📕 Part 1: Going out

This episode's vocabulary

Homebody (noun) - a person who likes spending time at home rather than going out with friends or travelling to different places.

Be in a time warp - to be in a place where the rules of time don't apply.

Hence (adverb) - that is the reason or explanation for.

Scarcely (adverb) - almost not.

Nip (verb) - to go somewhere quickly or be somewhere for only a short time.

Din (noun) - a loud, unpleasant confused noise that lasts for a long time..

Venue (noun) - the place where a public event or meeting happens.

Recreational (adj.) - connected with ways of enjoying yourself when you are not working.

Resemble (verb) - to look like or be like someone or something.

Wander (verb) - to walk around slowly in a relaxed way or without any clear purpose or direction.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, do you like going out or staying at home?

R: To tell the truth I much more of a homebody, to be honest. I rarely like going out to clubs these days because I'm a little bit past it, and I hate loud music and crowds. It's the kind of combination that sort of makes your insides vibrate at the same time they're being crushed out of existence.

M: Do you often go out in the evenings?

R: Almost never if I am honest. Unless I'm going to the gym and shopping and then walking back. Does that count? I think the last time I was in a club was about a month ago, and it was like being in a time warp. I went in 11 o'clock at night and emerged seven in the morning and I have no idea how I managed to spend eight hours of my life in one place. I don't even spend that much time in bed normally.

M: What do you like to do when you go out?

R: I like talking to people. Hence why bars and clubs are annoying because you can scarcely hear yourself think. It was easier when I smoked because you could always nip outside and speak to people there. Now I have to sort of yell over the din to make myself heard. I think the last time I was out I just sat and spoke to random people, including the barman, actually.

M: Do you prefer going out on your own or with friends?

R: Does anybody go out by themselves? I either go out with them or I meet them at whatever venue we picked. And by we I mean they because I'm so old that all the places that I know are closed down years ago, probably.

M: Do people in your country go out a lot?

R: Well, not at the moment because of the lockdown restrictions. But if we speak more generally about times past, then, yeah, they did. Not just for fun either. People would go out walking, or jogging, or they would take dogs for a walk. If you speak at recreational drinking then it's like a famous thing in Scotland. Some nights the town centres resemble a war zone.

M: Scotland!

R: Freedom! Drinking!

M: Friday lights! Wo hoo! What is this? War? No, it's just Scottish night out. OK. Where do most young people like to go out in your country?

R: Well, clubbing was popular. We used to have clubs for everything. Like even certain age groups or fashion tastes. Like you had a rock and sort of, I suppose, grunge nightclubs. And people there would wear black and they would be like gothic people there. And that was cool. Um, and of course, there were times when people would just wander in groups of friends, and I imagine they still do when they can.

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Discussion

M: Thank you so much for your answers.

R: No problem.

M: I have a feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night. Did you used to listen to this song?

R: I did. Yeah. That was ridiculous.

M: Tonight's gonna be a good, good night. So, going out. What's going on with this going out thing. When I go out, does it mean that I hit the clubs or I can go out, as you said, like to take a dog for a walk or to go jogging?

R: Well, it can mean both, really. And when I was answering the questions, I was using both sort of ideas. So when when we were talking, I was using both understandings to choose which things I talked about. But usually for me it means going out to a club or out with friends.

M: Yes, dear listener. So when you say going out or I went out, we usually mean a night out. So you meet up your friends for a beer or you do some sensible drinking or you go out in a club, in a restaurant, or you have a night out in a club, in a restaurant. It could be a bar party or something on a rooftop. Also, you can go out just to take your dog for a walk. So you mentioned go out jogging. What else did you say?

R: What else did I say?

M: Yeah. OK, so, like, take the dogs for a walk.

R: That's all basically.

M: Go out walking, go out jogging. So basically you go out, you don't stay in. So an antonym is going to be to stay in.

R: We're not really into our freedom right now, I'm afraid.

M: No, unfortunately.

R: Maybe we will be again.

