a good…
J: …down to earth.
L: (Luke is trying to quiet James) It’s just shows people what a typical English office party at Christmas is like. And basically an office party at Christmas involves all of the stuff in the office getting drunk together and probably making fools of themselves by doing something stupid in front of the boss, because you’re drunk. And the other things are that you end up getting off with someone at work.
J: If you’re lucky.
L: That “getting off with” basically means kissing, you know. So you snog or get off with or kiss someone at work, because you’re drunk. Right? And then like the next week you regret it. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I got off with Sandra at the office party” and the other cliche of the office party is that when you’re drunk, you go to the photocopier and you photocopy your bum or another part of your body.
J: I think that’s international.
L: Yeah. That’s the Christmas office party. That’s it. That’s the end of this episode. It’s been a bit fast and a little bit disorganised and slightly stupid, but in the end that’s what life is like, isn’t it.
(laugh)
L: It’s a bit fast, it’s disorganized, it’s stupid.
J: Yeah and no one really knows what the point of it is.
L: And no one really at the end… it doesn’t really conclude in a…
J: …satisfactory way. There is no happy ending…
L: …in life, no.
J: You just slowly sink into…
L: I expect that most people have stopped listening by this point.
J: If you’ve made it this far “Thank you” and as a little bonus, we like to present Luke singing a song. Take it away Luke.
L: I will sing a song. Yeah.
J: A Christmas song. You’re going to make one up or you’re going to sing a classic.
L: I’m going to try and just come up… I don’t have any of the lyrics, I don’t have any of the chords. I’m just going to try and do it.
(Luke is playing a guitar and singing)
L: Yeah. That’s terrible.
J: That’s it.
L: Absolutely terrible. That’s it.
J: Thanks for sticking with us.
L: You’ve been listening to Luke’s English Podcast. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And I’ll catch up with you again in the near future. Right?
J: Yeah. Merry Christmas everybody.
L: Have a lovely time.
Both: Bye.

VOCABULARY & DEFINITIONS
Here is a list of vocabulary used in the episode, with definitions:
I am slowly adding transcripts to all my episodes and I am storing them at my blog: https://teacherluke.co.uk/
There is no transcript for this episode yet but please feel free to add one! Email it to me: luketeacher@hotmail.com

Here is the vocabulary & definitions:

cold call
n.
A telephone call or visit made to someone who is not known or not expecting contact, often in order to sell something.
cold-call v. a cold caller (person) cold calling
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

bunged up
adjective clogged, stuffed-up, blocked up, jammed “My nose is all bunged up.”
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

faux pas [ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː (French) fo pɑ]
n pl faux pas [ˌfəʊ ˈpɑːz (French) fo pɑ]
a social blunder or indiscretion
[from French: false step]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

urine
n urine [ˈjuːrin]
the waste fluid passed out of the body of animals from the bladder.
adj urinary
a urinary infection.
v urinate [ˈjuərineit]
to pass urine from the bladder.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2010 K Dictionaries Ltd.

cliche
n.
1. A trite or overused expression or idea: “Even while the phrase was degenerating to cliché in ordinary public use . . . scholars were giving it increasing attention” (Anthony Brandt).
2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial: “There is a young explorer . . . who turns out not to be quite the cliche expected” (John Crowley).
These nouns denote an expression or idea that has lost its originality or force through overuse: a short story weakened by clichés; the old bromide that we are what we eat; uttered the commonplace “welcome aboard”; a eulogy full of platitudes; a once-original thought that has become a truism.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

tinsel
n.
1. Very thin sheets, strips, or threads of a glittering material used as a decoration.
2. Something sparkling or showy but basically valueless: the tinsel of parties and promotional events.
adj.
1. Made of or decorated with tinsel.
2. Gaudy, showy, and basically valueless.
tr.v. tin·seled or tin·selled, tin·sel·ing or tin·sel·ling, tin·sels
1. To decorate with or as if with tinsel: tinsel a Christmas tree.
2. To give a false sparkle to.
[Middle English tineseile, from Old French estincelle, spangle, spark; see stencil.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

bau·ble
n.
1. A small, round decoration used on a christmas tree

cul-de-sac
Noun 1. cul de sac – a passage with access only at one end
cul, dead end
passage – a way through or along which someone or something may pass
2. cul de sac – a street with only one way in or out
blind alley, dead-end street, impasse
thoroughfare – a public road from one place to another
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

stuck-up
adj
Informal conceited, arrogant, or snobbish
stuck-upness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

football hooligan

asking for it
-verb
this means that someone wants to have a fight
(this expression is used to justify a voilent act – e.g. “he was asking for it!”)

