ESL Podcast 746 - Traveling Over the Holidays

battle - the act of two or more people or groups fighting each other; one fight in a war; one of many fights

How many soldiers and how many innocent people died in the battle?

holiday travel - the period of time in November and December around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays, when many people traveling by plane, train, and car, so it is difficult to travel and there are many delays

I'd love to spend Christmas with my parents, but I don't want to deal with the holiday travel.

peak - the highest part of something; the period of time when something is very busy and/or needed by many people

Peak candy sales occur in the weeks before Halloween.

at all costs - no matter what is required; regardless of how difficult, challenging, or expensive something will be.

Ahmed doesn't understand chemistry very well, but he is determined to pass the course at all costs.

to arm - to prepare oneself for something by having all the necessary resources, especially to prepare oneself for a fight by having all the guns and other weapons one may need

Before you go to that boring lecture, make sure you arm yourself with coffee!

to book - to make a reservation; to make arrangements to have or do something at a future time

Did you remember to book a hotel room in Detroit for next week?

flight - a trip on one airplane from one place to another

Flying from Portland to Dallas required two flights.

seat assignment - the letter and number indicating where one should sit, especially in an airplane, train, or bus

My seat assignment is for a window seat, but I'd rather sit in the aisle seat.

boarding pass - the official document that one shows to an airline employee while getting on an airplane that proves one has purchased a ticket and has permission to travel on the airplane

The airline can't give travelers their boarding passes until their identification has been checked.

flight status - information about whether an airplane has already arrived, will arrive on time as scheduled, or will be late

If you check this box on the airline's website, the flight status will be sent to your phone automatically.

tight connection - a very short layover; a short period of time between when one's first plane lands at an airport and when one must get on a second airplane leaving that airport to go to one's final destination

We have a really tight connection in Minneapolis, so we'll have to run through the airport to get to the second plane.

to change planes - to get off of one airplane at an airport and get onto another plane at the same airport to reach one's final destination

If we have to change planes in Miami, let's try to get a long layover so we can have a few hours to explore the city.

snowed in - unable to leave a building or airport because the weather is bad and there is too much snow on the ground

When we heard a big storm was coming, we made sure we had lots of hot chocolate and good books to keep us entertained in case we were snowed in.

to cancel - to change plans so that something will not happen as originally planned

Class was canceled today, because Professor Hathaway got sick.

to think (something) out - to spend a lot of time thinking about something, considering all the different possibilities and options

Did you hear that Marjorie is considering dropping out of school? I hope she really thinks it out before she makes any final decision.

worst-case scenario - the worst possibility; the most negative option with the worst consequences; of all the possibilities, the one that is least pleasant

Gregory is very nervous about showing his book to an editor, but even in the worst-case scenario, all that will happen is that it might be rejected for publication.

forewarned and forearmed - a phrase meaning that one is aware of the bad things that might happen and one is prepared for them

Jose Luis is really worried that the banks might run out of cash, so he has put all his cash in a box underneath his bed. When other people tell him he's crazy, he simply says, "Forewarned and forearmed."

to catch (someone) napping - for something to happen while a person is not expecting it and is completely unaware of it and unprepared for it

Last year's hurricane season caught us napping, but this year we have plenty of bottled water, canned food, flashlights, and a battery-powered radio.