📙 Part 2: Describe a time when you argued with a friend

This episode's vocabulary

Fitting (adj.) - suitable or right for a particular situation or occasion.

To mock (verb) - to laugh at someone, often by copying them in a funny but unkind way.

Row (noun) - a noisy argument or fight.

Mock row (noun) - an argument for fun.

Ridiculous  (adj.) - stupid or unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at.

To be prone to sth/do sth - likely to show a particular characteristic, usually a negative one, or to be affected by something bad, such as damage or an illness.

Nonsense (noun) - an idea, something said or written, or behaviour that is silly or stupid.

Get-together (noun) - an informal meeting or social occasion, often arranged for a particular purpose.

Banter (noun) - a conversation that is funny and not serious.

Strife (noun) - violent or angry disagreement.

To weigh in (phrasal verb) - to give an opinion or enter a discussion or argument.

To resolve (verb) - to solve or end a problem or difficulty.

(like) water off a duck's back (idiom) - criticisms of or warnings to a particular person that have no effect on that person.

Spectacularly (adverb) - in an extreme or unusual way that attracts attention.

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Questions and Answers

M: Could you start speaking now, please?

R: Well, this is quite fitting, actually, because I had a sort of mock row with my little brother at the weekend. And we're kind of friends. So we're friends as well. So it definitely fits. This was one of the most ridiculous arguments ever, actually. But we're prone to that whenever we get together. It wasn't about anything serious, just silly nonsense. In more detail about when it happened, it was just on Saturday there, just Saturday past, we were having a get-together for my dad's birthday. And whenever we are together, we always engage in a bit of banter that usually involves ridiculous arguments over stupid topics. To say more about why we argued this time in particular, it was over the meaning of the phrase, The Ides of March. My little brother was under the impression that it meant something about there being more men than women, and that causing wars and strife throughout the world. And knowing what I do about the English language, I just couldn't stop myself from correcting him, and pointing out how wrong he was. It was funny, though, because he just wouldn't let it go. And kept insisting that that was what it meant. And even my mother weighed at one point to say how stupid he was being. Well, there's not much to say about how we resolved the whole thing. We just sort of laughed it off and went back to talking about similarly silly things like memes that we were finding on the internet at the same time. Oh, when it comes to how I felt about it, there's not much to say it was funny at the time. And even now I'm looking back on it, it's still actually quite funny. It's great when you can have fun with people like that. And then at the end of the day, it's just water off a duck's back. I imagine I'll be the one to get something spectacularly wrong next time. And we'll have a similar setup and go through a similar process next time as well.

M: And do you often argue with people?

R: What, in the sense of being silly about it? Yeah, it can remove a lot of tension from there.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answer!

R: Hopefully, there will be no argument as to how helpful it was!

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Discussion

M: You see, it could be about something positive. But if you want again to talk about something negative, you can do that. And you said that I had a sort of mock row with my little brother.

R: Yeah. So a row is like an argument. And a mock row is like just when you have an argument for fun, really, or when you're making fun of each other.

M: Yeah, you see saw an argument for fun. Rory was kind of arguing with his little brother at the weekend. So they weren't, you know, like screaming at each other. It was like nice and pleasant. Yeah, Rory? And you were laughing.

R: Yeah, we were both laughing because it was just being silly.

M: Yeah, you see. So it could also be an argument. And it was one of the most ridiculous arguments. Right? A ridiculous argument, it's like a silly argument.

R: A really silly argument.

M: A really silly argument. It wasn't about anything serious. It was just silly nonsense. Okay? So, dear listener, you can talk about a time when you argued about some silly nonsense with your friend or with your parents. And it was like light, everybody was laughing.

R: We could also use this word nonsense to describe a more serious argument. And you just talk about oh, I just thought they were talking nonsense or speaking nonsense, or gibbering nonsense.