M: So, Rory, you used to be a homebody or you are homebody.

R: I am a homebody. I like to be at home.

M: Oh, meaning yeah, like Rory enjoys being at home, so he's a homebody. Is it the same as being a homey?

R: Is it the same thing as being a homey?

M: Yeah, I'm a homey.

R: No, a homey is like... Isn't that African-American slang for like a friend?

M: Really?

R: I think so.

M: I thought a person who enjoys being at home is a homey.

R: No, a homey is a friend, I'm pretty sure. A homebody is someone who stays at home.

M: Oh, there we go. Yeah. Homey - US slang for a homeboy. Mainly US slang. Homeboy is... Huh. Well, yeah, not somebody who you always say the boy from your own town.

R: Why do you always pick the most racially sensitive topics?

M: Anyway.

R: Anyway.

M: Yeah, moving on. So when Rory hits the clubs so he goes out to clubs, his insides vibrate.

R: Yeah. Everybody's insides vibrate when they're standing next to loud music, though. It's not just me.

M: And also, I like when you said, like, my insides were crushed out of existence.

R: Yeah, but that just means that you're being crushed in a crowd.

M: Oh, OK.

R: Well, I mean, in this context it is. If you crush something out of existence, then obviously it means that you're being crushed so much that you... It's like you don't exist basically.

M: Yeah. And you can say, like, I hate loud music and crowds. I'm a little bit past it. So Rory now is a little bit past it. Which means that...

R: I'm old and can't do anything anymore.

M: As old as the hills. Yeah. Rory prefers snuggling under a duvet for some good old-fashioned soba. Movie watching or game playing? What do you do at home?

R: Sleeping.

M: Oh, come on. Stop it, stop it. You stop it.

R: I'm so old.

M: OK, and when you said it was like being in a time warp. What's a time warp?

R: A time warp is just a place where the rules of time don't apply. So like I basically spent eight hours of my life in a club and I have no idea how that happened because it didn't feel like eight hours. Eight hours is a long time. That's longer than most flights, you know, and you're very aware that you're on a flight. But for me, I was like wow, I have no idea... I remember. No, this is the thing. I wasn't even that drunk. I remember everything, but I just don't remember how the hours passed. I have a friend like that. I have a friend. Every time we go to his place, we just spend like days there. And it doesn't seem like days until you like wake up and it's a Sunday morning.

M: Nice. Did you do club crawling? Like a pub crawl? You do the club crawling, you move from club to club.

R: I think I did when I was a freshman at university. But now, no, I'm too old for that kind of stuff.

M: And if you're in a club, you can scarcely hear yourself think. What's scarcely?

R: Scarcely.

M: OK, once again. So if you're in a club, you can scarcely hear yourself think.

R: Yeah. Which is actually quite a nice expression, you can scarcely do something. So here, if you scarcely hear yourself think, it means that you can hardly hear yourself and your thoughts to organize them. But you could also say, like I could scarcely or hardly get a word in edgewise, which is like saying that you can't get a chance to talk. So both of these structures describe ways of speaking or not being able to speak.

M: I can scarcely hear myself think. And when you used to smoke, you would nip outside. Nip. Nip outside.

R: Yes. If you nip outside, it's like saying just go outside very quickly. For a short period of time.

M: Oh, I enjoy being outside for a smoke.

R: Well, I mean like it is but I mean, well, it's nice to go outside for a short period of time, especially now the weather is turned to rubbish.

M: Again in Moscow, in april.

R: Yeah, not for smoking, though. Don't smoke. It's really bad for you.

M: Yeah. So nip outside for some fresh air.

R: For a breath of fresh air.

M: A breath of fresh air. Yeah. So you speak to random people, including the barman. And interesting, like you said, the barman.

R: There was only one barman. Well, there were many barmen, but I only spoke to one of them, so. And he was the only one serving us for the whole evening. So it's like a specific barman.

M: Nice. When you go out, you pick the venue. You pick meaning you choose. So choose the venue or pick the venue and a venue is a club. It could be a restaurant. Could it be a bar or a pub? Yeah, it could be anything.

