📕 Part 1: Crowded places

Do you like crowded places?

I don't mind them, provided there's some sort of way out or it's not forever. No one likes being jammed into a tight space for ages, do they?

Is the city where you live crowded?

Not overly. Even at rush hour, there's still some elbow room on public transport and it's easy enough to make your way home or wherever you need to be. Then again, it's a small town, so it's not like we have throngs of people to deal with.

Is there a crowded place near where you live?

I think the closest thing might be the local pub, which is pretty popular, though I've never been there. There's usually loads of people crammed in there on a Friday or Saturday night.

When was the last time you were in a crowded place?

I don't know, actually. Maybe on the bus to the capital. Although it wasn't like we were packed in like sardines or anything like that. It was just the closest thing to crowded.

Would you like to visit more crowded places in the future?

I imagine so. But not because of the masses of people. It will be the reason they're there, like a popular shopping center or something like that.

Dear listener, crowded places. Well, crowded places are locations where large numbers of people gather together. Usually shopping centers are crowded, sports stadiums, public transport, public events, maybe streets, parks, airports, train stations, concert venues. Your local coffee shop could be crowded. So anything could be crowded. Your house could be crowded if you invite lots of people in and they are just there. Rory, do we have any synonyms for crowded? So if a place is crowded, what else can we say?

Hoaching. No, that's a Scottish word meaning there are lots of people, but don't say that to your examiner. Packed, full, rammed. I think those are all good ones for talking about lots of people crowded into one place.

So we say places full of people. And you can paraphrase: "I don't mind a crowd." So a crowded place, but we can use crowds of people or you can say that "I dislike crowds." I hate being in a crowd. Or "I hate being in a place full of people." And you can say, "I don't mind them." So I'm okay with crowded places. You can also say "I dislike being jammed into a tight space." So to be jammed into a space means that you are there with lots of people and you're kind of squashed, you can't move, there are so many people.

Too many people.

Too many people. And usually places get crowded at rush hour when people commute to work. There is not enough elbow room.

Elbow room, space to move.

It's an idiom for describing space to move actually. So it fits with being crowded. Could you give us another example with this phrase, elbow room?

Well, usually on London buses there's not enough elbow room.

So buses could get really crowded at rush hour with not enough elbow room, which means that there isn't enough space to move around. Or you can say that "I was squashed in at dinner." So I was jammed into some space with very little elbow room. So literally, I didn't have enough space to move. We say on public transport, there isn't enough elbow room.

Or wiggle room.

Room to wiggle, to kind of move your body. And you can say that buses get really crowded, buses get really packed with people on my way home. So when I make my way home, all the buses are usually packed, filled with people. And crowded places near where you live are usually some shops, stores, or local pubs, which are pretty popular, right? And loads of people are crammed in local pubs. Again, loads of people means a lot of people, many people. And we've said people are jammed into some place and here a synonym is crammed in somewhere. Rory, could you give us an example with to be crammed in?

Well, no one likes being crammed into a tight space, do they? Or sometimes it can feel uncomfortable if you're crammed into a classroom together.

Yeah. And you can say that the last time I was in a crowded place was when I was on the bus, on the train, people were packed like sardines. And this is a usual idiom that we're using about crowded places: to be packed like sardines.

Packed in like sardines.

Packed in like sardines. To be packed in like sardines means the place is extremely crowded. There is no room to move around. There is very little elbow room. And you can also say packed or squashed like sardines. Like "we were squashed like sardines in the rush hour train."

Or you could just say you were squashed in.

I was squashed in. Too many people. And you can say that the last time I was in a crowded place, it was when I was traveling by bus. We were squashed like sardines. So it was very unpleasant. Everybody was sweating. What a trip it was. And dear listener, if you enjoy concerts or some festivals, you might say, "Yeah, I usually go to crowded places because I enjoy festivals, concerts, clubs, and in the future, I might visit some famous concerts to be around masses of people." To be around loads of people or masses of people. And especially during Christmas, all shops are packed, people are crazy looking for everything.

Deals, bargains.

Yeah. So you say Christmas is coming or a popular festival is coming. And I have a nice joke.

Oh, dear.

Maria has packed in a joke. Right, we have a joke, a stupid joke, and Rory will explain it. So the joke is, how do you draw a crowd?

With a pen.

Seriously, I don't understand the joke. Well, how do you draw a crowd with a pen?

Okay, if you draw a crowd, then you make people come to you, you help create the crowd. And of course, you also draw with a pen or a pencil, you draw a picture.

Oh, okay. So the question is about how do you draw a crowd? How do you create a crowd? And the answer is just with a pen, but it should be, you draw a crowd by inviting people or getting everybody together, but the answer is strange, with a pen. How stupid it is. All right, dear listener, are you okay? Are you with us?

I'm not okay.

Thank you very much for listening. Hopefully, your brain is packed with vocabulary and idioms about this: to be jammed into, to be crammed in, to be packed in like sardines, and not enough elbow room. These are very specific synonyms about crowded places and crowds.

Now, let's get out of this episode which is jam-packed with grammar and vocabulary.

Bye.

Bye.