M: Oh, gibbering nonsense. That's a nice one. And you said that we were having a get-together. So at that time, when we had this argument, this silly argument, we were having a get-together. A get-together is like, we met up for your dad's birthday, yeah? And then you said that we always engage in a bit of banter. You engage in a bit of banter. Banter is a nice one.

R: And you usually engage in or have banter with somebody.

M: Banter is this light talk about silly things. For example, if Rory and I spoke about, I don't know, shoes, and if we were making fun of each other, about this different colour of shoes.

R: Banter is basically the 90% of our episodes when we're not talking about the English language.

M: And like banter usually involves ridiculous arguments over stupid topics. Yeah? So you can say, for example, I once had a silly argument over some stupid topics with my friends. And we were discussing, I don't know, yoghurts, shoes and hair. Rory's hair. We were discussing Rory's hair.

R: All the thing to have an argument over.

M: Yeah. So the key word's like ridiculous. And to have an argument over some topics, over something, yeah? To argue with somebody over something. So what else can we say instead of to argue with somebody?

R: Oh, a row, an argument, a fight, a war of words.

M: Ooh, once I had a war of words with my friend. That's crazy.

R: I feel like that's not really a good one for argument. But if you're running out of words to describe it, then you could just be like, the war of words, probably, why not?

M: Can I say to quarrel? So I quarrelled with my friend. You can? But isn't it a bit old-fashioned and people usually don't say it anymore these days?

R: No, no. You could say that. And it's fine. Especially if you're running out of things to say. Although how many times do you think you're going to put the word argument into speaking part two like that?

M: Hmm. Okay. Yep. So you see, lot's of synonyms. And then we argued over something. So this time in particular, it was over. So our argument was over the meaning of the phrase. So Rory and his little brother. How old is your brother?

R: Oh, he's 27.

M: 27. Oh, your little brother? Okay.

R: So like my little brother, like when I say that people are like, oh, maybe he's 15 or 16? Like, no, he's a grown man, a grown man who thinks the Ides of March has something to do with population control.

M: Oh, I thought yeah, like little like 15 or 10 even. So yeah, Roy's brother is 27 years old. And they argued over the meaning of the phrase. Dear listener, you can speak about, okay, an argument over, I don't know, you decide, over your name, over the meaning of your name, over your clothes. And then explain what your partner thought and what you disagreed with. So Rory's brother was under the impression that something was like this, but it wasn't. Yeah? And Rory said that I couldn't stop myself from correcting him.

R: Yes. If you couldn't stop yourself from doing something, or if you can't stop yourself from doing something, it's like you have no control. It's automatic. And in an argument, you ideally want to correct somebody and prove that you're right, so correcting them.

M: I couldn't stop myself from pointing out how wrong he was. Yeah? So I couldn't stop myself from doing something. And I pointed out how wrong he was. You see. So I pointed out, I kind of highlighted, like you are wrong, and I explained why he was wrong. It was funny though. So you see, it was still like light, positive, funny, silly, ridiculous. He just wouldn't let it go. So if your friend, who you argued with, just keeps telling you that no, you are wrong. You can say that he just wouldn't let it go. Right? So he continued this discussion, or he didn't let it go for a long time. So he wouldn't let it go means that he just kept talking about this and kept and we continued. So it's a bit emotional, right? Rather than to say he didn't let it go. So he wouldn't let it go. Like he just would keep doing it and keep talking. He kept insisting that he was right. And then your mother, what did your mother do?

R: She weighed in, which is very important for any discussion about arguments or talking in general, because if you weigh in, you give your opinion.

M: Oh, can I say like my mother butted in. So she kind of interrupted, and she started talking.

R: So there's weighing in and there's butting in. Weighing in is when you give your opinion, and it's part of the discussion, and it's welcome. But butting in is when you give your opinion and it's not welcome.

M: Right. Can I say she chipped in?

R: Yes, but chipped in is just a small contribution.

