📘 Part 3: Breaking and fixing things

This episode's vocabulary

Shatter (verb) – break suddenly into many pieces. → The glass vase fell and shattered all over the floor.

Crack (verb/noun) – to break without separating into pieces; a narrow break. → There's a big crack in the window after the storm.

Chip (verb/noun) – to break off a small piece; a small broken bit. → I chipped a plate while washing the dishes.

Dent (verb/noun) – to make a hollow area; a small hollow caused by impact. → The refrigerator door got dented when I moved it.

Scratch (verb/noun) – to damage a surface with something sharp. → The table was scratched when we dragged a box across it.

Leak (verb/noun) – when liquid or gas escapes through a hole. → The kitchen sink started to leak last night.

Clog (verb/noun) – to block something so it cannot function. → The bathtub drain is clogged with hair.

Appliance (noun) – an electrical device used in the home. → The washing machine is a very useful appliance.

Fixture (noun) – a permanent part of a house (like a sink or toilet). → The bathroom fixtures are starting to rust.

Gadget (noun) – a small electronic or mechanical device. → She uses a handy gadget for peeling vegetables.

Fuse (noun) – a safety device that protects electrical systems. → The lights went out because the fuse blew.

Jammed (adjective) – stuck or unable to move. → The door is jammed and won't open.

Repair (verb/noun) – to fix something that is broken. → We need to repair the broken shelf in the living room.

Handyman (noun) – a person skilled at general home repairs. → We called a handyman to fix the leaking tap.

Power outage (noun) – a period when electricity supply is lost. → The power outage lasted for two hours yesterday.

DIY (noun/adjective) – do-it-yourself, the activity of making or repairing things yourself. → DIY projects can save a lot of money.

Warranty (noun) – a promise by a manufacturer to repair or replace a broken product. → The microwave is still under warranty.

Instructions (noun) – steps that explain how to do something. → Always read the instructions before assembling the furniture.

Replace (verb) – to exchange something old or broken for something new. → We replaced the broken window with a stronger one.

Spare part (noun) – an extra piece for repairing a device or machine. → We keep spare parts for the washing machine in the garage.

Questions and Answers

Maria: What kind of things are more likely to be broken by people at home?

Rory: Oh, well, I mean, what aren't you likely to break, especially if you have kids? I suppose the most common thing is stuff like plates and glasses, since they're, well, they're being handled all the time. But it could be anything, even windows, if children are playing football in the garden or something like that.

Maria: What kind of people like to fix things by themselves? I'm not a psychologist.

Rory: But maybe people who are pretty independent or isolated from places and people who can fix things up for them. That could be the physical location, like someone on a mountain or in the Antarctic, or it could be financial isolation, like a family that isn't so well off. Of course, you could just be a very knowledgeable or independent person and that just comes naturally to you. So you don't really bother to do it or don't really bother to ask other people to do things for you.

Maria: Do you think elderly people should teach young people how to fix things?

Rory: I've never really thought about it, to be honest. I've certainly never seen it, but I don't think there's any harm in assuming the support they give is useful. They might have some pretty sage advice about less technological things, though I'd be sceptical if, well, I'd just be sceptical about anything they had to say about computers, since it's not really an area of expertise you'd expect an older person to cover. I'd be willing to be proven wrong, though. I mean, some old people are very wise about these things.

Maria: Is the older generation better at fixing things?

Rory: Like I said, it depends on what we're talking about. Stuff that's been around longer, like simple electrical devices like lamps, should be pretty easy to advise on how to fix. But more modern and complex gadgets might be a struggle for them. It would be hard for anyone to fix, frankly speaking, unless you have a degree or something like that.

Maria: Do you think handmade clothes are more valuable?

Rory: Well, they could be, I guess, especially if they're particularly vintage or they use valuable or unusual materials or a particular style. I'm not well-versed in fashion, though, so I have no idea what specific things that might involve, just the generalities. Obviously, quality matters as well. No one wants to buy something that falls to pieces easily.

Maria: Do you think clothes produced in the factory are of better quality than those made by hand?

