ESL Podcast 409 - Describing a Musical Performance
to audition - to sing, play a musical instrument, act, or dance for a short period of time so that someone can see and listen and decide whether one should be selected for a real performance or participation in a group
Mariah wants to audition for a role in a movie.
to get (something) over with - to do something that is unpleasant right away so that one doesn't have to worry about it anymore
I hate washing dishes, so I try to get it over with as soon as possible each evening.
flawless - perfect; without any mistakes or errors
She spends a lot of time getting ready in the morning and her hair and make-up are always flawless.
passion - a very strong love of something; a lot of enthusiasm
Food is his passion, so he's always trying new recipes and buying new things for the kitchen.
virtuoso - a very good musician who plays very well
Yo-Yo Ma is a famous virtuoso on the cello.
rudimentary - basic and simple; not advanced or difficult
Those students have only a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics.
flair - style; in an interesting, unusual way
Becca always dresses with a lot of flair, combining interesting colors and wearing unusual hats.
chops - ability, skill, or talent to do something that is considered difficult
Oscar showed off his cooking chops by making a five-course dinner for everyone.
artistry - with a lot of artistic talent; with a lot of skill in the arts
She paints with surprising artistry for her age.
to fault (someone) - to say that someone did something wrong; to say that someone is not very good at something
Hans isn't a very good baseball player, but no one can fault his basketball skills.
mastery - expertise; full knowledge of something and/or full ability to do something; being very good at doing something
Please demonstrate your mastery of this software program by creating a graph from this data.
originality - uniqueness; creativity and imagination; ability to do something in a new way as no one else has done it before
Kendall expresses his originality by wearing unusual clothes and dying his hair purple and pink.
expressiveness - the ability to show what one thinks or feels, often through writing, artwork, music, or dance
Her music has so much expressiveness that sometimes it makes listeners cry.
stalemate - a situation where neither person can win; a situation where two people cannot agree
When he wanted to go to an Italian restaurant and she wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant, they ended in a stalemate and ate at home that night.
to duke it out - to fight against someone to decide an argument
When their cars hit each other, they couldn't decide who should pay for the damages, so they started to duke it out in the middle of the street.
bill - a written list of who will be performing in a play or concert
According to the bill, Nancy will be playing the role of Annie in tonight's play.
big bucks - a lot of money, especially money that one is paid for working
Tiffany has a lot of responsibility at work and has to make difficult decisions. That's why they pay her the big bucks.
flattered - happy that someone has said something nice about oneself; happy to learn that someone likes oneself and/or what one has done
Miguel was flattered when his daughter said that he was the best daddy in the whole world.