ESL podcast 877 – cheering someone up

English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

GLOSSARY
Pollyanna – the main character in the 1913 novel Pollyanna; someone who is
always happy, cheerful, and optimistic
* Ingrid is such a Pollyanna that anyone near her begins smiling and laughing.
to spread good cheer – to be happy and make other people feel happy through
what one says and does
* Each year around Christmas time, they deliver cookies to all their neighbors as
a way to spread good cheer.
to wake up on the wrong side of the bed – to be in a very bad mood, possibly
without an explanation, for an entire day, from the moment one wakes up
* I’m sorry you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but please don’t take it out
on us!
make that – a phrase used to correct what one has just said, especially when
talking about quantities
* I’ll have an 8-ounce coffee, please. No, make that an 16-once coffee.
to go (one’s) way – to proceed as one had planned or as one would like; to be
successful and pleasing to someone
* Nothing is going my way today! I spilled coffee on my shirt, lost my keys, and
accidentally deleted the report I’d been working on. What else could possibly go
wrong?
to cheer up – to become happier; to improve one’s attitude or outlook
* Maybe this joke will help you cheer up!
every cloud has a silver lining – a phrase used to mean that every bad thing
that happens has at least some good part, or that nothing is completely negative
* It’s too bad you lost your job, but maybe you’ll find a better one. Remember,
every cloud has a silver lining.

to cry over spilled milk – to be very disappointed and continue to think about
something bad that happened, when one has no control over it and cannot undo
it
* They lost a lot of money in the stock market, but there’s no use crying over
spilled milk. They’ll just have to work even harder now.

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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

to spare (someone) – to stop doing something to someone; to stop giving
someone a certain kind of information or explanation, because he or she finds it
unpleasant or boring
* Please, spare me the lecture. I know smoking is dangerous, but I just can’t
stop.
platitude – an expression or statement that is very common and has been heard
many times, and is no longer interesting or helpful
* Julian wanted to be inspiring, but he could only think of platitudes, like, “Today
is the first day of the rest of your life.”
to wallow – to enjoy being sad, trying to get attention or sympathy from other
people
* I’m sorry your favorite mirror broke, but that’s no reason to wallow in tears.
misery – extreme suffering and sadness, especially resulting from being sick or
not having enough money

* Their inability to buy food and clothing for their children brings them misery.
practice makes perfect – a phrase used to mean that one should do something
many times to learn how to do it very well, or that if one practices enough, one
will learn to do it well
* The first year of playing violin was really hard, but practice makes perfect and
now he’s pretty good.
plenty of fish in the sea – a phrase used to mean that there are many single
men and women with whom one can have a relationship, or that there are many
other possibilities for a romantic relationship
* Trent was sad for a little while after his girlfriend left him, but he knew there
were plenty of fish in the sea and he was looking forward to dating other women.
not the end of the world – a phrase used to give someone comfort and help
that person understand that life will continue, even though a bad or sad thing has
happened
* Yes, you lost your job, but it’s not the end of the world. You can wake up
tomorrow and start looking for something different.
to slam – to close very noisily, with a lot of force
* Please don’t slam the door when you leave. The baby is sleeping.

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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.
a)
b)
c)

What would a Pollyanna do?
Spread good cheer.
Wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
Wallow in misery.

2.
a)
b)
c)

Why does Eleanor say, “there are plenty of fish in the sea”?
Because she thinks Porter will be able to date other women.
Because she wants to take Porter to a seafood restaurant.
Because she thinks Porter should take a beach vacation.

______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to go (one’s) way
The phrase “to go (one’s) way,” in this podcast, means for things to proceed as
one had planned or as one would like, or for things to be successful and
pleasing: “We hope the vote will go our way.” The phrase “to go (one’s) way” also
means to travel in the same direction: “Do you need a ride home? I’m going your
way.” The phrase “to go out of (one’s) way” means to do something extraordinary
for another person, going beyond expectations: “Sheila went out of her way to
cook a nice meal, so she was mad when her husband came home too late to eat

it with her.” The phrase “to get (one’s) way” means to be able to do what one
wants, even if other people would like you to do something different: “Her parents
told her not to get a tattoo, but she always gets her way.”
to slam
In this podcast, the verb “to slam” means to close very noisily, with a lot of force:
“Roberto was mad, so he slammed the door, but he didn’t realize that his fingers
were in the way and he almost broke them.” The verb “to slam” also means to put
something on another surface with a lot of force: “Jesse slammed his books onto
the desk so loudly that it sounded like a gun being shot.” Informally, the verb “to
slam” means to criticize or to say bad things about someone or something: “The
company’s decision was slammed by the local newspaper.” Finally, the phrase
“to slam on the brakes” means to stop a car very quickly: “Maria saw a dog in the
road and slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting it, but then the car behind her
hit her.”
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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

