ESL Podcast 345 - The Seven-year Itch

to split up - to end a relationship, especially a romantic relationship

Angie and Ronald split up because he wanted to have children and she didn't.

seven-year itch - the idea that most people will become tired of their marriage after about seven years and want to be with other people

Good communication and honesty can prevent the seven-year itch from ruining your marriage.

unfaithful - not loyal; having a romantic relationship and/or sex with someone who is not one's wife, husband, girlfriend, or boyfriend

Would you be able to forgive your husband or wife if he or she were unfaithful to you?

wandering eye - a tendency to flirt; a tendency to be interested romantically in people who are not one's wife, husband, girlfriend, or boyfriend

Iago has a wandering eye and he's always flirting with his coworkers and clients, even though he has a girlfriend.

it's a shame - it's a pity; too bad; a phrase used to show that one feels sad about something that has happened

It's a shame that they lost so much money in the stock market. Now they won't be able to retire as early as they had planned to.

marriage vows - the promises exchanged between a husband and wife during their wedding ceremony

In their marriage vows, they said that they would love each other "for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

lifelong - for the duration of one's entire life; until one dies

Becoming a parent is a lifelong commitment because you will continue to worry about your children even when they are adults and have children of their own.

commitment - a promise to behave in a certain way; a promise to do something

Stefan made a commitment to his employer, promising to work there for at least four years.

notion - idea; concept; a way of thinking about something; a way of understanding something

Did you have any notion of what was going to happen?

out of date - outdated; old-fashioned; not belonging to the present time

Your computer software is out of date. You need to get the new version.

conventional wisdom - common, public opinion; ideas that are generally accepted by most people

Convention wisdom is that children who are spoiled and get everything they want will turn out to be unpleasant adults.

short-term - for a short, limited period of time; not for very long; for a while

Her short-term goal is to finish nursing school, but her long-term goal is to become a surgeon.

to renew - to begin something again; to extend the period of something

How often do you have to renew your driver's license?

to go (one's) separate ways - to become interested in different things and end a relationship; to end a relationship, especially a romantic relationship, so that each person can do what he or she wants to do without the other person

They love each other very much, but he wants to live in the States and she wants to live in Europe, so they decided to break up and go their separate ways.

contract - a legal document; a written agreement to do something

Yela had to sign a 14-page employment contract when she started working for that company.

cynical - negative; pessimistic; believing that bad things will happen; not believing that anything good can happen

Our manager is so cynical! He never thinks that any of our ideas are any good.

adultery - the act of a married person having sex with someone who is not his or her wife or husband

Vicky got a divorce when she found out that her husband was committing adultery with his secretary.

la-la land - a place or time where one thinks or daydreams silly, imaginative, non-serious things that do not happen in real life

The student never concentrates in class and is always in la-la land whenever her teacher asks her a question.