ESL Podcast 426 - Talking About Product Quality

bare basics - the simplest version of something; only the things that one needs and nothing more

His family didn't have very much money to buy new clothes for school, so he just got the bare basics: a few T-shirts and a pair of jeans.

top-of-the-line - the best possible or the best available; the highest quality; the fanciest and often the most expensive

Jeilan bought a top-of-the-line digital camera that cost thousands of dollars.

cheap - very inexpensive; poor quality

My mother asked me: "Why did you buy the expensive brand of cereal when you could have bought a cheap one for so much less?"

flimsy - having poor quality so that it breaks easily; easy to damage

Yoko's glasses were so flimsy that they broke when she accidentally put her book on top of them.

to act up - to have problems; to create problems; to stop working properly

Their car is acting up again, so they're going to ask the mechanic to look at it.

quality - how well made something is; how well or how poorly something does what it should do

Cecilia makes very high-quality cakes as birthday presents for her friends.

top dollar - a very high price; very expensive; the most expensive kind of something

Evy and Valdo paid top dollar for their big home that has a beautiful view of the mountains.

bells and whistles - the fancy things that a piece of technology or electronics can do, in addition to the basic things that it should do

This cell phone has lots of bells and whistles that a regular phone doesn't have, like an Internet browser, a nice camera, and more.

sturdy - strong and reliable; not likely to break; well-built

Jimena bought a chair that wasn't very sturdy, and it broke the first time she sat in it!

that is one (something) - an expression that gives emphasis, used to show that the words that follow it are very true

That is one expensive hamburger! I've never heard of a hamburger that costs more than $25.

looks - physical appearance; the way that something is viewed

As a teenager, Falia only cared about her looks, even though her parents told her that what's inside is more important.

functional - working; able to work; able to do what something is supposed to do

They built a beautiful website, but it isn't very functional, so visitors can't find what they're looking for.

to fall apart - to break; to break into many smaller pieces; to stop working properly

The children built a small house out of sticks, but it fell apart when the wind blew too hard.

style over substance - something that is very beautiful, but doesn't work well; something that was made by people who paid more attention to its appearance than to whether it would do what is was supposed to do

This new stove is an example of style over substance, because even though it looks great, it doesn't cook reliably.

hideous - very ugly; extremely unattractive

There is a hideous witch in that movie, with a green face and a huge nose.

to get over (something) - to be able to accept that something bad has happened and continue on with one's normal life, not worrying about it

I don't know how long it will be before she gets over the death of her father. They were very close.