ESL Podcast 594 - Competition and Prizes
to take (someone) on - to compete against someone; to accept someone's challenge
Why did you agree to take him on in a boxing match? He's at least 50 pounds heavier than you are, so there's no way you can win.
chicken - a coward; someone who is scared or afraid of doing something
Liliana is such a chicken that she'll never ask her boss for a raise.
bring it on - a phrase used to show that one is ready to do or receive something and has a lot of enthusiasm or excitement for it
Are you sure you're ready for this?
Bring it on!
to trounce - to beat someone very badly; to have a very large win or victory over someone
Our team was trounced in the championship game, with a score of 47-3.
to teach (someone) a thing or two - to show one's expertise and knowledge by showing someone how something is done, often used humorously when one believes one is much better at doing something than another person is
He may have an advanced degree in communications, but we can still teach him a thing or two about how to share information with co-workers.
humiliation - a feeling of deep embarrassment
How did you overcome the humiliation you must have felt after losing so badly?
to trash-talk - to insult a competitor while saying good things about oneself in a competitive situation; to say bad things about another person
Before each game, they always trash-talk the other team, even though they all know that they're equally good players.
to play for (something) - to compete against someone in order to win something, usually money
They used to play poker for pennies, but nowadays they play for up to $100.
stakes - money or other valuable things that are at risk, especially when betting or gambling
This game would be more interesting if we raised the stakes.
champion - the winner
Who is the world champion in men's figure skating?
bragging rights - the ability to say that one is very good at something because one has won a competition, especially when one wants to show the world that one is better than the person who lost
If two people invent something separately at the same time, how do they decide who gets bragging rights?
cash prize - money received for winning a game or competition
The winner of today's race will receive a cash prize of $18,000.
trophy - a large object, usually a cup, statue, or plate, that one receives for winning a competition
The first-place winner gets a large, gold trophy and the second-place winner gets a smaller, silver trophy.
medal - a round, flat piece of metal with an image and/or words engraved on it, hung from a wide ribbon around a winner's neck
Monique dreams of someday winning an Olympic medal for swimming.
thumb wrestling - a game where two people extend their right hand and hold each other's fingers, say, "1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war," and then move their thumb to try to hold down the other person's thumb
Thumb wrestling can be a good way to keep children entertained on long car trips.
as far as I'm concerned - a phrase used when introducing one's opinion about something, meaning that one is sharing one's own personal opinion, without considering what other people may think
As far as I'm concerned, Jeff McQuillan is one of the best singers ever.
Olympic sport - one of the sports played at the Olympics
When did basketball become an Olympic sport?