Neil: Hello, welcome to ‘How to…’ with me, Neil Edgeller. In this
programme we’ll take a look at how to gossip; that is how to talk about other people’s private lives. Perhaps you’ve heard a rumour – an interesting piece of news that may or may not be true – and you really want to tell someone else.
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Have you heard about Mike?
I’ve got the juiciest bit of gossip ever
Have you heard the latest gossip?
Neil: So how do you do it? How do you start that kind of conversation? Find out how to gossip in this week’s How to…
Neil: The other night I met up with some old friends and colleagues from my previous job. We started chatting about people we used to work with and they had some very interesting news about some of our former colleagues, Mike and Sue, who are both married… but to other people, not to each other. Listen to what my friend Kate tells me. What’s the news? Here’s a clue: she uses the word ‘snog’, which means a very long kiss.
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Listen, don’t tell anyone else, ok, because if word gets out people will know it’s me who told you, but the thing is, have you heard about Mike? Well, wait till I tell you, you’ll never guess what I saw last week. I was just coming out of the building and they were having a huge snog. Can you believe it?
Neil: Well, that is interesting news… Kate says she was leaving work one night and she saw Mike and Sue having a snog – a very long and intimate kiss. It’s information which Mike and Sue want to keep a secret. How did Kate start the conversation? She said “Listen, don’t tell anyone else, ok…” This is a typical way to start gossiping. You don’t want people to find out you have been talking about them. Listen again.
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Listen, don’t tell anyone else, ok, because if word gets out people will know it’s me who told you, but the thing is, have you heard about Mike?
Neil: Gossip is secret, but it also makes an exciting conversation. Listen to what Kate says to build up the excitement.
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…you’ll never guess what I saw last week.
Neil: “You’ll never guess what I saw last week.” You can use ‘You’ll never guess…’ when you want to introduce some exciting news or gossip. And did you hear how she ended the story? She made a comment about the gossip. She said “Can you believe it”.
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Can you believe it?
Neil: Now, this piece of gossip about Mike and Sue’s affair is very popular with my friends at the moment. Each one of them I spoke to told me the same story. Have a listen to David. What phrase does he use to introduce the gossip?
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Hey Neil, come here. Have you heard the latest gossip? Well, it turns out Sue is having an affair with Mike. I know — she’s only been married two years. Don’t tell anyone, you know. I don’t like to spread gossip.
Neil: He says, “Have you heard the latest gossip?” Then he tells me about Mike and Sue’s affair, and at the end he says “Don’t tell anyone”. Just like my first friend, he doesn’t want people to know he’s been gossiping. Listen again.
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Hey Neil, come here. Have you heard the latest gossip? Well, it turns out Sue is having an affair with Mike. I know — she’s only been married two years. Don’t tell anyone, you know. I don’t like to spread gossip.
Neil: My last friend, Jane, is a real gossip. She absolutely loves gossiping, so she’s extremely excited about this news about Mike and Sue. Listen to how she describes the gossip.
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I’ve got the juiciest bit of gossip ever, but obviously you didn’t hear it from me. You know Mike and you know Sue? They’re seeing each other!
Neil: She says she’s got the “juiciest bit of gossip ever”. We can call very interesting gossip ‘juicy’. This is very common, but quite informal. And just like my other two friends, she doesn’t want people to know she knows, so she says “you didn’t hear it from me”. In other words, if I tell anyone else about Mike and Sue, I mustn’t tell them I heard it from Jane. Here she is again.
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I’ve got the juiciest bit of gossip ever, but obviously you didn’t hear it from me. You know Mike and you know Sue? They’re seeing each other!
Neil: So, to recap. If you want to tell someone some gossip, you should use a phrase which makes the story exciting.
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…you’ll never guess what I saw last week
I’ve got the juiciest bit of gossip ever.
You’ll never guess what I’ve just heard.
Neil: But you need to be careful too. Remember that you don’t want to be caught gossiping, so you need a phrase like one of these.
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Listen, don’t tell anyone else, ok.
…you didn’t hear it from me.
Don’t tell anyone, you know. I don’t like to spread gossip.
Neil: That’s all for this How to…Next time you have some juicy gossip I hope you have the right phrases to tell someone. But whatever you do, don’t tell anyone I told you.