021 - Going Overboard | ESL Podcast
Conversation
Add: Hey, check out this thing on my arm. I’ve been tanning a lot
lately and I just noticed it.
Andy: I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.
Add: I’m going to get it checked out by the dermatologist . I just
want to put my mind at ease .
Andy: You better not think its skin cancer. It doesn’t look anything
like that. Skin cancer is an irregular shape and it grows. Besides,
it’s not like you have pale skin , blue eyes, and freckles.
Add: Ya but you never know .
Andy: I think you are going overboard with this. You’d be better
off booking an appointment with a psychiatrist .
Add: How would that help?
Andy: Because you are a hypochondriac . I’m sure they have
medicine for that.
Add: Good one .
Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:
Check out – It means, “Take a look at”. You can also say, “check this
out”. It’s used in casual conversation. You can say, [bad word] check out
what’s on TV”. That [bad word] now and look and see what’s on.
Usually you say “check out” or “check this out” when the thing is exciting.
Dermatologist – Professional word which means “skin doctor”.
Irregular shape – Not a normal shape. Some strange shape that is hard
to describe.
Pale skin – Very light colored skin. Often people with blond hair have
pale skin.
Ya but you never know – This basically means, “nobody knows for sure”
or “you are probably right but you can’t be 100% sure”
Going overboard – Making too big of a deal of a small situation. For
example, if your friend is 2 minutes late to meet you for coffee, and
because of that you decide not to be friends anymore, than you would be
going overboard
Psychiatrist – special kind of doctor who treats people who have
mental or emotional problems.
Hypochondriac – person who always thinks they are really sick. For
example, if someone has a little cough and they think they have a really
serious disease, then he is a hypochondriac. This word is actually a
serious problem that some people have. We use this word for fun
sometimes to joke with people about being too scared about a disease for
very little reason.
Good one – This is a useful phrase, which can be used to make fun of
someone’s joke. If someone makes a joke that isn’t funny, you can say
“good one”. We use this sarcastically, meaning we don’t really believe it’s
a good joke.