This episode’s vocabulary
Abrasive
adj. — rude and unfriendly.
To cut someone down to size
idiom — to show someone that they are not as clever or important as they think.
Underling
noun — a person of low rank and little authority who works for someone more important.
Caustic
adj. — a caustic remark or way of speaking is hurtful, critical, or intentionally unkind.
Flight of fantasy
idiom — an idea that shows a lot of imagination but is not practical.
Schadenfreude
noun — a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction when something bad happens to someone else.
To reenact
verb — to repeat the actions of an event that happened in the past as a hobby or as a performance.
Dressing down
noun — an act of speaking angrily to someone because they have done something wrong.
Flippant
noun — not serious about a serious subject, in an attempt to be funny or to appear clever.
Incisive
adj. — expressing an idea or opinion in a clear and direct way that shows good understanding of what is important.
Dismissive
adj. — showing that you do not think something is worth considering.
To exemplify
verb — to be or give a typical example of something.
Aspire to something
phrasal verb — to have a strong wish or hope to do or have something.
Questions and answers
So, Rory, are you ready with your story?
I'm very ready with my story. I love this character.
Off you go.
I absolutely loved Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada", which is a movie based on the book of the same name. I think the film came out in 2005. But I didn't watch it until around about 2011 with my best friend who I just met at the time. She's allegedly based on Anna Wintour, the famous editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, and has a very abrasive direct manner. She's also incredibly well dressed as her position in the movie demands since Miranda is also the editor of a fashion magazine. She's got a special place in my heart since while I do believe in treating people well until they fail to return the favour. It's extremely entertaining to watch her cut down her underlings with her caustic remarks, and ridiculously high and unrealistic expectations. It's quite the flight of fantasy. It's not quite what she does, but the way that she does it, as if what she was saying is totally normal and natural. There's a nice little bit of Schadenfreude that goes with the whole thing that makes it hilarious to watch and reenact with people who are also in the know. There's one particular scene in the movie where she gives her assistant a good dressing-down for being flippant about the role, the fashion industry and the decisions in it play. She's obviously very incisive, well-informed, and of course, completely correct. It's not just something casual, it really does represent uncountable jobs that people rely on to make a living and to be so casually dismissive of it, it's not only rude, but quite ignorant as well, I would say. Of course, if it were me in that position, I'd have explained it a bit more nicely. But sometimes cutting someone down to size is exactly what they need. And, well, it's movie, it's not real. If I hadn't seen this movie, I doubt I'd have picked this kind of character because she doesn't exemplify the sort of behaviour that I aspire to. But at the same time, it's like I said, she's quite a flight of fantasy about misbehaviour. And who doesn't like that from time to time? -