ESL Podcast 392 - An Untrustworthy Co-worker

to imagine - to think about how something could or might be, but isn't; to pretend

Many little girls spend their time imagining that they are princesses.

the cold shoulder - unfriendliness; coldness; not being very nice to someone

After Henrietta said all those mean things, her neighbors started giving her the cold shoulder.

two-faced - a person who says one thing but does something else; a person whose words and actions are inconsistent, or who treats people inconsistently; a person who says nice things to a person, but then says bad things about him or her to other people

Jake is so two-faced! He told Mary that she was his best friend, but then he told everyone else that he doesn't even like her.

to put in a good word for (someone) - to say something good about someone, usually to help that person be successful with something

If you apply for the job at my company, I'll put in a good word for you with my boss.

promotion - an upward movement in a company from a job with less power and lower pay to a job with more power and higher pay

Did you hear about Jill's promotion from senior marketing manager to vice- president of marketing?

bad-mouth - to say bad things about someone; to say bad things about someone to other people when that person is not there

Fely is always bad-mouthing her teacher, saying that he is unfair with his students.

behind (one's) back - without one's knowledge; when one cannot see or hear what another person is doing

Her husband spent more than $1,500 on a new TV behind her back, not even asking her if she thought it was a good idea.

backhanded compliment - something that seems to be nice, but is actually mean or unkind; something that seems to be positive but is actually negative

Randy told his sister, "You look so much better today!" It was a backhanded compliment, because he really meant that she didn't look very nice on the other days.

nasty - unkind; mean; cruel; not nice

Jesse had a nasty smile on her face when she heard that her co-worker had lost her job.

who's to say...? - a phrase used to mean that no one knows something, that it is impossible to know something, or that something cannot be answered clearly

People think that modern technology is very advanced, but who's to say what will be created in the next 10 years?

sharp - intelligent; smart; quick to understand something

Those kids are really sharp. They're doing well in school and I'm sure they'll all get college scholarships.

to get by (someone) - to trick someone; to fool someone; to not be understood by someone

When Zack was younger, if he coughed, his mom thought he was sick and kept him home from school, but he could never get by his dad with that trick.

to put two and two together - to understand something when one doesn't have all the information, but is able to take small pieces of information and use them together to find out the truth

No one told her the business was going to close, but she saw how nervous the owner was and saw that the store was losing customers, so she put two and two together.

trustworthy - one who can be trusted; reliable; dependable

Olivia is very trustworthy, so if she says she'll do something, you can be sure that she will do it.

With friends like (someone), who needs enemies - a phrase used to show that a person whom one thought was a friend is actually very unfriendly and mean

When Fran stole Jaycie's boyfriend, she thought, "With friends like her, who needs enemies."