Hello, everyone. Nesse episódio do podcast Inglês Online eu falo sobre uma expressão com a palavra black.
Transcrição
Hey, all. What’s up? Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.
Let’s focus today on a couple of idiomatic expressions with the word black. A very simple word, right? One that even beginners learn very fast. Actually, even people who have never studied English sometimes know this word. There are several expressions with the word black in them and today we take a look at a few of them.
Have you ever passed out in public? To pass out means to become unconscious. And we can also say “black out”. As in, “Yesterday I blacked out during dance class”. That means, I lost consciousness; all of a sudden, pouf! I was unconscious. Has that ever happened to you? Not to me, but… almost. It almost happened once during an exercise class. I think I didn’t eat much before the class, and, you know, exercising on an empty stomach is not a good idea… I started to feel weaker and weaker, but then I just sat on a chair, and then I felt better. I didn’t black out or anything.
People also use “black out” to mean that they forgot everything related to a particular event. For example, some war veterans say they blacked out what happened on a particular day, or a battle. That means they don’t remember, they don’t have any recollection of what happened that day.
Some people use “blacking out” as an excuse… For example, I found a post on some forum by a woman who said she “blacked out during lunch”. She didn’t pass out during lunch or anything. She said she was driving home, ready to make herself a healthy meal for lunch, when all of a sudden she finds herself at the parking lot of a fast-food chain, eating a big hamburger with a side of fries. And then she said I blacked out. I have no idea how this happened. It was very strange.
She was joking, of course. On her way home, she felt like stopping by the fast food place and having a burger and fries instead of the healthy meal she’d been planning to cook. So she joked that she had blacked out during lunch, she had no idea how she ended up at the fast food place, she couldn’t remember what happened.
See, this is different from simply not remembering something because it happened a long time ago. Sometimes you don’t remember exactly how something happened just because you were not paying attention, or because it’s been a long time. In the case of the war veteran, he can’t remember anything because it was probably a very traumatic experience so he blacked it out.
In the case of this woman – the woman who had burger and fries – she’s saying that for reasons she doesn’t understand, she blacked out when she was driving home, and had fast food. She has no idea what happened, because she blacked out. That way, it looks like it wasn’t her fault that she didn’t eat the healthy meal. Of course, “she blacked out” here doesn’t mean she passed out – after all, she managed to drive to the fast food place. It just means that she can’t remember what happened between the car and the parking lot, when she found herself eating burger and fries.
And have you ever blacked out, or passed out, in public? By the way, where were you during the last “blackout”? I was having coffee in a cafe. Talk to you next time.
Key expressions
black out ( = pass out)
black out ( = have no recollection)
Glossary
when she found herself eating = quando ela se viu comendo
during the last blackout = durante o último apagão
Ana criou um blog de dicas de inglês em 2006, e depois de muito pesquisar o que faz alguém ganhar fluência numa segunda língua, criou seu primeiro curso de inglês em 2009.
When I was teen, I was in line at bus station to buy some bus ticket when I felt bad. I had been waiting there for about 30 minutes. Later, I had seat close to me and blacked out for few minutes. When I woke up, I went to the restaurant to have something to eat. I ate a candy with much suggar on it. After buying my tickets, I went home and had lunch. It was a bad situation.
Blackout is very common in my town. Although they are fast, annoy a lot people. When I’m in the job and they happen, often I need recover part of my work at computer.
A few years ago I was going to my bed when I felt something strange happening to me.
My head was like flying, i was getting weaker and weaker, then I passed out.
when I woke up I was with my parents around me asking me ” hey are you ok?..”
