ESL Podcast 548 – Working for an Impossible Boss

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8213120

- to mile around ~ to hand around : to be around and doing nothing
Why are all these people milling around doing no work
- to be incompetent : to be unable to do sth (not have ability or skill or knowledge)
You're in charge when I'm out of the office and you're incompetent!
- this is a idiom : if you can put up with heat, just go out of kitchen so that you don't suffer the hot
If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
- constructive criticism : to tell sb things they're doing wrong in order they can do it better and correctly
I would certainly take any constructive criticism, but this is really about your inappropriate behavior.
- to hold your tongue: to not say sth even though you want to
I've held my tongue long enough.
- to go off on sb : to criticize, yell at sb
you go off on me in front of the other employees
- to undermine sb authority : to decrease the amount of power sb has
That undermines my authority and puts me in an impossible position.
- use this expression to show disagreement without making listener angry
With all due respect, this is no way to run a department.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/britain/081028_freshers_week.shtml

- well-respected (n): considered as good
The UK has a well-respected higher education system
- to overwhelm : to cope with difficultly
The UK has a well-respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world. But to those who are new to it all, it can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing.
- academic calendar : a period from one October to the next October when all the lectures, seminars, assignments, exams and extra-curricular activities (i.e. activities which are not part of the usual college course) that a student's life is made up of take place
October is usually the busiest month in the academic calendar.
- to settle into <place> : become familiar with and start feeling comfortable and happy about
It's a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs and settle into university life.
- to blend in : look or seem the same as people around you, fit in with others
- social etiquette : rules of behaviour that are accepted by a certain group of people
blend in. Make sure you are aware of British social etiquette


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Thanks,
Duy Lam