Class
- Idioms - their use depends on cultural, regional and social factors and sometimes the power relations between the speakers. Reading: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/22/language-idiom-red-herrings-skeletons. Some of the idioms discussed include: a red herring (a misleading clue), skeletons in the closet (a shameful secret), taking the mick(ey out of someone) (to mock/make fun of), Bob's your uncle (a simple way of achieving a successful result). Some idioms can date quickly e.g. martini yodel (a 1950's expression that means getting so drunk that you end up vomiting).
- Freedom of thought, conscience and religion - discussion, reading and listening. Sources: Reading - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/01/renee-rabinowitz-sue-israeli-airline-el-al-orthodox-gender-discrimination Listening - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b074x9pf
- Vocabulary
Miffed - slightly irritated
Ironclad (also iron plated, iron coated, cast iron) = covered or protected with iron or impossible to contradict, weaken, or change: e.g. an ironclad guarantee
Shooting fish in a barrel = ridiculously easy. The Mythbusters team tested and proved the accuracy of their interpretation of the idiom. If the fish does not die from the shot, it is quite likely to die from the shockwave. Before the days of refrigeration, fish were packed and stored in small barrels. The barrels were packed to the rim full of fish. Any shot that entered the barrel would hit at least one of them. Thus nothing can be easier than shooting fish in a barrel.
To waylay someone = (1) to stop or interrupt someone and detain them in conversation or trouble them in some other way: he waylaid me on the stairs, (2)to lie in wait for and attack, (3) to await and intercept unexpectedly.
Class Notes:
Reading
- How well did the airline handle the situation?
- What would you have done if you were Mrs Rabinowitz/the air steward?
- Would the situation be any different if the Ultra Orthodox man had complained about sitting next to a gay person?
Key Vocabulary
garb
to press someone (to do something)
to ask someone point blank
unabashedly
a gesture of goodwill
egalitarian
to do some quick thinking
to take up the case
to seek (amount) in damages
Listening
Gay Cake
When a Christian bakery in Belfast was found guilty last year of discriminating against a gay man, by refusing his request for a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan on it, it became headline news around the world. It also divided people in Northern Ireland. Many there see it as a battle between freedom of conscience and the right to religious expression, and Northern Ireland's equality laws.
Listen to the discussion at 19:00 between Reverends Chris Hudson, David McIlveen and journalist Fionola Meredith.
- What does each of them say about the case?
- Which view do you find the most persuasive and why?
- According to the speakers, what does the debate say about Northern Irish society?
- Who do you think will win the appeal?
- Do you think the case is more about discrimination, religious freedom or freedom of political expression?
Key Vocabulary
to impugn
to flaunt (n.b. flout and flaunt are commonly confused: Flaunt and flout may sound similar but they have different meanings. Flaunt means ‘display ostentatiously,’ as in tourists who liked to flaunt their wealth, while flout means ‘openly disregard (a rule or convention),’ as in new recruits growing their hair and flouting convention. It is a common error, recorded since around the 1940s, to use flaunt when flout is intended, as in the young woman had been flaunting the rules and regulations.)
Going Further
In the introduction and conclusion of the podcast, the presenter makes a number of puns - e.g. chewing over the case, temperatures are sure to rise, stir into the mix, half baked, digest the evidence, rise to the top (of the tin). What different possible meanings do these expressions have?
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