Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
I’m Feifei.
Rob: And I’m Rob.
Feifei: And I have to say Rob, you look fantastic!
Big night, tonight, eh?
Rob: Well, I like to make an effort sometimes.
It’s not every night you get invited to a movie premiere.
Feifei: So handsome…
Rob: Do you like my bow tie?
Feifei: Oh yes. Just one thing…
Rob: What’s that?
Feifei: It’s a bit… 'skew-whiff'.
Rob: Oh, really?
Feifei: Yes. It’s not quite straight. Here.
Rob: Oh, thanks. That's better.
Feifei: Absolutely.
Rob: It’s a good word, 'skew-whiff'.
We use it to describe things that aren’t quite straight,
or not quite as they should be.
Feifei: Like your tie. And your…
hang on… your hair.
Rob: No, no, no – don’t touch the hair.
I spent ages getting it just right.
Feifei: Sorry. We can also use 'skew-whiff' to describe
things that don’t go according to plan.
Rob: Now Feifei, I’m just off to check myself
in the mirror.
Let’s play some examples while I’m gone.
A: There we go! One perfectly hung picture.
What do you think?
B: Hmm, it’s a little bit skew-whiff.
Let me hang it straight.
This table is skew-whiff.
One of the legs must be too short.
Our journey went a bit skew-whiff
after we missed the train this morning.
I wanted to spend the whole weekend
working on my dissertation, but
everything went a bit skew-whiff
when my friend arrived in the afternoon.
Rob: This is the English We Speak
from BBC Learning English.
We are talking about the word 'skew-whiff'.
OK, that’s my bow tie looking perfect now,
thanks Feifei.
Feifei: Great. There’s one more thing.
Rob: Oh yes? What’s that?
Feifei: Take some chewing gum. Your breath is fine,
I think, but it’s always good to have some, just in case.
Rob: Yes, you wouldn’t want a whiff of bad breath
at the premiere.
Feifei: Indeed, the word ‘whiff’ on its own means
'a sudden smell of something'.
No danger of that happening now. Enjoy the show!
Rob: I will!
Feifei and Rob: Bye.