R: A place where you drink or, well, at least in this concert, in this conception of things, it's a place where you drink. But a venue is usually like a place where something happens or something is going to happen.

M: Yeah. If you talk about your favorite restaurant, you can say that's a good venue. So you can go drinking midweek for some drinking promotions off pick nights, you know. Did you do that?

R: No. Well, yes. But when I was like 21. I'm 31 now. I mean, let's get real.

M: Oh, 31. Wow. And you mentioned recreational drinking. What kind of drinking is that?

R: Recreational drinking is just drinking for fun. So it's like you drink in order to get drunk. And then whatever happens, happens. It's not a great way of spending your time. I would not encourage people to do it, but it does happen. So there you have it.

M: Yeah, dear listener, be very careful with your recreational drinking. Make sure you don't save up all your drinks during the week and then bam, you drink everything at one go. It could lead to some neurological brain damage. All right? So Rory knows about that. Right, Rory? About neurological brain damage.

R: Like, what? Neurological brain damage as opposed to what? ,Neurological foot damage. Those things are the same thing.

M: Oh, and when we say, like, OK, I go out or let's go out. We have some nice synonyms, like live it up on Friday nights. Hey, I used to live it up.

R: Living the high life, perhaps.

M: Living the high life? High life?

R: Living the vida loca.

M: Oh wow. Living the vida loca. OK, Ricky Martin is on this podcast. Hello Ricky Martin. Let loose. What about let loose? I enjoy letting loose on Friday night.

R: I haven't heard all of these different ways to talk about getting drunk in so long.

M: Oh, what about let your hair down? Let your hair down.

R: All these things mean the same thing to me. It's just another way of saying get drunk. It's like, doesn't sound very mature.

M: Yeah. Let's hit the bars, hit the bars, hit the clubs. Let's paint the town red tonight. Yeah, I like that. Paint the town red, like you go out, you drink, you kind of like... Yeah, you go crazy.

R: But no one says any of these things anymore. Well, at least like I don't.

M: Really?

R: I haven't heard them so long. Like they're said. But they're said like ironically.

M: Hmm. OK. So better not use them then?

R: No, no. You can use them. It's just funny for me.

M: Yeah. Because I came across these expressions in articles, I read some articles. Well, I do get prepared for this episodes, you know, dear listener. So I read up some articles on going out. Can you imagine? And they gave all the synonyms for going out like American articles, British articles. Yeah. They tell you what to do before you go out, like plan how to get home, eat, drink water before you go.

R: Have a shower.

M: Yeah. How to dress up before you go out. Oh, God. So Scottish going out. So when you go out in Scotland on a Friday night, it could resemble a war zone. That's really funny.

R: Yes. So if something resembles a war zone, it just looks like there's been a war there. So like, for example, the town centers in Scotland every Sunday morning look like a war zone. They don't really, it's just a way of saying they're a little bit messy. And people that don't like mess say that.

M: Yeah, in Moscow some areas resemble a war zone on a Friday night or Saturday night.

R: Any day of the week, really.

M: It's a war zone here in Moscow. It's April and it's snowing.

R: I can't believe it's snowing in April. This is ridiculous.

M: Oh God, it's so cold. OK, dear listener, now you're all packed with nice vocab about going out and some nice juicy synonyms. What's the best part of going out, Rory?

R: Coming home. Oh my God. I went out on a night out and when I drink a lot, I get really, really hungry. Yeah. So one night I was out with one of my friends and I went to this takeaway place and I should say my friend had anorexia and I was like, I will have a large spicy chicken pizza, and nuggets, and chips, and a burger, and a large coke. And my friend was like, I'll just have a Snickers, please.

M: Nice, quality, Rory. Yeah. Pizza, burger, a large coke. Wow. I'm proud of you. Thank you very much for listening. Please share our podcast with all your friends, so they are converted into Scottish "Roryness" and "Marianess". Bye!

R: Bye!

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