Rory: Well, that's a pretty broad question, to be honest. So much of that depends on the technicalities of it all. I mean, a factory that uses something like substandard materials that fall apart in days of being bought, then clearly that's not much good. But if you buy something made by a barely trained person with a home business who uses good stuff but has no idea how to put things together, then that's not going to be much better. So, I suppose it's less about the process and more about how it interacts with the other parts of the equation. At least, that's how it seems to me.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, we break things and we fix things. Fix or repair. Rory, any other synonyms for break?

Rory: Depends on what it is, because you can... If it's a glass, for example, you can shatter a glass or you can smash a glass and you can smash a plate. You can crack your iPhone screen. You could crack a computer screen.

Maria: See, we have different verbs for these things. For example, you can say that, yeah, like, my screen is cracked. Or in the bathroom, the taps keep dripping, right? So, the water is running non-stop, right? My screen is cracked or chipped. My roof is leaking. But, like, you didn't break it, right? But still, you know. Or, for example, like, my jeans are torn. I tore my jeans, like, tear. Or there is a hole in my clothes. Or, for example, I spilled wine on the carpet. My carpet is stained. Or I dropped something heavy. I dropped a mug.

Rory: I busted my mug.

Maria: Busted, yeah. I busted a heavy mug with tea in the bathroom. And now the bathroom tiles are chipped. And when we have them into pieces, like, you drop something heavy, bam! And then it's kind of like, the tiles are chipped. And the most common thing to break is plates, glasses, in the kitchen. So, we smash them. And it could be everything. Windows, beds, something in the garden. Like, when children are playing football in the garden, so they could break windows. Some people enjoy fixing things by themselves. So, they just repair things themselves. And they can fix things up. So, they enjoy fixing things up. Like furniture, for example, broken furniture.

Rory: Broken hearts. Fix my broken heart.

Maria: Yeah, actually, we break hearts, right. So, you can crack a joke about, yeah, some people break hearts and...

Rory: Well, like, I feel like it's not something physical that we fix with a broken heart. If you break a plate, you could glue it back together, for example. So, that's an example of it being fixed up. What else do people fix? Pictures, mirrors, if they're broken. Maybe you can fix a glass? I don't know. It depends on how badly broken it is.

Maria: You can fix a glass, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can fix a mug, like, glue it together. You should be very knowledgeable to do that. And you should kind of be good with your hands. And this comes naturally to some people. So, some people are just, you know, good at fixing things. Technology or just some simple things as glasses. My father is pretty good at it. He can fix, you know, anything.

Rory: Yeah, my dad's like that, too. They're very handy people.

Maria: Yeah, handy, yeah, so...

Rory: Useful.

Maria: Useful, and fixing up things just comes naturally to them.

Rory: If something comes naturally to you, it means you're good at it without making it look difficult for you. It's like you know how to do it intrinsically. It's part of your soul.

Maria: Elderly people or older people usually teach younger people how to fix things.

Rory: Do they?

Maria: Well, you know, they might. Like, grandfathers or grandmothers. No, fathers, grandfathers. Maybe teach their sons or grandchildren.

Rory: Like, I feel like maybe grandmothers could teach something as well.

Maria: Yeah, like fixing something in the kitchen in terms of food. How to cook food, how to fix something up, you know, how to cook some delicious food for your family. Maybe clothes. There you go. We mend clothes, dear listener, when we fix clothes.

Rory: Oh, darning, darning clothes.

Maria: What, what?

Rory: Darning clothes.

Maria: Darning, wow.

Rory: Yeah, that's like fixing. It's fixing for clothes specifically. The very old one that works.

Maria: The holes in your socks. Yeah, if there are some holes in your socks, dear listener, again, classical literature. You darn holes in your socks.

Rory: Do we do anything else?

Maria: You can say that I've never really thought about it. I've never seen it. But they might give some advice about something. And, Rory, you said some like sage advice. What?

Rory: Sage advice. If something is sage, it's like it's wise advice, usually from an older person. It's also a kind of herb that you can put on things. I don't know what things you put it on, but it's something you can cook with.

