Here’s a story about some girls talking about this and that. They’re enjoying the time they can spend together. It’s time to clink glasses.
girls from left to right: Dianne, Evelyn, Emma, Sophia, Abigail
Dianne: I would like to propose a toast to our friendship.
Emma: Oh, sparkling wine, excellent.
Sparkling wine is wine with bubbles. You can use the adjective SPARKLING also with nonalcoholic drinks, like SPARKLING JUICE.
Sophia: Let’s clink glasses and then gulp it all down. Cheers!
Evelyn: Sorry, girls, I can’t drink with you.
Abigail: Come on, Evelyn, don’t be such a shrinking violet, drink with us.
Evelyn: You know I’m no shrinking violet when it comes to drinking, it’s just because I’m still breast-feeding.
Abigail: Oh, I get it. Speaking of violet… I like your funky dress. It must have cost you a fortune.
Evelyn: I’m out $2000, but at least I’m dressed to kill.
The verb TO KILL means to take someone’s life, but it’s also used in many expressions where it doesn’t have this terrible meaning. DRESSED TO KILL is one of them. Another is TO KILL TIME. Do you know any other idioms or expressions with this verb? If so, write them down below in the comments.
Dianne: I wish I had gotten one for myself. My dress also cost an arm and a leg, but I still look like a frump.
Emma: No, you don’t look like a frump. I mean, maybe just a little.
OK, looks like Emma said a few words too much. She should have said:
No, you don’t look like a frump PERIOD
Dianne: Oh, Emma, I forgot to tell you. I like your new wig, it looks almost like natural hair.
A wig is artificial hair. Here are some examples of wigs.
Emma: Maybe because this is natural hair. Dianne: You must have used a whole can of hair spray to keep it in place, right?
Emma: No, Dianne, I don’t use hair spray. I usually keep my hair in curlers/rollers for the night, but today I just used a curling iron.
Here you can see curlers.
Do you wear any?
Or maybe you use a curling iron like the one shown here?
Anyway, Dianne wants to enjoy the meeting. She doesn’t want to argue anymore.
Dianne: That’s fine, I like your hair. So, girls, what about a shot of whisky?
Vocabulary
| propose a toast | to say that you wish a person future health, happiness, and success and ask others to raise their glasses and join in a drink |
| sparkling | containing bubbles |
| clink glasses | to make or cause sth to make a short, sharp sound that is made when glass or metal objects hit each other, to touch glasses |
| gulp down | to eat or swallow sth quickly or in large amounts |
| cheers | – used as a toast to wish everyone happiness |
| shrinking violet | a person who is very shy |
| breast-feed | to feed a baby from a mother’s breast |
| funky | unconventionally stylish |
| cost a fortune | to cost a lot of money |
| I’m out… | = I’ve spent… |
| dressed to kill | wearing very fancy or attractive clothes |
| cost an arm and a leg | to be very expensive |
| frump | a woman who wears unattractive clothes or does not make an effort to appear attractive |
| wig | artificial hair that you wear on your head because you are bald or in order to change your appearance |
| hair spray | a liquid sprayed on the hair to keep it in place after styling |
| curler / roller | a small plastic or metal tube around which hair is wrapped to make it curl |
| curling iron | a device with a long metal part that is heated to curl hair |
| shot | a small amount of a drink and especially a strong alcoholic drink |