ESL Podcast 211 - Giving Bad News and Condolences

How are you holding up? - How are you feeling?, normally asked of someone who is having a difficult time

I went back to work after my illness and I must have looked tired because my boss asked me, "How are you holding up?"

test results - the results of medical tests that a patient takes

After being told that his test results came back negative for cancer, Bobby went out and celebrated.

I'm afraid... - I'm sorry to say... or I regret to have to say...; a phrase often used to give bad news

Because you have had three car accidents this past year, I'm afraid we are going to have to raise your insurance rates.

to deteriorate - to get worse; to slowly become worse or more sick

He was a great employee but because of personal problems, his work deteriorated over the past few months.

rapidly - quickly; fast

Our company's sales have increased rapidly over the past two years.

to prepare for the worst - to get ready for something very bad that is likely to happen in the future

When we heard that a bad storm was coming, we prepared for the worst.

to recover - to return or go back to a normal condition; to feel better after an illness

She broke her arm in July, and it took the entire summer for it to recover.

to hope for the best - to believe that a bad situation is going to have a good result in the end

With fifteen flights already cancelled due to a snowstorm, the ticket agent told her to hope for the best.

to pass away - to die

She still talks about her dog, the one that passed away three months ago.

wake - a time to visit or see a dead person's body before he or she is buried

Her aunt's wake is scheduled for 6 o'clock on Tuesday, the day before the burial.

funeral - a ceremony to honor and remember a dead person, usually before he or she is buried

Many people wear black or dark-colored clothes when going to a funeral.

to console - to comfort or make someone feel a better during sad or bad times

To console her son after his team lost the baseball game, she took him and his friends out for pizza. I'm sorry for your loss. / Please accept my condolences. / My thoughts are

with you during this difficult time. - phrases to express sympathy or kindness towards someone who was a relative or close friend of the person who died; usually said at a funeral or a wake

When I saw Evan at the funeral, I said, "Please accept my condolences."

funeral director - the person in charge of the place where a funeral or burial ceremony is held

The funeral director was very kind and told us that he would take care of all the arrangements for the funeral.

funeral service - the ceremony, often religious, that usually is held before a dead person is buried

The funeral service is scheduled for 4 o'clock that afternoon.

eulogy - a speech that remembers good things about a person, given at a funeral service

Greg's eulogy for his cousin was so touching that nearly everyone cried.

burial - the time and place for putting a dead person in a grave (in the ground)

His close friends and family were all at the burial to pay their last respects.

bearable - being able to tolerate unpleasant things or a difficult situation

Even though it was supposed to be very hot in Phoenix in the summer, the weather turned out to be bearable.