차라리 -해야겠다 Might As Well, 포기하다 Throw in the Towel, 특정 정보를 찾아보다 Look up
Power Warm-up: The Next Flight Is in Two Days!
Jeff and Amanda are frustrated that there isn’t another flight to their destination for two days. They keep trying to find a way there and look at bus and train schedules instead.
Kristen: Right before we started, we had a very interesting conversation about traveling because I asked you hey Cam, now summer, we don’t have travel plans we’re busy right? but in the fall or before the end of the year, are you planning to go somewhere? and tell us tell us what what’s on your mind i.
Cameron: I don’t really have big plans. I mean, maybe I’ll go on like a weekend trip, but I don’t know. I feel that there’s an emphasis on going, traveling all the time. And I mean, yes, like going once a year would be nice. But I feel like for those people, like you see those influencers that are like going on trips all the time. I just feel like that just makes the trip so meaningless. I’d rather focus on making my everyday life a little bit nicer than having to escape and going on travel.
Kristen: I feel, I mean, I’m a big fan of travel. However, I think that if I found, if in my life I’m traveling all the time, I think I would get to a point where I just don’t want to travel.
Cameron: Well, here’s my goal. I want to create a life where I don’t want to travel. Like that should be the goal. Like instead of trying to travel more, I want to like not want to travel. Does that make sense?
Kristen: Wow. It does.
Cameron: It’s like with food. The goal I feel shouldn’t be to try and eat tastier foods, for me I want not care about tasty things.
Kristen: Wow.
Cameron: Like, I would like to try and be happy with, like, bland foods.
Kristen: So you are striving for contentment. You are striving for self-satisfaction. Like you’re not always reaching for some sort of like thing. Like you want to be happy with the way things are. Oh, that’s great.
Cameron: I feel like that’s longer. You know, vacation is great. And like sometimes it’s good to go and relax. But if you’re just using it to escape your life. Escape?
Kristen: Yeah.
Cameron: That’s whenever it gets, for me, would be concerning for myself..
Kristen: All right. Good point thank you for that sharing.
Power Expressions
So we are talking about traveling The next flight is in two days. Now remember, they missed their connecting flight. And the next flight is in two days. Oh my gosh, what do you do? Well, let’s see what happens. Here are some expressions that we’re going to cover. Might as well. Might as well. M-I-G-H-T. Might as well.
Cameron: It means, I don’t have a better idea. Let’s just do it. Okay. This is probably better to do.
Kristen: Oh well, throw in the towel.
Cameron: So you’re quitting. You’re giving up.
Kristen: That’s right. Look up something.
Cameron: You’re researching something, searching for some type of information.
Kristen: Okay, very good. Let’s go ahead and listen to our travel dialogue.
Power Dialog
Jeff: The next flight to Port Morrison is in two days.
Amanda: We might as well call Megan and tell her we won’t be at her wedding.
Jeff: There’s no way we’re throwing in the towel. Let’s see what our options are with buses or trains.
Amanda: Okay. I’ll look up bus routes. You look for trains.
Jeff: The closest train station to Port Morrison will only get us halfway there. It departs in two hours.
Amanda: The shortest bus route is 10 hours long and it leaves in the morning. Let’s catch that train.
Kristen: Here we go. Jeff says, the next flight to Port Morrison is in two days. And Amanda says, we might as well call Megan and tell her we won’t be at her wedding. Okay. Remember, the reason why they’re traveling is to attend a wedding. And Amanda is like, we might as well call Megan. So, what is the tone here?
Cameron: So the meaning of might as well means it’d be a good idea to or it is better to. So Amanda’s kind of given up here. We might as well. It’s good a time as any. We aren’t going to be able to do what we want to do. So we might as well do this. It’s a weird phrase when you try and break it down. Might as well. I don’t think you should try and think of the individual words. Just think of this entire phrase as being, well, I guess this is the best thing to do.
Kristen: Right, right. So I think that this expression, you just have to hear it in example sentences, like how it’s used. So, we might as well stay, you know, home and order pizza. It’s kind of like you had these plans to go out. It didn’t work out and it’s too difficult. Oh, well, we might as well stay home and, you know, order something in. So it is a kind of last option because something failed. (이왕 이렇게 됐으니 –를 할 수밖에 없다.)
Cameron: Yeah, it’s never used in like a happy way.
Kristen: No, it’s not. It’s kind of like the last thing. Oh, well, we might as well. We’ll give you more examples in just a bit. What does Jeff say?
Cameron: There’s no way we’re throwing in the towel. Let’s see what our options are with buses or trains.
Kristen: So Amanda’s like, she gave up. We might as well. But then Jeff is like, uh-uh. There’s no way we’re throwing in the towel. So first of all, there’s no way we’re doing something. This is our power pattern. There’s no way.
Cameron: There’s no way is used to mean like, it’s impossible. Impossible.
Kristen: Yeah.
Cameron: Can’t even think of that. That’s not an option. We have to do this. There’s no way we’re throwing in a towel. We will not throw in the towel.
Kristen: Yeah. So there’s no way is absolutely no, no, no, no. So there’s no way you’re going to that party.
