Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020

Set 7 - I was ready to call it quits

Simon: A prized networking contact has been rescheduling our coffee meeting—for the fourth time. I’ve been going back and forth for a few week! To say I’d had enough was an understatement. In fact, I was ready to call it quits with this person.

Charles: Sound like you’ve got your share of flip-floppers. I must admit that managing such situations is easier said than done.

Simon: Yeah! That’s a total frustration! My blood boils when receiving yet another “can we reschedule pls?” email, but I step away from my inbox for at least a couple of minutes. You know; I don’t want to send anything you’ll regret later.

Charles: If I were you, I’d turn the tables by emailing the person in question and asking them to let me know when he or she is ready to meet. Hence you become the one to be followed up but not vice versa.

Simon: Yes. My wife tries to take the edge off by saying “Unless you’re meeting up with Bill Gates, there’s no need to wait on anyone. There is plenty of other fish in the networking sea”.

Vocabulary;

prized: (adjective) considered valuable and important.

reschedule: to agree on a new and later date for something to happen.

back and forth: (adjective) in one direction and then another in an alternating fashion.

understatement: a statement that describes something in a way that makes it seem less important, serious, bad, etc. than it really is.

call it quits: to decide to abandon an activity or venture.

flip-flopper: a person who keeps changing his mind and plans.

one’s blood boil: to cause someone to be very angry.

step away: to go away from a place usually for a short distance and for a short time.

turn the tables: reverse one's position relative to someone else, especially by turning a position of disadvantage into one of advantage.

in question: being considered or discussed.

take the edge off: to make something less intense, severe, or unpleasant.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;

1. To say that her resignation was a shock would be an .......... - it caused panic.

2. She told herself to step .......... after being ridiculed, but her legs refused to move.

3. One of the gallery's most .......... possessions is the portrait of Ginevra da Vinci.

4. The union and management are still going back and .......... in the contract negotiation.

5. I .......... my doctor's appointment for later in the week.

6. The boy in .......... was the same who had asked me whether there was something called a dry martini.

7. We won't be having lunch for another hour, but if you're hungry now, I've got some snacks to take the .......... off.

8. Rather than marking her own body or equating power with money, Theresa turned the .......... by seeking revenge on an exboyfriend who had sexually abused her.

9. Peter was fed up with his job and decided to call it ..........

10. I made a big mistake by taking Lucy at her word. She tuned out to be a flip -..........

11. The fact that he embezzled money from the company for years just makes my .......... boil.

1. understatement 2. away 3. prized 4. forth 5. rescheduled 6. question 7. edge 8. tables 9. quits 10. flopper 11. blood