Learn English Vocabulary Daily #11.4 - British English Podcast

Hello, welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name's Anna and you're listening to Week 11, Day 4 of Your English

Five a Day, a series that aims to increase your vocabulary by five

pieces every day from Monday to Friday.

So, let's kick off today's list.

As we've done every day this week, we're starting with a noun and it is niche.

Niche is spelled N I C H E.

In American English, this is sometimes pronounced niche, niche, but in

British English, this is niche.

A niche refers to a job or a position that's very suitable for someone,

especially one that they like.

So, for example, my niche is content creation that's educational.

Here's an example sentence.

"You've really found a niche for yourself with your jewellery making, when is your

new shop opening on the high street?"

Next on the list is another noun and it is novelty, novelty.

Novelty is spelled N O V E L T Y.

Novelty.

Novelty.

Novelty is the quality of being new and unusual, something that has not been

experienced before and is so interesting.

Here's an example sentence.

"Tourists are still a novelty on the remote island of Fogo in Canada."

Personally, I would say that getting a lie-in these days, or even a good

night's sleep — an undisturbed eight hours of sleep, that would be a

novelty to me in my current situation.

Moving on, we have a verb now and it is overshadow.

To overshadow.

This is spelled O V E R S H A D O W.

Overshadow.

To overshadow something is to cause someone or something to

seem less important or less happy.

So, some bad news might overshadow a joyous event.

For example, if someone close to you dies the day before your wedding day, that

death is going to overshadow your wedding.

Here's an example sentence.

"Karen has always felt overshadowed by her famous elder sister."

Next on the list, we have an idiom and it is compare notes, Compare notes.

So, this is spelled C O M P A R E, compare.

Notes, N O T E S.

So, if two people are comparing notes, then they tell each other

what they think about something that they've both done or experienced.

So, for example, if I go for an audition to be in a West End show, and

I hear that you have also auditioned with the same casting director for

the same show, then I might say,

"Oh, let's go for a coffee and compare notes."

We haven't literally written anything down.

There are no notes to look at, but we will discuss our experience and, you

know, try to gain greater knowledge and insight by learning about the other

person's experience of the same thing.

Or, if you also get a Ninja, so I've got an air fryer called a Ninja.

If you get a Ninja air fryer too, then I might say,

"Oh, let's compare notes.

What do you think?

What have you been able to make with it?

Was it a good purchase?

Are you enjoying it?"

Here's another example.

"We had both been out with the same man at different points in our lives, so

it was interesting to compare notes."

Last on our list is an adjective and it is tailored, tailored.

We spell this T A I L O R E D.

Tailored.

Tailored.

If something is tailored, particularly clothing, or a course perhaps,

then it's made or changed to suit a particular situation or purpose.

So, a tailored suit is a suit that has been adjusted to fit a specific body.

So, you wouldn't buy a tailored suit off the peg, you wouldn't walk into a shop

and just buy one, you'd have to be fitted, and you'd have to see a tailor who would

measure you and make the alterations and then try it on you and see if it

works and make additional alterations if needed, so that your tailored suit

is perfectly tailored to your body.

A course that is tailored to you would be a course that's adjusted and changed

in order to suit your learning needs.

Here's another example.

"This project clearly requires a tailored computer programme, we're going to have

to hire someone to write it for us."

Okay, so that's our five for today.

Let's recap.

We had the noun niche, which is a job or a position that's

suitable, very suitable for someone, especially one that they like.

Then we had the noun novelty where something is quite new and unusual or

something that's not being experienced before, something very interesting.

"Ooh, novelty!"

Then we had the verb overshadow to cause someone or something to be

less happy or to seem less important.

Then we had the idiom compare notes, when two people who've experienced

the same thing discuss their experiences and their thoughts.

And we finished with the adjective tailored, where something is

changed or made especially to suit a particular situation or purpose.

Let's now do this for pronunciation purposes.

Repeat after me.

Niche.

Niche.

Novelty.

Novelty.

Overshadow.

Overshadow.

Compare notes.

Compare notes.

Tailored.

Tailored.

Fantastic.

How would you describe a suit that has been made specifically to fit your body?

A tailored suit.

What verb would you use to describe something that makes

something else seem less important?

Overshadow.

How about something that's quite new and unusual and really interesting?

What noun would you use for that?

A novelty, a novelty.

And what about if you find a position that's very suitable for you?

What noun would you use to describe that?

A niche, a niche.

Now we've both done the same thing in the same place.

What idiom should we use to describe talking about our experiences?

Compare notes.

Compare notes.

Fantastic.

Let's bring all of those together in a little story.

In the world of Wall Street, there are two brothers, Ryan and Kyle.

They are both successful traders, but they have very different styles and strategies.

Ryan is a risk-taker, so trading is really his niche.

He likes to explore new and exciting markets.

He's always looking for the next big thing, the novelty

that will make him a fortune.

Kyle is a conservative who likes to stick to the established and proven sectors.

He tailors each investment to suit his client's exact needs and he's

always looking for the safe and steady returns, the reliability

that will secure his wealth.

The brothers are constantly trying to outdo each other, to prove who

is the smarter and better trader.

They compare notes, they compare portfolios, they compare profits.

They also compare lifestyles, cars, houses, and girlfriends.

They are obsessed with each other, and are never satisfied.

The rivalry between Ryan and Kyle is so intense that it often overshadows their

other relationships and responsibilities.

They have neglected their family, their friends, and their colleagues.

They have also neglected their own health and happiness.

They have become slaves to their egos and their ambitions.

What will happen to Ryan and Kyle?

Will they ever reconcile their differences and respect each other?

Or will they continue to fight to be the better twin and trader?

Will they ever find peace and balance in their lives?

Or will they lose everything that actually matters?"

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

As always, I hope you found it useful.

Have a lovely day.

Until next time, take care and goodbye.