ESL Podcast 691 - Dangerous Freeway Driving

each way - in both directions; going somewhere and coming back; both halves of a round-trip

Kyoko's commute is 45 minutes each way.

to get old - to become tiresome, boring, monotonous, and uninteresting

Laura doesn't like working as a customer service representative. She says that listening to people complain all the time gets old.

interminable - very long, uninteresting, and boring

Doesn't Professor Faber notice that almost half of the students fall asleep during her interminable lectures?

to pass - to move around another car when driving, usually because one wants to go faster than that car

Trent drives 50 miles per hour on the freeway, so of course most other drivers try to pass him.

passing lane - the parallel area on the left-hand side of the road, separated by painted lines, intended to be used by the fastest cars that want to move around slower cars, which should travel in the other parallel areas on the middle and right-hand side of the road

Can you get a ticket for driving too slowly in the passing lane?

to tailgate - to follow another moving car very closely, leaving dangerously little space between the two cars

Please stop tailgating the car in front of us! If the other driver slows down, you won't be able to brake quickly enough and we'll get in an accident!

to weave - to change direction many times while moving, especially while driving and changing lanes frequently

Asu likes to ride a motorcycle because he can weave through heavy traffic more easily than he can in a car.

back and forth - repeatedly going in one direction and then in the opposite direction

Look how everyone is swaying back and forth to the music.

what can I say - an informal phrase used when one is admitting that one's actions are slightly bad or inappropriate, but one does not want to change that behavior

I know smoking is bad for me, but what can I say? It helps me relax.

to keep (someone) from - to prevent someone from having or doing something; to not allow someone to have or do something

How long are you going to try to keep your daughter from dating?

open road - the feeling of freedom one has when driving in an area with little traffic

Troy can't wait to get his driver's license so he can start to explore the open road.

to encounter - to find or meet someone without planning to do so

As a teacher, do you find it uncomfortable when encountering your students outside of school, like in a grocery store?

drag race - an informal competition to see which car can go faster when both cars are stopped at the beginning of the race, often at a stoplight

This car accelerates really quickly, so I'm sure it could win a drag race.

to bird dog - to observe, watch, or monitor something very carefully

Police officers have been bird dogging the suspect for weeks.

to speed up - to accelerate; to go faster; to do something more quickly; to increase in speed

They asked the taxi driver to speed up because they were worried they might miss their flight.

to overtake - to pass; to go past another car or person because one wants to go faster

It's very dangerous to overtake another car on a curve because you can't see whether other cars are coming from the other direction.

to spice up - to make something more interesting and exciting

Let's spice up this party by putting on some dance music.

on the road - while traveling, especially by car

I'll be on the road next week, but you can reach me on my cell phone.