Learn English Vocabulary Daily #23.4 — British English Podcast

Hello, and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 23, Day 4 of Your English Five a Day.

This is the series that is dedicated to expanding your active vocabulary

by deep-diving into five pieces every day of the working week

from Monday through to Friday.

Today we start our list with an idiom, which is out of sorts, out of sorts.

We spell this out, O U T.

Of, O F.

Sorts, S O R T S.

Out of sorts.

This is a funny little phrase.

If someone is described as being out of sorts, then it means they're unhappy

or they're not their usual self.

So, if I am normally a very happy, bouncy person, which I

think it's fair to say that I am.

But today, when you see me, I'm low in energy and I seem a bit sad.

Then you'd say,

"Oh, you seem a bit out of sorts.

Are you okay?"

And I'd say,

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.

Everything's fine.

Nothing wrong."

And then later you see a mutual friend, someone who is

friends with both you and me.

And you say,

"Have you seen Anna today?

I saw her this morning and she seemed a bit out of sorts.

She was out of sorts this morning."

Have you felt out of sorts lately?

Some days I feel out of sorts.

It depends on what kind of night I've had.

If I sleep well and wake up at the right time on my own terms, so I've not been

woken by someone else abruptly, but I've woken up naturally, gently, as I would

like to wake, then I usually feel good.

But if someone has abruptly woken me up, usually one of my sons shouting, "Mummy!"

Then I may feel out of sorts.

Here's an example,

"I've not been sleeping well recently, so I'm feeling quite out of sorts today.

Maybe a walk by the canal will perk me up."

Okay, next on the list is a verb and it is to wane.

To wane.

We spell this W A N E.

Wane.

Wane.

Paying attention to that diphthong sound in the middle /eɪ/, /eɪ/.

Wane.

To wane is to decrease, to go down gradually in strength or intensity.

So, I often think of this verb as being coupled with a feeling.

So, your passion might wane, or your love for someone could wane over time.

Your enjoyment of something might wane, your patience might wane.

If you are normally a very patient person, but someone in particular

is being quite difficult and you're trying to be patient, but they continue

to be difficult, then over a period of time, your patience might wane.

It might decrease gradually and eventually, you might

explode in anger and say,

"Oh, I've lost my patience."

Here's another example,

"The popularity of skateboarding has started to wane in recent months.

People seem to be into hoverboarding now."

Alright, next on the list is an adjective and it is disobedient.

We spell disobedient, D I S O B E D I E N T.

Disobedient.

Disobedient.

If someone, or an animal perhaps, a pet, is described as disobedient, then

they refuse to do as they're told, they refuse to listen to people in authority.

So, a disobedient child will not do as their parent or teacher tells them to do.

A disobedient dog will not return when it's called.

"Come on, Fluffy, Fluffy, come back.

Fluffy!

Fluffy, come back!

Fluffy!"

There was a viral video, wasn't there?

Of a dog that was just out chasing sheep maybe?

Or deer?

And the owner was just running behind him shouting his name.

It was called like, Mertonor?

Ah, that is wrong.

I cannot remember the name, but there was a viral video.

I'll try to remember it and see if it pops into my mind

before the end of this podcast.

So, disobedient, do you have any disobedient children or have you

experienced a disobedient employee perhaps at the company you work with, as someone

decided not to do as they're supposed to do, not to do as they've been told.

Here's an example,

"Why are there so many disobedient children these days?

Parents seem to be letting their kids get away with anything."

To get away with, that's another really common phrasal verb.

To get away with something is to be able to do something

naughty without punishment.

You get away with it.

Okay, next on the list is orchestrate.

Orchestrate.

We spell this O R C H E S T R A T E.

Orchestrate.

To orchestrate something is to very carefully plan and organise an event or

a situation, usually something that's quite complicated, that's not simple.

So, if you orchestrate it, then you bring all the pieces together, just like an

orchestra needs someone to conduct, to bring all the instruments together, to

play all at the same time in harmony.

If you are the person who brings all the elements of an event

together, then you orchestrate it.

I have orchestrated many events in the past and I'm very good

at it, but I don't enjoy it.

I find it quite stressful.

I would much rather be a participant rather than the

person orchestrating everything.

Because I am very sensitive to stress, you might say.

Okay, here's an example,

"The event planner had to orchestrate the entire wedding,

from coordinating the vendors to creating a timeline for the ceremony."

Gosh, planning a wedding, that would be quite a stressful task, I think, trying

to plan for the perfect day, orchestrating all the elements of a wedding to make

sure that everyone has a memorable and worthwhile day, especially here in the UK.

I'm not sure what it's like in your country, but in the UK, we

spend a fortune on a wedding.

One of the reasons why I'm not married, because I can't afford to be.

It costs so much money.

Anyway, let's move on from my relationship status on to our final piece for today.

We have a noun to finish off the list today and it is solace.

Solace.

We spell this S O L A C E, solace.

Solace is like the comfort or the help that you get from someone

when you're feeling worried or sad.

So, you might find solace in something.

So, you might find comfort, solace in a particular person or

a particular activity when you're feeling sad or run down or anxious.

You find solace.

I find solace in a cup of tea with a chocolate hobnob.

A chocolate hobnob is a type of biscuit.

Okay, so here's an example sentence,

"After a long and difficult day, I find solace in a good

book and a warm cup of tea."

