ESL Podcast 1020 - Making Verbal Mistakes
verbal - oral; with spoken words, not written words
The judge asked the witness to provide verbal responses instead of just nodding or shaking her head.
to mispronounce - to say something incorrectly, using the wrong sounds, especially when saying aloud an unfamiliar word
It bothers Mr. Schlukebier that people almost always mispronounce his name.
for one - for example; for instance; a phrase used when one is stating one of many possible things
We have many reasons for wanting to expand, like the potential growth in profits, for one.
to stumble over - to do something poorly, especially when speaking in an unclear or confusing manner
Sheila stumbled over her opening remarks, but then she relaxed and appeared more confident throughout the rest of the presentation.
delivery - the way in which one presents information, especially orally
When people use too many hand gestures, it can be a distraction from the rest of their delivery.
to put it lightly - to state something more mildly, gently, or kindly than one could; to understate something
Ahmed said his garage was disorganized, but that was putting it lightly. It's a complete mess!
to stutter - to involuntarily and uncontrollably repeat the first sound of words many times, making it difficult to communicate
Melanie often stutters when she gets nervous, so she's seeing a speech therapist for help.
verbiage - words that are spoken or printed, especially when the words are verbose (using too many words) or technical
The editor is helping us reduce the verbiage to fit everything on one page.
tongue twister - a phrase or poem that is difficult to say, usually because the words have similar sounds
One of Harold's favorite tongue twisters is "She sells seashells on the seashore."
to have (something) down cold - to understand something very well, be very familiar with it, and/or have something memorized perfectly
Jasnery has practiced her acceptance speech more than 100 times, so she has it down cold.
slip of the tongue - a misstatement; an instance in which one accidentally says the wrong thing or says something incorrectly
I can't believe I called him by the wrong name during an interview. What a horrible time for a slip of the tongue!
Freudian slip - a mistake while speaking that shows what one was really thinking about, especially if it's sexual
Instead of saying, "I'm so glad to see you," she said, "I'm so mad to see you." I guess that was a Freudian slip. (one's) bread and butter - the way one earns a living; the main part of one's business; the main way in which one makes money
Sometimes he sells paintings, but selling insurance policies are his bread and butter.
flub - a minor mistake or error, especially while speaking
That number seems way too high. Maybe it was just a flub in her presentation (one's) mind was elsewhere - a phrase meaning that someone was distracted and was thinking about something else, or that one was not focused on and paying attention to something
The student's mind was elsewhere, so he wasn't prepared to answer the teacher's question when she called on him.
blooper reel - a short, funny video that shows the mistakes people made while a movie or TV show was being filmed
The blooper reel shows a kissing scene that was interrupted when the car alarm started going off.
outtake - segments of video that were filmed, but were not included in the final product
Lisa was really disappointed when her only speaking lines in the movie became part of the outtakes.
footage - recorded video for a movie or TV show
Detectives are analyzing footage from security cameras to try to identify the bank robber.