ESL Podcast 1004 - Being Modest and Boastful

blowhard - a person who boasts or brags in a rude, arrogant way

James is a blowhard who thinks he should always be the center of attention.

full of (oneself) - very impressed by oneself and believing that one is better than others in some way

Marcos is so full of himself! He thinks he's smarter than all of us combined.

to come off as - to give the impression of being a certain way; to do or say things that give other people a certain perception of oneself, possibly unknowingly

Heather comes off as very energetic, but really she just has a habit of talking quickly.

overconfident - believing that one is better than one actually is, especially that one's skills are better than they actually are.

Shane was overconfident when the competition started and didn't try as hard as he should have, so he ended up losing.

low-key - calm, quiet, and restrained; not highly excitable, tense, or forceful

They wanted their wedding to be a low-key event, but their parents kept doing things to make the ceremony more elaborate.

timid - shy; tentative; showing a lack of confidence or bravery

Randall is very intelligent, but he's too timid to speak up in class.

modest - humble; underestimating one's abilities or the importance of one's achievements, or at least acting as if one has not done anything special

Linus is too modest. If you hadn't told me, I never would have known that he won a prestigious scholarship.

self-deprecating - critical of oneself in a funny way

A lot of comics use self-deprecating humor, sharing funny stories about silly or foolish things they have done.

quiet confidence - aware of one's abilities to do things well, but not bragging about it to others, because one believes in oneself and doesn't need to be the center of attention

In an ideal world, the employees with quiet confidence would be rewarded for their work, but unfortunately, only the loudest employees are recognized for their efforts.

to impress - to do or say things to make others notice oneself and think good things about oneself

We're all impressed by the new hire's ability to learn new skills very quickly.

to stand out - to be noticed for doing something better than others or for being different than others, especially in a good way

Each year, one or two students stand out from their classmates.

overbearing - too strong or forceful, having too much influence over a situation or over others

Hannah's mother-in-law used to seem so nice, but she became very overbearing as soon as they had kids.

to have a way with (one) - to be very good at something, but in an undefined way; to give a very good impression

She just has a way with her, making others feel comfortable around her.

to exude - to emit; to display some quality or emotion; to produce something so that it flows from oneself

Helena was exuding happiness when she announced that she was pregnant.

to resort to (doing something) - to be forced to do something that is undesirable, because no other options remain

Would you resort to stealing to feed your hungry children?

to blow (one's) own horn - to brag or boast; to say good things about oneself or what one can do

Camilo loves to blow his own horn and tell everyone how important he is, but most people just think it's annoying.

at loggerheads - in a disagreement or in an argument without an easy resolution; in a dispute with someone

They've been at loggerheads over the expansion for months now.

to make the call - to make an important decision, especially when not everyone agrees

The CEO listens to advice, but in the end, she has to make the call.

quick on the uptake - understanding something very quickly; a fast learner

Normally we have to train new customer service representatives for at least two weeks, but Mureet is really quick on the uptake and only needed three days of training.