Okay, that's our five pieces for today.

Let's do a quick recap.

We started with the idiom out of sorts, which means that you are

unhappy or you're not your usual self, you're in a lower mood or you seem

sad compared to your normal self.

Then we had the verb wane.

To wane, which is to decrease gradually.

We then had the adjective disobedient, which means that

you do not do as you are told.

Then we had the verb orchestrate, orchestrate, to carefully

plan or organise something.

And we finished with the noun solace.

Solace.

Which is the comfort that you get from something or someone

when you feel worried or sad.

Let's now do this for pronunciation.

Please repeat after me.

Out of sorts.

Out of sorts.

Wane.

Wane.

Disobedient.

Disobedient.

Orchestrate.

Orchestrate.

Solace.

Solace.

Fantastic.

So, let's try to test your memory now.

I am putting together a little party for Easter.

I'm going to invite all the local people, the local children, the local

families, everybody, everyone who's local will be invited to this event.

And I'm going to put on an Easter hunt and there will be some food and we'll

also be offering free tea and coffee.

There will be some crafts going on, some arts and crafts.

So, there's a lot to plan, a lot to do.

I need to do the invitations.

I need to get all the supplies.

I need to decide who's going to be doing what jobs.

I have to what?

What verb do I use to describe planning and pulling together all

the different aspects of this event?

I need to...

orchestrate it.

I need to orchestrate this event.

Now, I'm really excited about this particular event.

But on the day of the events on the day of this special party that I'm throwing

my son wakes up feeling very unhappy.

I think he might be poorly, but he doesn't have a temperature.

He's just generally unhappy.

He seems a bit grumpy, a bit depressed.

What idiom could I use to describe this mood that he's in?

Yes, he's out of sorts.

He woke up a bit out of sorts and I need to be there for him, but I

also need to orchestrate today to make sure that the party goes, you

know, well, that nothing goes wrong.

But because my son is feeling out of sorts, my passion and my excitement

about today's event is starting to decrease slowly as the morning rolls on.

What verb could I use to describe this gradual decrease of my

passion and excitement for today?

It's beginning to wane.

Absolutely.

My passion and excitement for today's event is beginning to wane

because my son is out of sorts and I feel like something's wrong.

And on top of that, as we get to the start time of the event, my

eldest son, who's normally a very good boy, starts to misbehave.

I tell him he should do this, that, and the other, and he doesn't listen to me.

It's very unusual that he is behaving in this way.

He's not normally what?

What adjective can I use to describe this behaviour?

He's not normally...

disobedient.

He's not normally disobedient.

So, I have a disobedient older son.

My youngest son is out of sorts.

My passion for the event is completely starting to wane.

So, I seek to find some comfort in a hot cross bun and a cup of tea.

What noun could I use instead of the word 'comfort'?

I seek...

solace in a hot cross bun and a cup of tea.

Yes.

So, the overview of that story is I was orchestrating a big Easter event.

I was very excited about it, but on the morning of the event, my

youngest son woke up a little out of sorts, and so my passion and

excitement for the event began to wane.

On top of that, my eldest son started to be very disobedient on the

day, which made things much worse.

So I sought solace in a hot cross bun and a cup of tea.

Okay, I'm going to bring all those pieces together once again in today's story time.

I couldn't wait to tell everyone about the mysterious performer who brought

to life that dreary Monday morning.

I'm always out of sorts on a Monday, and this day was no different.

As I arrived at the office, I always felt the weight of the day

weighing heavily on my shoulders.

The fluorescent lights buzzed above me, the constant ringing of phones

filled my ears, and the copier seemed to be malfunctioning again.

My head was pounding, and my patience was waning.

It was just one of those days.

But then, I heard a sudden commotion outside.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I slowly made my way to the

window to see what was happening.

As I peered through the glass, I was met with a sight that

I never could have imagined.

In the midst of the busy city streets, there was a man dressed

in a bright yellow suit, complete with a matching hat and cane.

He was dancing around, twirling his cane with such grace and

singing at the top of his lungs.

At first, I thought he was just another street performer

trying to make a few quid.

But there was something different about him.

Unlike the other street performers, this man seemed to have a hold

over the chaos around him, it was like a carefully orchestrated show.

People stopped in their tracks to watch, their faces lighting up with amusement.

Even the loud honking of cars seemed to fade into the background

as if they were under the spell of this mysterious performer.

Even our building security guard who had tried to move him on

initially was now standing with his mouth wide open staring at Mr.

Yellow Man.

Mesmerised by his performance, I couldn't help but smile at the sight before me.

This disobedient performer had brought a moment of solace to the busy

city, and for that, I was grateful.

As the minutes went by I knew I should probably get back to my

desk, but I was still drawn to this man's captivating movements.

With each twirl of his cane, he seemed to bring life to the mundane surroundings.

And just like that, my day was no longer ordinary.

But, as quickly as he had appeared, the man suddenly stopped.

As if nothing had happened, he simply walked away, leaving behind

a trail of curious onlookers.

But for me, that moment will be etched in my memory forever.

I couldn't wait to share this unexpected encounter with everyone in the office.

The mysterious performer had brought a bit of joy to an otherwise mundane Monday

morning, and I was grateful for the brief escape from the monotony of daily life.

And that brings us to the end of today's episode.

I do hope you found today enjoyable.

If you did, please leave a like, a rating, or review.

Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.