CULTURE NOTE
Pollyanna
Pollyanna is a popular and well-known children’s book, but it has a wider
influence among people who have not read the book. Most Americans are
familiar with the story through the movie “adaptations” (portrayals of a book in a
film). The best known “Pollyanna” movies are a 1960 Disney version starring

Hayley Mills and a 1920 version starring Mary Pickford.
Sometimes you might hear people talking about the “Pollyanna Principle.” This is
the idea that there is always something to be “glad” (happy) about, no matter how
bad a situation may seem to be. For example, in the book, Pollyanna talks about
when she was very poor and excited to receive free Christmas gifts, but the only
gift left was a pair of “crutches” (tall metal sticks put under one’s armpits to help
one walk without putting weight on one’s leg). At first she was “disappointed”
(upset that something had not happened), but then she applied the Pollyanna
Principle and decided to be glad that she didn’t have to use the crutches. Some
people try to apply the Pollyanna Principle in their own lives, trying to become
more “optimistic” (believing that good things will happen) and “positive” (thinking
good, happy thoughts).
Between 1915 and 1967, there was a “board game” (a game played while seated
at a table, with a large unfolded piece of cardboard with images and pieces that
are moved on top of it) called The Glad Game, which was based on the
Pollyanna story, but the game is no longer sold in stores.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – a

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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 877: Cheering
Someone Up.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 877. I'm your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California. (That didn't sound very beautiful. I'm sorry.)
Our website is beautiful. It's at ESLPod.com.
This episode is a dialog between Eleanor and Porter, about trying to make
someone happy who is sad, trying to cheer them up. Let's get started
[start of dialog]
Eleanor: Isn’t it a beautiful day? The sun is shining; the birds are singing. It’s
good to be alive!
Porter: Okay, Pollyanna, go spread good cheer somewhere else.
Eleanor: What’s wrong with you? You must have woken up on the wrong side of
the bed.
Porter: I’m just having a bad day – no, make that a bad month. Nothing is going
my way.
Eleanor: Cheer up! Every cloud has a silver lining and it’s no use crying over
spilled milk.
Porter: Spare me your platitudes, and let me wallow in my own misery.
Eleanor: I can’t do that. If your work isn’t going well, then practice makes
perfect. You’ll just do better next time.
Porter: It’s not my work.
Eleanor: Is it your girlfriend? If your girlfriend isn’t being nice to you then there
are plenty of fish in the sea. Don’t you see? Whatever the problem is, it’s not the
end of the world.
Porter: My biggest problem right now is easy to fix.
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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

Eleanor: How?
[Door slams.]
[end of dialog]
Our dialog begins with Eleanor saying to Porter, “Isn't it a beautiful day? The sun
is shining” – the sun is out – “the birds are singing. It's good to be alive!” Eleanor
is very happy, but Porter is not. Porter said, “Okay Pollyanna, go spread cheer
somewhere else.” “Pollyanna” (Pollyanna) is the name of a character from a
novel back in 1913, called Pollyanna. Pollyanna was always happy, always
cheerful, always optimistic. Now it's used to describe someone who's like that.
She's a Pollyanna. It sometimes used as almost an insult, however, to someone
who's too happy, who’s too cheery, who's too optimistic.
“Cheer” (cheer) a noun and a verb. As a verb, it means to make someone happy
who is sad. As a noun, it means happiness. “To spread good cheer” means to
make other people happy by smiling, by talking to them and so forth. That's
spreading good cheer – spreading happiness, giving other people happiness.
Eleanor says, “What's wrong with you? You must have woken up on the wrong
side of the bed.” “To wake up on the wrong side of the bed” means to be in a
very bad mood. I'm not sure exactly why we have this expression. Maybe if you
wake up and you get out of bed on the wrong side, you'll hit a wall or you’ll fall
over or I don't know. But that's the expression – “to wake up on the wrong side of
the bed.” The “bed,” of course, is something that you sleep in at night.
Porter says, “I'm just having a bad day – no, make that a bad month.” The
expression “make that” is used when we want to correct something we just said,
especially if we are talking about numbers.

Porter says that nothing is going his way. “To go your way” means to go as you
have planned it to go, as you want it to go, to be successful at something that
you are attempting to do. That's “to go your way.” Don't confuse this with another
expression, “to go your own (own) way.” “To go your own way” means to do
something different from everyone else, to do something that is not like anyone
else. I think there was actually a song back in the 70’s by Fleetwood Mac.
“You can go your own way. Go your own way.”
I think a woman sang it, though. Anyway…too much coffee today, Jeff!
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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

