English Notes: The Newsroom

Vocabularies

coincidentally

in a way that results from chance despite being very unlikely

Coincidentally, that's the last time you were a nice guy!

lapse

a temporary failure of concentration, memory, or judgment

The 2,200 pages report a serious lapse by top executives.

gimmick

a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business

... and details the accounting gimmick used by Lehman ...

withheld

refuse to give (something that is due to or is desired by another)

They say the company withheld information.

allergy

a damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially pollen, fur, a particular food, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive

I've just got an allergy.

evacuated

remove (someone) from a place of danger to a safer place

critically

to an extreme degree with a risk of death

The coast guard evacuated seven people all of them critically injured.

blunt

saying what you think without trying to be polite or considering other people's feelings

Gotta/Gonna be blunt.

calamitous

involving calamity(an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster); catastrophic or disastrous

clobber

hit (someone) hard

It can lead to calamitous decisions and clobber any attempts at vigorous debate.

aptly

in a manner that is appropriate or suitable in the circumstances

Deepwater Horizon is aptly named.

yank

pull with a jerk

You can't just yank the pin out of the planet

accuse

charge (someone) with an offense or crime

negligent

failing to take proper care in doing something

homicide

the killing of one person by another

And by the way, you publicly accuse them of negligent homicide and you're wrong, they will take you to court.

ladle

a large long-handled spoon with a cup-shaped bowl, used for serving soup, stew, or sauce

But it's obvious now that you ate it up with a soup ladle.

oversight

an unintentional failure to notice or do something

They have some kind of oversight over offshore drilling.

wardrobe

a large, tall cabinet in which clothes may be hung or stored

supervisor

a person who supervises(observe and direct the execution of (a task, project, or activity)) a person or an activity

Who's our wardrobe supervisor?

catastrophe

an event causing great and usually sudden damage or suffering; a disaster

stain

mark (something) with colored patches or dirty marks that are not easily removed

Breaking news tonight in what could be the biggest disaster to hit the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Katrina and the biggest environmental catastrophe to stain our shores since the crash of the Exxon Valdez.

contingency

a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty

You've got to ask her why there's no contingency.

orchestrated

arrange or direct the elements of (a situation) to produce a desired effect, especially surreptitiously(in a way that attempts to avoid notice or attention; secretively)

You orchestrated the whole thing.

folks

the members of one's family, especially one's parents

Are your folks down in the lobby?

bigot

a person who is obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, especially one who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group

Will McAvoy's a closet bigot who hates immigrants even though this country was founded by immigrants.

attorney

a lawyer

Will is the attorney for both sides.

Expressions

take something out (on somebody)

relieve frustration or anger by attacking or mistreating a person or thing not responsible for such feelings

You took it out on me, you did it in front of the staff, then you took it out on the staff the way you're doing right now.

be schooled in

If you are schooled in something, you have learned about it as the result of training or experience.

He's schooled in evasive tactics.

right the ship

correct a process that is not proceeding properly

I had to right the ship. You know that for this particular job there's no one better.

screw around (= fool around)

cause someone problems, especially by acting unfairly or indecisively

You're too big an asset to screw around with and your focus group data isn't saying what it said three weeks ago.

lose it

lose control of one's temper or emotions

I don't understand why you chose this moment to lose it!

cut to the chase

to talk about or deal with the important parts of a subject and not waste time with things that are not important

Can we cut to the chase? What's in this for you?

screw up (something)

cause something to fail or go wrong

Yeah, they screwed up, Mac! They trusted you!

be one pitch meeting away from

be very close to achieve

You're one pitch meeting away from doing the news in 3-D.

under/in the circumstances

given the difficult nature of the situation

She had every right to be angry under the circumstances.

under/in no circumstances

never, whatever the situation is or might be

Under no circumstances may the child be identified.

roll over on (somebody)

to betray someone by providing information

You're telling me you got not one but two people to roll over on their employers within five minutes?

attaboy

an informal expression of encouragement or admiration to a man or boy

Our boss will write you guys an attaboy.

duke it out (over something)

to compete or argue against each other (about something)

You guys duke it out over who my boss is but I'd like to get this one thing right.

knock something out of the park

do something extremely well

The writers always knock it out of the park with the writing on this show.

glass half-full

an attitude of always thinking about the good things in a situation rather than the bad ones

So, glass half-full. They're offering to help clean up.

get off somebody's back

stop criticising somebody

Would you get off the man's back? Jesus Christ.