Cameron: There’s no way you’re 50. You look 25.
Kristen: Oh my, thank you, Cameron. You mean that, right?
Cameron: Yes, of course.
Kristen: All right. So throwing in the towel is, as you mentioned, give up.
Cameron: So I think this comes from like boxing or wrestling. Whenever the person was going to give up to end the fight and say, sorry, I’m not good. They would literally take their towel and throw it into the ring. Right. Meaning, okay, it’s over. I give up. You win.
Kristen: So there’s no way we’re throwing in the towel. So, Jeff is just saying it’s we are not giving up. So jeff is saying, OK, let’s see. Can we take a bus or train? And Amanda says, OK, I’ll look up bus routes. You look for trains. When you look up certain information, what are you doing?
Cameron: So look up is an interesting phrase. It has a few different meanings. But here, look up means that you are searching for something specific. You’re searching. It’s not like broad research. It’s not like look into. Look up means, oh, I need one thing. about something. So, this is the bus routes. I need this specific information. It’s not that you’re not going to look into bus routes because that would mean that you are searching and reading about everything. But look up means I need one specific route. Okay. I need one specific bus route or route and I will find that.
- Look up something specific: 특정한 정보를 찾아보다.
- Look into something broad: 광범위하고 일반적인 정보를 찾아보다.
Kristen: Okay, great. And Jeff says the closest train station to Port Morrison will only get us halfway there (목적지까지 절반만 가다). It departs in two hours. Okay, so train station is still far from Port Morrison. Okay, it’ll only take them halfway. It departs, and departs is our power vocab.
Cameron: To depart is a fancier word for leaving. To leaving a location.
Kristen: Yeah. I mean, you can say it leaves in two hours. Why do you think we use the word depart?
Cameron: Because it’s French and fancy.
Kristen: Depart..
Cameron: Yeah, it really kind of is. It feels a little more official. So, for things like trains where there is an official schedule, you would say depart more often. You could also say at the end of a party at a friend’s house, I’m sorry, I have to depart. But there’s a, it’s like, why did you not just say leave? Why are you saying depart? It sounds like you’re trying to be extra formal or fancy (격식있는 표현).
Kristen: So when we’re speaking of like an official schedule, train schedule, bus schedule, flight schedule, they often use this word depart and arrive. Amanda says what?
Cameron: Well, the shortest bus route is 10 hours long and it leaves in the morning. Let’s catch that train.
Kristen: So here’s the thing in America is that if you’re going to take the bus, be ready for a very, very long ride.
Cameron: Oh yeah.
Kristen: Because America is a very big country.
Cameron: Well, I mean, Seoul to Busan, the bus is five hours, maybe? Four or five hours? Yeah. That is the same state for me. Yeah. Like, you don’t get out of Arkansas.
Kristen: Oh yeah, California too.
Cameron: I mean, top to bottom…
Cameron: It’s like two days.
Kristen: Probably, yeah. Yeah.
Cameron: Don’t take the bus in America.
Kristen: Let’s go ahead and listen to that one more time.
Power Dialog
Jeff: The next flight to Port Morrison is in two days.
Amanda: We might as well call Megan and tell her we won’t be at her wedding.
Jeff: There’s no way we’re throwing in the towel. Let’s see what our options are with buses or trains.
Amanda: Okay. I’ll look up bus routes. You look for trains.
Jeff: The closest train station to Port Morrison will only get us halfway there. It departs in two hours.
Amanda: The shortest bus route is 10 hours long and it leaves in the morning. Let’s catch that train.
Power Note
1. Might as well 뜻, 뉘앙스:
딱히 내키지는 않지만, —할 수 밖에 없네.
정 그러면 – 해야겠지.
이왕 이렇게 됐으니 까짓거 –하는 것이 좋겠다. 차라리 –나 해야겠다.
Kristen: It’s time for a power note. We’re on page eight, pages 88 and 89. So this expression might as well. It’s a feeling of like, okay, well, this is kind of our last option. It didn’t work out. So, let’s do this.
1)
A: Do you feel like cooking?
B: Not really. We might as well go out to dinner.
Okay. Yeah. I mean, the house is a mess. We have so much to do.
Kristen: We don’t have much time. I’m tired.
Cameron: Yeah. Might as well just go to dinner.
2) I might as well get some cash from the ATM while I’m here.
Cameron: It wasn’t what I planned. This one is maybe a little more neutral. Yeah. But it’s…온김에
Kristen: While I’m here.
Cameron: Here it’s more of like an 온김에. like oh we might as well get some cash. I mean I don’t know if I’ll need it but you know sure I’m at the bank.
Kristen: Okay, yeah, I might as well. Right, so there is that meaning. Like 온김에, I might as well buy this since I’m here.
Cameron: It wasn’t my plan.
Kristen: Original plan.
Cameron: Yeah. I mean, I might use this for, like, let’s say you do go on vacation and you have option A, B, and C.
Kristen: Yeah.
Cameron: C is the most expensive. “Ah, we might as well get option C when ever we gonna do this again?” Oh. You know when you go on vacation and you just buy the most expensive option.
