ESL Podcast 457 - Apologizing for a Bad Date

to blow (something) - to fail; to not be able to do something; to do something very poorly

She blew the interview and now there's no way she'll get the job offer.

to walk out on (someone) - to leave another person, especially at a place where the two people went together, because one is angry with the other person

Did you hear that Gavin walked out on his wife and now he wants a divorce?

to make a good impression - to make another person think that one is good, intelligent, successful, or attractive, especially when one meets him or her for the first time

Cody is wearing his best suit because he wants to make a good impression when he walks into the bank to ask for a loan.

to flounder - to not know what to do or say; to do or say all the wrong things

He started floundering when his girlfriend's father asked him about their plans for marriage.

to liven (something) up - to make something more exciting, interesting, or entertaining

Let's turn on some music and liven up this party!

carried away - doing too much of something so that it becomes a bad thing; taking something to an extreme or doing something in excess

Last week we went shopping and got carried away, spending much more money than we had planned.

to hang up - to put part of a telephone into its holder to end a phone call

Too many of our customers hang up while waiting for our sales representatives to speak with them.

atrocious - very bad; horrible; awful; terrible

This food is atrocious! I'll never come to this restaurant again.

hold on one second - a phrase used to ask someone to wait, pause, or stop doing something for a short period of time

Can you hold on one second so that I can look something up on my computer?

to start in on (something) - to begin to do or use something

Let's start in on the appetizers while we're waiting for our friends to arrive.

lush - a drunkard; a person who drinks too much alcohol; a person who cannot control his or her drinking

Last night he drank five beers, two glasses of wine, and a lot of vodka. Is he always such a lush?

to loosen (someone) up - to make someone feel more relaxed, friendly, outgoing, and sociable

Normally she's very shy, but going dancing always loosens her up.

to grope - to touch someone in a sexual way when that person does not want one to do it

She decided to quit her job when her supervisor tried to grope her in the elevator.

blur - something that is unclear and difficult to see and/or understand

Everything after the accident was a blur until I woke up in the hospital a few hours later.

to make it up to (someone) - to do something nice for someone as an apology for a bad thing that one had done to that person earlier

Jake ruined his wife's favorite sweater, but he made it up to her by buying her a new one.

to sleep on it - to think about something overnight and then have an answer the next day

When they offered Coquito the job, he said he wanted to sleep on it before giving them an answer.

glimmer - a glimpse; a short sight of something; the possibility of something

Most of the book is pretty silly, but there's a glimmer of genius in chapter seven.