Maria: And we can assume that older generation is better at fixing things. Like young people usually break things and they don't know how to fix them up. But older people tend to be good at repairing things, fixing everything up. But you can talk about technology. So if we talk about things around the house, like simple electrical devices or simple electrical appliances.

Rory: Like a lamp. You can fix a lamp, surely.

Maria: I can't fix a lamp. I will break it.

Rory: It's pretty difficult to break them in the first place. If you had to change a light bulb, you could do that. I believe in you. I think you could.

Maria: You don't know my skills.

Rory: I mean, you don't know mine. They're probably terrible.

Maria: So you see? Like Maria, the great breaker, and Rory, the fixerer.

Rory: Oh, I don't know about that.

Maria: You can say like older generation can give some advice on how to fix things. But younger people are better at fixing more than complex gadgets, like complex technology. So smartphones, perhaps some laptops, computers. Especially if there's a virus in the computer or something doesn't work because of certain programmes. So kind of like these kinds of things. And older people usually struggle with technology. ChatGPT doesn't work. What do we do about that? Then some questions could be about handmade things. So we say handmade clothes or clothes made by hand. Or something, some products made by hand. Some people think that handmade clothes or products are more valuable. Like valuable? Well, they have more value because they haven't been made at a factory.

Rory: They're worth more money.

Maria: Like worth more money and also they're more valuable for people. Because some other person created this thing by hand, not just at a factory.

Rory: Yeah, that's pretty impressive. For me, I couldn't do it.

Maria: And we talk about vintage things, vintage items, like old things, for example. Vintage clothes produced in the past. Vintage books, vintage cars, vintage dresses. Oh, I have a vintage dress from the States. Very nice.

Rory: Oh, very nice.

Maria: Unusual materials are used. Such things have a particular style. So handmade clothes are usually stylish. If you're not into fashion, as Rory, you can say, I'm not well-versed in fashion. So like, I don't know. I have no idea why handmade clothes are more valuable. Quality matters. You can say like, it doesn't matter where and how clothes were made. But quality matters. You see? Careful. Clothes are stylish. Clothes are valuable. Clothes which were produced in the factory or made by hand. So what's better? Again, clothes are produced or clothes have been produced at a factory. And it depends on the technicalities. So technicalities, like technical details. And then explain what you mean. If a factory uses quality materials, that's good. But if a factory uses substandard materials, materials with poor quality, so that's not good.

Rory: The standard is not good. It is sub.

Maria: Substandard. Yeah, like below a satisfactory standard. Not good. And if such clothes fall apart in days, that's not good. But if you buy something made by a trained person, and they have a home business, so yeah, that's much better. And they use quality materials. Such clothes last longer. Again, clothes last. Clothes are of good quality. So, how are you doing, dear listener? Are you more like , who fixes things and is not careless? Or are you like me, the breakerer? Maria the breakerer. Maria who breaks the unbreakable.

Rory: Wait, wait, wait. We didn't talk about the theme. What if you're not confident about fixing things? So I added in some things, because sometimes we're not sure about these things, and we have to make a guess. So, for example, when Maria asked me what kinds of people like to fix things, I said, Oh, I don't know, really. And then, maybe, here, the maybe part will be important. Because you're just guessing. It's like, in a real conversation, if you have no idea, then you say, Oh, I don't know, but maybe this, or it could be. And in the same way, when I was asked if older people should teach young people how to fix things, I said, Oh, I've never really thought about it. And I've certainly never seen it, but I don't think so. Or I don't see the problem. So here we talk about what we think. We’re not 100% sure, we're just saying our opinion as we see it now. And then, we were asked, we were talking about, Do handmade clothes have more value? And I said, Hmm, it could be. Or, I guess so. But, I'm not sure. And then I said, I'm not well versed in this, so I have no idea. But then, I said, I don't know exactly about the specific things, but just the general things. And I talked about the general things. The generalities. So here you go. It's like a normal conversation. You don't have to be an expert in everything. You can just say, I don't know. And then guess. As long as it's grammatically correct, then you'll be okay.

Maria: Yay! Thank you so much, Rory, for all this guessing and uncertainty. Bye!

Rory: Bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi