ESL Podcast 404 - Delegating Work
to delegate - to give other people part of the work that one is supposed to do; to ask or tell other people to help with one's work; to give people who work for you work that you are responsible for completing
When Charlotte had to write a 20-page report, she delegated the research to Sayid and the editing to Carlotta.
control freak - a person who likes to be in control of everything and does not like to let other people help
She is such a control freak that she won't even let her husband cut vegetables for dinner because she wants it done only her way.
to end up - to be in a certain situation after many other things have happened, especially if it was not what one expected
After seven years of medical school, he ended up working as a piano teacher instead of a doctor.
to redo - to do something again, usually because it was not done the right way the first time
Tara put the wrong price on the books we're selling, so I had to redo all of them.
timesaver - something that allows one to do something in less time than usual; something that helps one work faster than usual
Washing machines are a timesaver because they can wash clothes much more quickly than we can wash them by hand.
worth the trouble - worthwhile; having benefits and advantages that are greater than the work needed to do something
It took them almost five hours to make that apple pie and it wasn't worth the trouble since they could have just bought one at the store.
to assign - to tell someone to do something; to give someone something to do
The teacher assigned math homework to her students.
explicit - clear, obvious, and easy to understand, without anything being hidden or confusing
My mother advised us to be explicit when we explain why we are angry with our children. Otherwise they might not understand.
measurable - something that can be measured; something that one can know how big or small it is or how much there is
Are there any measurable results for the program, showing how it is helping children learn to read?
goal - objective; aim; something that one wants to achieve or accomplish; the reason that one is doing something
Their goal is to finish building the bridge within 18 months.
to let (someone) down - to disappoint someone; to not meet someone's expectations; to not do what someone was hoping that one would do
Ethan let his business partner down when he failed to appear for their big sales presentation.
to report back to (someone) - to give someone an update on what one has done; to tell someone how well or poorly one is doing on a project
They're supposed to report back to their supervisor every week to let her know what they're working on.
periodically - happening occasionally, evenly spaced out over time, such as every week or every month
The store raises its prices periodically.
to get results - to be able to do what one wants to do; to meet one's goals
When planting a garden, you have to start early to get results.
progress report - written or spoken information about how well one is doing on something, or how quickly one is finishing a project
We were very pleased to read in the three-month progress report that the project was almost finished.
on the right track - doing something the right way; making progress on something and doing it right, even though one is not finished with it yet
Phinneus studies all the time and is on the right track to succeed in college.