What is 'a pea-souper'? The English We Speak

47,586 views ・ 2018-11-26

BBC Learning English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English
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We Speak. I'm Feifei.
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Neil: And I’m Neil.
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Feifei: Errr, Neil why are you still here?
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I thought you were driving to Manchester.
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and Rob was going to present the programme.
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Neil: Feifei, have you looked
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outside the window?
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Feifei: Errr, no. Should I?
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Neil: It's a pea-souper out there!
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Feifei: You want me to look out of the window
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at PEA SOUP? Is there a big bowl of it or
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something?
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Neil: No, there's no soup – it's an informal
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way of describing thick fog. It's so thick
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you can hardly see through it. And that's why I can't
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drive to Manchester.
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Feifei: That is a shame.
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But why a pea-souper?
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Neil: I guess because, like pea soup, it's
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thick and a dark cloudy colour.
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Feifei: Hmm, well I'd rather eat pea soup
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than be in it! I think we had better hear
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some examples of this strange phrase…
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Examples: It looks like our flight is
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delayed until this pea-souper clears.
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It's a real pea-souper today. When I was
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driving here I couldn't even see the car in front
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of me.
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There's no way I'm cycling in this pea-souper.
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It's far too dangerous.
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Feifei: This is The English We Speak from
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BBC Learning English. And I'm with Neil, who
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can't travel because of a pea-souper – that's
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a very thick fog, that's hard to see through.
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Neil: Sometimes you can refer to it as 'smog',
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if it's fog mixed with air pollution.
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Feifei: Yes, that's horrible stuff to be in.
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Well Neil, if you can't go to Manchester,
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what are we going to do?
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Neil: Well, let's have lunch together.
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Feifei: Yes, but what are we going to eat?
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Neil: Pea soup of course! It's that
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kind of day.
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Feifei: Oh look, the fog is clearing. Maybe
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you can drive after all!
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Neil: Hmm, I'll get my coat. Bye.
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Feifei: See you.
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