Porter says that nothing is going his way. Eleanor says “Cheer up” – be happy.
“To cheer up” is a phrasal verb. Like a lot of phrasal verbs, it is used to add
emphasis. Instead of just saying “cheer,” we would say “cheer up.” You’re telling
someone to be happy, to get happier. Eleanor says, “Every cloud has a silver
lining.” This is an old expression, an old saying, “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
A “cloud” is what's up in the sky. That's where rain comes from. The expression
“a silver lining” means something that is good. For a cloud to have a silver lining
means that even if it's a bad thing that is happening, like a cloud where it might
rain, there's something good that may come out of it. It's not completely negative.
There's always some positive things that you can find when something bad
happens. “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
Eleanor is telling Porter that he needs to cheer up because even though he's

having a bad month, something good will come from this bad month. She then
uses another old expression, “It's no use crying over spilled milk.” “It's no use”
means it's no good, it doesn't help you, “crying over spilled milk.” “To cry over
something” is to cry because of something. “Milk” is what you get from, say, a
cow, that you drink. I have milk every morning with my cereal. “Spilled” means
that the milk was in a glass, for example, and you hit the glass and the milk fell
on the ground. That would be “spilled milk.” You spilled it. The expression,
putting all these things together, “It's no use crying over spilled milk,” means it
doesn't help worrying about something that already happened. You can't go back
and change it. You can't go back and do something different. That's not possible.
You can't change history. So, you just have to worry about the future.
Porter says, “Spare me your platitudes and let me wallow in my own misery.”
“Spare (spare) me” means stop doing something, or more typically, stop giving
me this information. Stop talking to me about what you are talking about. I don't
want to hear it anymore. It's uninteresting, or it's boring, or I disagree with it.
Spare me your lecture. Spare me your advice. I don't want to hear it.
Porter says, “Spare me your platitudes.” A “platitude” (platitude) is an expression
or a statement that is very common, that everyone says, and it's no longer very
interesting. It's like saying, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Today is
the day that you will continue living. Well, yes that's true, but it's really not very
interesting. That would be a platitude. Another word for platitude is a “cliché
(cliché). A “cliché” is an expression that everyone uses so that it doesn't really
mean anything anymore.
Porter says to Eleanor, “Let me wallow in my own misery.” “To wallow” (wallow)
means to enjoy being sad, usually because you're trying to get sympathy or
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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

attention from other people. “He wallowed in his sadness.” He sat there looking
sad but in a way hoping other people would notice he was looking sad so they
would pay attention to him. Porter says, “Let me wallow in my own misery.”
“Misery (misery) is suffering, sadness, often because you are sick or you don't
have enough money.
Eleanor says, “I can't do that. If your work isn't going well, then practice makes
perfect.” That's another old expression. “Practice makes perfect” means that if
you do something enough times, you will get better at it. You will get perfect at it.
Eleanor says, “You'll just do better next time.” Porter then says, “It's not my
work.” He’s not sad because of his work. Eleanor says, “Is it your girlfriend? If
your girlfriend isn't being nice to you, then there are plenty of fish in the sea.” The
expression, “There are plenty of fish in the sea (sea)” is used to tell men and
women who are single, who perhaps don't have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, or who
have one that isn't very good, that there are other men and women out there, that
you don't have to just stay with this person, that there are many different fish in
the sea. There are many different men and women that you can go out and find
and date.
Eleanor says, “Don't you see? Whatever the problem is, it's not the end of the
world.” “The end of the world” is a phrase used to mean the worst possible thing
that can happen. But Eleanor says, “It's not the end of the world.” It's a bad thing,
but it's not the worst possible thing that can happen. Porter says, “My biggest
problem right now is easy to fix.” “Easy to fix” means easy to solve. Eleanor says,
“How?” And then we hear the door slam. This is Porter walking away from
Eleanor and slamming the door. When you “slam (slam) the door,” you close it
very loudly so that it makes a loud noise. Usually, we do this when were angry at

someone, or when we’re trying to get away from someone, and Porter, I guess, is
trying to get away from Eleanor
Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
[start of dialog]
Eleanor: Isn’t it a beautiful day? The sun is shining; the birds are singing. It’s
good to be alive!
Porter: Okay, Pollyanna, go spread good cheer somewhere else.
Eleanor: What’s wrong with you? You must have woken up on the wrong side of
the bed.
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ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

Porter: I’m just having a bad day – no, make that a bad month. Nothing is going
my way.
Eleanor: Cheer up! Every cloud has a silver lining and it’s no use crying over
spilled milk.
Porter: Spare me your platitudes, and let me wallow in my own misery.
Eleanor: I can’t do that. If your work isn’t going well, then practice makes
perfect. You’ll just do better next time.
Porter: It’s not my work.
Eleanor: Is it your girlfriend? If your girlfriend isn’t being nice to you then there
are plenty of fish in the sea. Don’t you see? Whatever the problem is, it’s not the
end of the world.

Porter: My biggest problem right now is easy to fix.
Eleanor: How?
[Door slams.]
[end of dialog]
Her scripts usually spread good cheer. I speak of our own scriptwriter, Dr. Lucy
Tse. Thank you, Lucy.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan thank you for listening. Come
back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,
hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. Copyright 2013 by the Center for Educational
Development..

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.