ESL Podcast 383 - Mending a Broken Heart
to mope - to act in such a way that other people can see that one is sad or depressed; to walk and talk sadly because one is depressed
Hank moped around for about a month after he lost his job.
to suffer from (something) - to be in emotional or physical pain because of something; to be saddened or hurt by something
Eleo suffers from horrible headaches almost every day.
broken heart - the feeling of being extremely sad, usually because a romantic relationship has ended
When Sue's husband left her, she thought she would die of a broken heart.
to break up with (someone) - to end a romantic relationship with someone; to no longer be someone's girlfriend or boyfriend
Gil broke up with his girlfriend when he found out that she was dating two other men at the same time.
gruesome details - detailed, specific information about something that is negative, bad, sad, or disgusting
I don't want to hear all the gruesome details about your knee surgery!
depressed - very sad, often without a reason for feeling that way
Felicity doesn't watch the news because she gets depressed whenever she listens to reports about the war.
grief - a feeling of deep loss and sadness, especially when someone dies
At the funeral, many people expressed their grief by crying.
vulnerable - easy to hurt; able to be hurt easily; not able to resist negative influences
People with AIDS are very vulnerable to the flu.
to jump the gun - to do something prematurely; to do something too early, or before one should
Don't you think they're jumping the gun by getting married when they've known each other for only two months?
to bounce back - to recover; to become normal again; to end a negative situation and return to normal
How long did it take Kim to bounce back after losing all of her money in the stock market?
to backfire - to do the opposite of what one wants something to do; to have the opposite effect of what one intended
They tried to teach their kids to be responsible with money by giving them a few dollars each week, but their idea backfired when their kids spent all the money on candy and toys.
fling - a romantic and/or sexual relationship that lasts for only a short period of time and is not serious
Some college students want to have a fling during their spring break.
rejection - denial; refusal; the act of being told no; the act of being denied something that one wants; the act of being told that one is not good enough for something
Yvonne got a rejection letter from Stanford University, but acceptance letters from Harvard and Princeton.
to distract (someone) - to do something so that another person stops thinking about one thing and starts thinking about something else; to do something that makes another person change what he or she is thinking about
Doesn't that loud music distract you when you are trying to study?
misery - a strong feeling of being very sad, miserable, lonely, misunderstood, and/or in pain
Freddy was in misery when he tried to stop smoking cigarettes without any help.
to tread carefully - to be careful about what one does in a difficult situation
The teenager had to tread very carefully when telling his parents he wrecked their car, because he knew that he was in big trouble.
master - expert; someone who is very good at doing something or who knows a lot about something
Janice is a master in handling difficult people.