In this ESL podcast we talk about finding something and keeping it secret from everyone. Learn great vocabulary and phrases for everyday English.

Learning English [bad word]  [bad word] club17650165

A:  Well, I’ve gotta hand it to you Add, This place is really something.

B:  I hate to say I told you so but…  To be honest I wasn’t sure this place would be your cup of tea.

A:  Are you kidding?  I love it!  I heard this place sucked.  I wonder why anyone would say that.

B:  I started [bad word] 

A:  What possessed you to do that?

B:  I wanted to keep it on the D.L.  If everyone knew about it, this place would be a zoo.

A:  You’ve got issues.

B:  Whatever.  You’d do the same thing if you were in my shoes.

A:  Ya, probably.

Phrases and Vocabulary used:

I’ve gotta hand it to you:  This phrase means that you really want to give someone credit or congratulate them about being right about something.

I’ve gotta hand it to you! Amanda is amazing just like you said she would be.

Really something:  This just means incredible or amazing. It can also be used as a joke to imply "bad".  It depends on the context and the tone of voice used to say it.

Your new girlfriend is really something!

I hate to say I told you so but:  This is a phrase you use when someone first disagrees with you about something, but they get proven wrong later.

I hate to say I told you so but you obviously had too much to drink last night.  You should take my advice more often.

Your cup of tea:  This phrase means what you like or would be interested in.  Something can also not be your cup of tea, meaning you wouldn’t like or be interested in it.

I had an ok time at the party but it wasn’t really my cup of tea. [bad word]  an unconfirmed story or gossip. [bad word] has it that someone is going to be fired today.

What possessed you to:  This means, “Why did you do something”.  It is always used in a negative way though and means that you have no idea why someone did something.  It also means you thought it was a bad idea.

What possessed you to call me at 3.a.m. this morning?

I wanted to keep it on the D.L: The D.L. stands for “down low”.  If you want to keep something on the D.L. it means that you don’t want any or many people to know about it.

"Let’s keep this business idea on the D.L.! It would suck if anyone stole this idea."

Zoo:  If a place is a zoo it means that it is overcrowded

The shopping mall was a zoo.  It took me 2 hours just to get my car out of the parking garage.

You’ve got issues:  This just means that you have some weird and unhealthy thoughts or behaviors.  You could "have issues" about someone or about something.  You could also just "have issues" in general.

If someone hasn’t been out of the house for a week you might tell them, “you have issues”. 

Another example is, "You really have issues with your father.  You should forgive him.  He’s not a bad guy."