the east-end
-noun
the east-end means the east-end of London – an area in the east of London

the Ritz
-noun
a very expensive hotel/restaurant/tea room in central London

housing estate
-noun
a residential area where the houses were all planned and built at the same time, by the local council

lin·go
n. pl. lin·goes
1. Language that is unintelligible or unfamiliar.
2. The specialized vocabulary of a particular field or discipline: spoke to me in the lingo of fundamentalism.

geezer [giːzə]
n Informal
a man
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

common sense
n
plain ordinary good judgment; sound practical sense
adj common-sense also common-sensical
inspired by or displaying sound practical sense
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

grounded [ˈgraʊndɪd]
adj
sensible and down-to-earth; having one’s feet on the ground
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

lev·el·head·ed
adj.
Characteristically self-composed and sensible.
level·headed·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

(get) carried away
Definition: become too emotionally involved in something
Explanation: Used to show exageration by someone else
Examples: Please pay attention and don’t get carried away. – I know you love Chopin, but if you get carried away you will not play all the right notes.

solid
-adj
reliable, safe, dependable
“John is a really solid guy, he never lets me down”

en·clave
n.
1. A country or part of a country lying wholly within the boundaries of another.
2. A distinctly bounded area enclosed within a larger unit: ethnic enclaves in a large city.
[French, from Old French enclaver, to enclose, from Vulgar Latin *inclvre : Latin in-, in; see en-1 + Latin clvis, key.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

glossy [ˈglɒsɪ]
adj glossier, glossiest
1. smooth and shiny
2. superficially attractive
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

gritty [ˈgrɪtɪ]
adj -tier, -tiest
1. courageous; hardy; resolute
2. of, like, or containing grit
grittily adv
grittiness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

down-to-earth
adj
sensible; practical; realistic
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

it’s bound to be Latin = it must be Latin, I really expect it to be Latin

take stock
1. To take an inventory of all the stock in a shop’s warehouse
2. To think about yourself and things you have done in the past

a new year’s resolution = a promise to yourself for the next year, e.g. “I’m going to give up smoking” or “I’m going to go to the gym more often”

crumb [krʌm]
n
a small fragment of bread, cake, or other baked foods
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

psychic abilities
-plural noun phrase
abilities which allow you to do psychic things such as mind reading

skip to the end
-verb phrase
we use this expression when someone is telling a boring story and you want them to ‘jump’ or ‘skip’ quickly to the conclusion at the end of the story (it is used in an ironic way – my brother James says it as a joke, like “this is boring!” – but he’s just joking)

mince pie = pie containing mincemeat
pie = dish baked in pastry-lined pan often with a pastry top
© 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

staple food: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/staple+food

moving (swiftly) on
-verb phrase
“move on” “let’s move on” “moving on” – use these expressions to move to the next point in a discussion, meeting or presentation
“moving swiftly on” – swiftly means quickly. “Moving swiftly on” is a fixed expression which means “let’s quickly move on to the next point”

“I lost it” – to lose it
-verb phrase
this means to lose your mind, go crazy, become very angry

“my suspicions were aroused”
-collocation
to arouse suspicion – this means that something made you feel suspicious
e.g. Sherlock Holmes would say this if he saw some evidence – “my suspicions were aroused by the bloodstains on the floor”

“there’s evidence to suggest that…” – you can use this expression to support your comments with evidence – you don’t have to name the evidence, “there’s evidence to suggest that spending a lot of time playing computer games can be bad for your health”

gadget [ˈgædʒɪt]
n
1. a small mechanical device or appliance
2. any object that is interesting for its ingenuity or novelty rather than for its practical use
[perhaps from French gâchette lock catch, trigger, diminutive of gâche staple]
gadgety adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