M: Yeah, so that's a nice one. Weigh. Weigh like, I weigh 50 kilos. Yeah? So my mother weighed in at some point. And then how we resolved the whole thing. So we kind of deal with an argument or we solve an argument, yeah? Or we resolve an argument. What else do we do with an argument?

R: Find a resolution or find a solution?

M: Oh, we found a resolution. So it's how it all ended? Or we didn't. Or we didn't, we agreed to disagree, for example.

R: And then you could just say we agreed, disagreed, it went unresolved, or it's gone unresolved since we're talking about an argument that we had.

M: Nice, nice. So it went unresolved. So we didn't solve it. Right? We just laughed it off. That's a brilliant phrase.

R: So if laugh something off. It's just when you consider it a joke, and don't think about it too seriously. And then you move on to something different.

M: Yeah. Yeah. So the argument stayed unresolved. We just laughed it off. And went back to talking about silly things. When it comes to how I felt about it. It was funny at the time, yeah? It was funny, and when I'm looking back on it, so you look back on this argument, and it's still funny. Yeah? Cuz it's fun. And it was ridiculous. And I was having a good time. And what did you mean, it's just water off a duck's back? Oh, it's an idiom! An idiom!

R: It is an idiom! I needed an idiom. But that's just connected to laughing it off. Because if you love something off, then it's not serious. And if it's just water off a duck's back then it's not really something that sticks and you consider serious.

M: Wow. So imagine a duck, a duck. And then if you pour water on a duck, just like water goes down really kind of fast. So the duck is not wet, right? Because of the certain things the duck has. It's just water off a duck's back. So we laughed it off, and just forgot about it. And what else can you say about the feelings? I was what? I was amazed, amused, if you kind of thought it was funny, I was amused. Anything else about the feelings? I was happy.

R: That's about it, like, well, not necessarily happy. But it was just, it was hilarious. Because it was so stupid.

M: Yeah, it was stupid. It was ridiculous. It was hilarious. Yeah, we laughed it off. Super. Yeah, dear listener, now, you should make the decision, what are you going to be talking about. Something negative or something positive. I think to be kind of on the safer side it's nice to talk about something positive. Because it's not really, it's not a good idea to talk about something negative. And then you feel these negative emotions. And also the examiner listens to your negative words. And if the argument was about something, a sensitive issue, then you have to use a lot of negative words. And you know, in the exam, you're using negative words. Like, oh, I was depressed, we argued and we had a serious argument. And then we broke up. You know. It kind of like, imagine a situation like this. Yeah. You and your friend in a cafe talking about silly things and you disagree about I don't know, when Lady Gaga was born and you kind of you laughed it off. It was ridiculous, it was silly. You see... It's kind of like, keep it light and happy. For example, once we had an argument with Rory over Batman. So I think like Batman is a superhero.

R: That wasn't an argument. In an argument one side has to, you know...

M: I think Batman is a superhero and Rory keeps saying that Batman is not a superhero, and we kind of we continued talking about it on our social media, in many episodes. So you see it kind of like, we're still talking about it. Right, Rory?

R: No, we don't talk about this because the argument's over. I won. Batman's a detective, not a superhero.

M: Sure.

R: Indeed, he's not even that, he's a vigilante.

M: He's Batman. You know, a Superman. Spiderman, Batman. You see, it's all light. I'm not kind of strong about it. Well, I am strong about the fact that Batman is a superhero.

R: This is why the aliens will not contact us because we have ridiculous arguments about whether Batman is a superhero or not. An argument which you could end by just admitting that you are wrong. And that Batman is, in fact, not a superhero. Just saying.

M: Ah, yeah, whatever. So dear listener, you can talk about this topic. Yeah? I had an argument over Batman with Rory, you can imagine that you actually had an argument with Rory or Maria, and have fun with it. And I'm sure the examiner will appreciate your nice story with this positive touch. Okay? So let's stay positive everybody! Hey!

R: And remember, Batman is not a superhero, he is, in fact, a detective! Bye!

M: Batman! A superhero! Bye!

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