Background: This ESL podcast is about holding a grudge on a friend. Find out what this means and find out if you are the kind of person who might "hold a grudge" on a friend. Listen to this ESL podcast while learning great phrases for daily conversation and listening skills.
Learning English http://vkontakte.ru/club17650165
A: Great news! U2 is coming to town in a couple months. Tickets go on sale next week. I say we all pony up and get some good seats.
B: I’m not much of a concert guy so I really can’t see myself “ponying up”.
A: What do you mean, “you’re not a concert guy”. That’s a pretty lame excuse.
B: To each his own I guess. I can’t remember you ponying up when we all went to watch the NBA game last year.
A: You’re not still bitter about that are you? I wanted to go but I was sick.
B: You had a sore throat and a little sniffle.
A: Wow. You are still bitter. I can’t believe you are still holding a holding a grudge. Ok. How about this? I’ll pay for the concert tickets this time if you promise never to mention the NBA thing again.
B: Deal.
Phrases and Vocabulary used:
U2: The name of a very popular Irish band.
Coming to town: This expression means “coming to the city our town we live in”. It doesn’t have to be a town. For example, I live in Shanghai right now, so I could say to my brother, “Hey Add, did you know that some NBA teams are coming to town next month?”
Pony up: This is a funny expression that means you are getting prepared to pay for something relatively expensive. If your friend’s girlfriend is having her birthday next month, you could say to your friend, “Hey, you should pony up and get your girlfriend something nice for her birthday”.
I’m not much of a concert guy: The common expression here is, “I’m not much of a……..guy”. This means that you don’t really like doing that thing. For example, if you don’t like going to bars, you could say, “I’m not much of a bar guy”. If you are a girl saying it, you can change “guy” to “girl”.
I can’t really see myself…: You can use this expression when you really don’t plan on doing something. For example, if someone asked you to go swimming when you were sick, you could say, “I have a fever and I feel horrible. I really can’t see myself putting on a bathing suit now”. This expression basically means, “Not only will I not do it, I can’t even imagine doing it”.
Lame excuse: A lame excuse is a very bad or weak excuse. If your friend cancelled dinner plans with you and told you the reason was that he wanted to stay home and watch TV instead, you could say, “that’s a pretty lame excuse”.
To each his own: You can say this expression by itself. It means that everyone one is different and they like different things. You often say it after you hear of something that you wouldn’t do, but you can accept that other people have their own opinions.
Bitter: If someone is “bitter” about something it means that they are still upset and bothered by something that happened in the past. For example, imagine that your girlfriend broke up with you to date someone else. Then later you see them eating together in a restaurant. You would probable be upset and uncomfortable about seeing them together. We sometimes call this feeling “bitter”.
Sniffle: If you have a “sniffle” it means that your nose is a little runny from having a cold. We often use the word “sniffle” for little kids when they make that noise with their nose when they are sick. A “sniffle” isn’t serious, and it is funny to tell someone that they shouldn’t consider themselves to be sick if all they have is a sniffle. Since we use this word for little kids, it is kind of like calling them a baby.
Holding a grudge: If someone upset you in the past and you haven’t forgiven them, then you are holding a grudge. It means that you are still angry with them and won’t forget about what they did wrong.