ESL Podcast 1033 - Discussing a Victory or Loss
crushing - making one lose all hope; very difficult to deal with
When her mother died, it was crushing for Susan.
victory - win; successful completion of a competition or race, with no one else having done better
Getting a few victories early in the season improved the players' self- confidence.
to characterize - to describe something in a particular way; to select certain words to talk about or to describe something
I would say that Thelma is friendly, but I wouldn't characterize her as being too talkative.
to fall short - to not meet expectations; to not do as well as expected or hoped
We fell short of our sales goal by just a few hundred dollars.
up until - as far as; during some period and leading to the present moment
She had second thoughts about marrying Ezekiel up until the moment she said, "I do."
in your dreams - a phrase used to show that one does not believe what another person has just said; a phrase meaning that one's opinion or belief is not realistic or possible
A: With this new haircut, I look like Brad Pitt! B: In your dreams!
to dominate - to control and have complete power over someone or something; to be superior to someone or something
The new king dominated everyone and everything in his kingdom.
blowout - an easy win or victory
The other team won 20-0. It was a major blowout.
to throw in the towel - to give up; to no longer try to do something because it was too difficult, challenging, or impossible
After receiving 30 rejection letters, Sally decided to throw in the towel and stop trying to get her book published.
to melt down - to lose control of one's thoughts, actions, and/or emotions and no longer be able to perform, especially when one is under a lot of stress
The math teacher melted down in class and started yelling at the students.
Monday morning quarterback - a person who criticizes how something was done and acts as if he or she would have done it better, but is able to do that only because the thing has already happened and more information is now available
Sure, it sounds easy when you explain it now, but remember that anyone can be a Monday morning quarterback. It's must harder to make the right decision when those things are actually happening.
to go down in flames - to end and/or fail completely and very quickly
Their dream of traveling to Hawaii went down in flames when they had to use all their savings for medical treatments.
rematch - another game played between the same two players or teams after a first game has ended
I'm sorry you lost, but hopefully you can win the rematch.
to whup - to beat another person or team very badly; to have a clear win
Nobody expected that team to whup our team so badly.
to trash talk - to use insulting words and phrases to make someone seem worse or less important in order to make oneself seem better
Don't listen to those kids who are trash talking you. They're just trying to make themselves feel better.
to wipe the floor with - to beat another person or team very badly; to have a clear win
You've practiced for months. Now let's go out there and wipe the floor with those players. Go team!