This episode’s vocabulary
Come close
phrasal verb — to be nearly as good as someone or something else. → Example: The only person I know that even comes close is Tom Daley.
In and of themselves
idiom — considered separately from other things; intrinsically. → Example: That's a great set of achievements in and of themselves.
Make a fortune
idiom — to make a very large amount of money. → Example: If he decided to sell them, he'd have a huge market and could make a fortune.
Sentimental value
collocation — the value of an object deriving from personal or emotional associations rather than its material worth. → Example: It would be less about the quality and more about the sentimental value people have for them.
Bog standard
adj. — completely ordinary, without any special features. → Example: I think it's just the bog standard knitting needles and yarn.
Space intensive
adj. — requiring a lot of space. → Example: I suppose that knitting stuff is pretty space intensive.
It all comes down to
phrasal verb — to be the most important aspect of a situation or problem. → Example: As for why he is good, I suppose it all comes down to the practice.
Through trial and error
idiom — a way of achieving an aim by trying a number of different methods and learning from the mistakes. → Example: You can learn how to do it through trial and error.
Bound to
expression — to be very likely to do or be something. → Example: If you do it often enough, you're bound to become some kind of dab hand at it.
A dab hand
n. — a person who is an expert at a particular activity. → Example: My mother is a dab hand in the kitchen.
DIY (Do It Yourself)
acronym — the activity of building, repairing, or decorating things in the home yourself, instead of paying someone to do it. → Example: My father loves DIY projects on the weekends.
Questions and answers
Describe a person who is good at making things by hand. You should say who this person is, what he or she makes, what materials or technologies he or she uses and why you think this person is good at making things by hand. Rory, give us your story.
To be honest, I'm not very sure about this one. The only person I know that even comes close is Tom Daley. When it comes to who he is, he's a famous British diving champion. I think he's in his thirties these days, and he's won gold medals in a whole load of events, like the Olympics for example. Obviously that's a great set of achievements in and of themselves, but he also makes knitted clothes by hand. When you watch these events you can see him in the audience at different places, knitting or crocheting things. I think they're mostly for his kids, but I'm sure if he decided to sell them, he'd have a huge market for them and could make a fortune. It would probably be less about the quality and more about the sentimental value that people have for them, since they'd probably feel thrilled to own something that was made by a famous person, regardless of how good or bad it is. In terms of the materials or equipment he uses, I think it's just the bog standard knitting needles and yarn or whatever they call the stuff in balls of wool that people use for knitting. If it's crocheting, then I'm pretty sure you get crocheting needles as well. But I don't really see him with anything else. Apart from a bag to carry it all, of course. I suppose that stuff is pretty space intensive and you have to keep it all together somehow. As for why I think he's good at making things by hand, I suppose it all comes down to the practice really. If you do something like that often enough and learn how to do it through trial and error, then you're bound to become some kind of dab hand at it, aren't you? However, it's good that he does do this kind of thing, because otherwise I'd have had no one to speak about because I don't really know anybody that does this kind of thing anymore or if they do it then it's something that they really don't share with the world.