Kristen: It’s so strange how when you’re on vacation, money is the least of your worries. Like you feel like you have to spend it.
Cameron: Yeah.
Kristen: When you’re on vacation.
Cameron: There’s no like being economical. No savings.
Kristen: Oh, that’s right. It’s like, let’s have this. How often are we going to have?
Cameron: Let’s buy the third dessert.
Kristen: Let’s do it. Let’s buy that extra scarf.
Cameron: Yeah. Might as well, you’re here!
Kristen: Might as well. That is a feeling that we get with this experience.
Cameron: There is that, yeah, it’s kind of like the giving up on the, I guess, decision-making process. Some here, sure.
Kristen: Might as well!
Cameron: Might as well. Why not? Why not?
2. Throw in the towel: 포기하다. 항복하다. 그만두다
Kristen: What? Yes, it has that feeling. Okay, throw in the towel, of course, is when you quit doing something and it’s really difficult so you’re just like, Ugh, enough, I give up.
1)
A: You win. I’m too tired to keep playing.
B: Are you throwing in the towel already? We’ve only been playing for an hour.
Cameron: You know when like, so like maybe you’re playing like a board game or video games. And it’s like your first time to play. But your friend, it’s like their favorite game. And they’re so good. Yeah. And they just beat you over and over and over and over again.
Kristen: That’s no fun.
Cameron: You just want to throw in the towel.
Kristen: Of course you do.
Cameron: When they just like annihilate you (전멸시키다. 완파하다), they just completely.
Kristen: Destroy you.
Cameron: Destroy you in the game.
Kristen: See, I feel like that is no fun. When you play a game, there has to be some give and take. Like there’s got to be like one person wins, you lose twice, you win once. But if that one person keeps winning, no one wants to play.
Cameron: You know, they found that even dogs do thisSo, like, puppies, when they play, the weaker puppy has to win at least 30% of the time. Or the puppy will stop playing. So the stronger puppy, and often it’s the male puppy, will pretend to lose.
Kristen: You’re kidding!
Cameron: Like, take a submissive reposition. Yeah, they’ve like researched it.
Kristen: That’s fascinating.
Cameron: So that the other puppy doesn’t throw in the towel and just like not play anymore.
Kristen: Is a high level of SQ?
Cameron: Isn’t it?
Kristen: Oh, my goodness. So humans, you know, you may be really good at chess, but don’t win every game. No one wants to, no one’s going to want to play with you. Okay.
2) This book has been so hard to write. I think I’m going to throw in the towel.
Cameron: Yeah, when you’re writing books, it’s not easy. I mean, you know from writing a book every month.
Kristen: Oh, it’s painful.
Cameron: But like novelists that are like writing like a story or whatever, it looks fun, but it’s not.
Kristen: They say like it takes 10 years. Like some authors, they’re like, oh, it took me 10 years to write that book.. Can you imagine?
Cameron: Got to get all the words just right.
Kristen: Okay, so if you feel everyone that your English is not improving as quickly as you would like, don’t throw in the towel. Don’t give up. Don’t give up because really language You need to give it plenty of time.
Cameron: Oh, yeah.
3. look up something: 특정 정보를 찾아보다
Kristen: Okay. All right. Look up something means to do a search for something specific. Yes.
1)
A: If you have time, can you look up some airplane ticket prices for me?
B: Only if you’re taking me with you.
2) I’m looking up recipes for peanut butter cookies.
Cameron: Aha, so you have a very specific thing that you want to know, so you are, let’s be honest, probably getting on the internet. But I guess technically you could go to the library.
Kristen: Well, no, it’s the internet.
Cameron: No. You don’t look up books
Kristen: You know what I do for fun sometimes? Because, you know, like I look up plane tickets. I’m not going anywhere. I look up hotel reservations. I’m not going to a hotel, but it’s fun.
Cameron: I look up house prices.
Kristen: Look up highs okay I do that too I do that too yeah different cities yeah so that’s kind of a fun thing to do.
4. There is no way –: –할 일은 없다. 절대 안된다. 불가능하다.
okay all right power pattern there’s no way which means uh-uh it’s not happening.
Cameron: It’s impossible.
Kristen: Okay.
1) There’s no way the other team can win now.
Cameron: We’re up by 500 points.
Kristen: Yeah.
Cameron: It’s soccer. Yeah, there’s no way.
Kristen: There’s no way.
2) There’s no way to get to the other side of the mountain in this storm.
Kristen: It’s impossible yeah yeah there’s no way okay or there’s no way you’re gonna beat me. I mean this is a very useful power pattern.
5. Depart: 출발하다. (격식있는 표현)
okay power vocab is depart yeah which means it’s just a fancy way of saying leave but I would not recommend it in everyday conversation yeah it’s very.
Cameron: Much for official stuff, trains, planes.
Kristen: I’m departing now (haha)
Cameron: I am departing.
Kristen: No.
Cameron: A person like me, I might say, Let us depart.
Kristen: Yes, just to be fun.
Cameron: Just to be fun.
진퇴양난 영어로 Up A Creek Without A Paddle, 소용이 없다 It’s No Use (0709 파워 잉글리쉬 스크립트) (enko.co.kr)