DOING ENGLISH PLUS. Simon puts his foot in it

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Beatrice Reeves
6 years ago
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1 PLUS Simon puts his foot in it It s time for the weekly CityBizzy meeting, and Simon is giving his outline for the next Teambuilding day. Only, a poor choice of words is about to make everything go wrong Simon puts his foot in it Simon was very excited about the teambuilding day that he'd organised. His team was not. "...and so," he said as he finished outlining his plans for the day, "we'll finish off with a 10k run around the lake before we retire to the pub, where the drinks will be on me!" He beamed as he looked around the office, expecting his team to show their enthusiasm. "Hang on a minute," said Stan. "You're not seriously expecting everyone to go running are you?" "Well, why not?" said Simon. "No pain, no gain. It'll be a great way for everyone to work together, and pull each other along. If you want to be part of the team, you have to show your commitment. We don't want any lame ducks here at Citybizzy!" There was a sharp intake of breath. All the staff knew that Tessa was disabled.

2 Tessa spoke up. "I'm confused," she said quietly and calmly. "I thought Citybizzy was an equal opportunities employer?" "Well, of course," said Simon. "That goes without saying." "So..." continued Tessa, "you took me on knowing that I'm disabled and can't walk without a stick, but you still expect me to run 10k?" "And you know that I have a heart condition," added Stan, "and yet you expect me to go running too?" Well, of course," said Simon, nervously, "there will be a full health and safety assessment before this activity, and anyone who has disability issues won't have to take part. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough in that respect." "I think you need to rethink this activity," said Tessa. "Getting non-runners to go on a 10k run without any training wouldn't be a good idea. And you really should think about inclusivity when you're devising these hare-brained schemes." "You're right," admitted Simon. "I'm sorry -- I didn't mean to offend you. But the drinks are still on me at the end of the day." "That's more like it," smiled Tessa. Apology accepted and I'll be first in the queue when you're buying the drinks!"

3 Phrases and Expressions 1. Put your foot in it = if you put your foot in it you say something silly or embarrassing (you see a perfect example in this story when Simon says, lame duck ). Often you ll do this when you say something not realising it will be offensive an example might be saying something negative against, say, homosexuality or religion only to find out the person you re talking to is very religious or homosexual. 2. "We'll finish off with a 10k run" = we ll finish with a 10k run. Finish off with is a phrasal verb that means to finish a task or thing completely. You could just say, Finish in this sentence but finish off has a stronger nuance of it being the conclusion of the day s events. 3. The drinks will be on me = if you say, The drinks are on me you re saying you will pay for the drinks in the bar. 4. "Hang on a minute = This is a very casual way of saying waiting a minute and has the nuance that we re not sure of something, or think we re about to be cheated or wronged in some way. 5. "You're not seriously expecting everyone to go running are you?" = Here Tessa phrases this as a question, but really it s a rhetorical question designed to criticise Simon s idea and say it s not a good one. You ll remember that we talked about rhetorical questions and how they are often used to emphasise and persuade someone of a point in July week 2 (The Brexit Bombshell). 6. "No pain, no gain." = this is a very common idiom that means suffering is necessary in order to achieve something worthwhile. 7. Pull each other along = if people pull each other along it means they help each other get out of a difficult or bad situation (so in this

4 cause Simon is saying that a 10k is hard, but people will encourage each other hand help each other finish). 8. "We don't want any lame ducks here at Citybizzy!" = a lame duck is a person or thing that is weak, ineffective or unsuccessful. In this case it s a very insensitive thing to say, because lame also means someone who is unable to walk properly because of disability or injury (as is the case with Tessa). So although Simon meant it with a different meaning, it s offensive to Tessa. Put another way, he put his foot in it. 9. "I thought Citybizzy was an equal opportunities employer? = Another rhetorical question used to argue and emphasis a point (that Simon s idea is a bad one). An equal opportunity employer is an employer who agrees not to discriminate against an employee or someone applied for a job because of skin colour, disability, sexual orientation, etc. 10. "That goes without saying. = this is a very common phrase that means something should be generally understood or should be obvious. 11. You took me on = in this context take someone on means to hire that person. 12. "there will be a full health and safety assessment before this activity, and anyone who has disability issues won't have to take part. = Notice how Simon becomes very formal and politically correct. 13. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough in that respect. = Here Simon is saying that he didn t explain his idea very well. Again, notice that the way he is speaking is quite formal. 14. "I think you need to rethink this activity = I think the literal meaning of this is obvious, but really Tessa is repeating her argument that

5 she doesn t think the activity is appropriate (and her main reason for this is that she can t be included). 15. Hare-brained schemes = something that is hare-brained is ill-judged and not properly thought out. So a hare-brained scheme is a badly chosen plan that s not been thought out properly. 16. "I'm sorry -- I didn't mean to offend you. = I think the meaning is fairly obvious here, but Simon is apologising to Tessa for what he said. 17. "That's more like it = this is a very common expression used to show that you think something has improved. So here Tessa thinks Simon s attitude has improved, but you should also notice that there is also a hint of humour here as well, because she directs the phrase at the drinks are still on me instead of the apology, which accepts the apology without being formal about it or making a big deal about it. 18. "I'll be first in the queue when you're buying the drinks! = Here she continues the humour from the previous sentence where that s more like it! was directed at the apology, but in order to repair the friendly relationship, she turns it into something humorous and tongue-in-cheek.

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