“I’m welling up here”
to well up
-phrasal verb
when emotion rises inside you and you begin to cry – tears come to your eyes
“At the end of the movie I started welling up”

lean
adj. lean·er, lean·est
1. Not fleshy or fat; thin.
2. Containing little or no fat.

deer
n deer [diə]
a kind of large, grass-eating animal, the male of which sometimes has antlers, “a herd of deer”, e.g. Bambi.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2010 K Dictionaries Ltd.

blow your nose
-verb phrase
to clear your nose by blowing air out – it pushes out the snot/mucus into a tissue

snot
-noun
green or clear mucus which comes from your nose when you have a cold

mucus
-noun
snot (see above)

sniff / sniffing
-verb
to pull air into your nose quickly in order to stop snot coming out

“the commercialisation of Christmas”
commercialisation
-noun
the act of commercializing something; involving something in commerce; “my father considered the commercialization of Christmas to be a sacrilege”; “the government tried to accelerate the commercialization of this development”; “both companies will retain control over the commercialization of their own products”
commercialization
exploitation, development – the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful; “the development of Alaskan resources”; “the exploitation of copper deposits”
© 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

bombard
-verb [bɒmˈbɑːd] (tr)
1. (Military) to attack with concentrated artillery fire or bombs
2. to attack with vigour and persistence, “the boxer bombarded his opponent with blows to the body”
3. to attack verbally, esp with questions, “the journalists bombarded her with questions”
4. (Physics / General Physics) Physics – to direct high-energy particles or photons against (atoms, nuclei, etc.) especially to produce ions or nuclear transformations
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

stingy
adj -gier, -giest
1. unwilling to spend or give
2. insufficient or scanty
[C17 (perhaps in the sense: ill-tempered): perhaps from stinge, dialect variant of sting]
stingily adv
stinginess n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

miser
n
1. a person who keeps money or possessions and never gives things to people
2. selfish and unhappy person
[from Latin: wretched]

a pain (in the neck)
-noun
someone or something that is very annoying
e.g. “this rain is such a pain in the neck”, “Christmas shopping can be a real pain when the shopping centre is busy”

bump into people
-verb phrase
to accidently walk into people, to collide with someone (this phrase can also mean that you meet someone by coincidence)

go out of fashion (and go out of style)
to become unfashionable; to become obsolete. “That kind of furniture went out of style years ago.” “I hope this kind of thing never goes out of fashion.”
Dictionary of Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

wind (something) up
-phrasal verb
to end or finish something “The meeting just wound up, so let’s go to lunch now.” “We should be able to wind the discussion up by 10 o’clock.”
Cambridge Dictionary of Idioms © Cambridge University Press 2003.

a love-hate relationship
-noun
a relationship which combines both love and hatred
“I have a love hate relationship with Christmas – I love some things about it, but I hate other things”
“Jack and Sarah have a love hate relationship – they love each other but they can’t live together”

“it can be a bit grating”
grating
adj
1. (of sounds) harsh and rasping
2. annoying; irritating
e.g. “The sound of that chainsaw is really grating” “the sound of that baby crying is really grating”
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

take the mickey / take the piss: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/take+the+mickey

SOME CHRISMAS SONGS – WITH LYRICS!
Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas Time?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AcD7hho9fs&w=480&h=360]

Wham – Last Christmas
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZVY-pGDsN4&w=480&h=360]

Slade – Merry Christmas Everybody
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzczoqLBWAY&w=480&h=360]

Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vGPplLaVC0&w=480&h=360]

The 12 Days of Chrismtas (no lyrics – but pictures)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpinzLXXp14&w=480&h=360]

The Pogues – Fairytale of New York
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv0hlbWpa1w&w=480&h=360]

John & Yoko – Merry Christmas (War is Over) *not the original recording I’m afraid*
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4u489MkaV4&w=480&h=360]

This is a short clip from the soap opera Eastenders, which my brother and I talked about a couple of times
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR-FanuY8vg&w=640&h=360]

Thanks for listening – please donate some money to help me continue making episodes for Luke’s English Podcast. Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas-tree