Do You Understand This Dialogue?

Hello Liana, thanks for your comments. Let’s discover the meaning together. Literally, when someone is giving a baby a bath, the water will become dirty.  Therefore, you want to get rid of (throw away) the dirty water, but not the baby.  When used as a phrase, the speaker is making a distinction between the overall good portion of something and the unacceptable part of it.  They are encouraging the person not to get rid of the whole project, just purge out the unacceptable part. In the case of the dialogue, the rookie artist made a mistake and wanted to throw the whole painting away.  However, the skillful artist saw the value of the whole painting and was not focusing on the part where a mistake was made.  In his mind, he would use his creativity to paint the mistake into the picture in such a way to make it an acceptable part of the painting, thus, saving the painting! This is a commonly used phrase in conversational English, I hope this helps your understanding.

Hello Mr. Alston. First of all thank you very much for such an interesting lessons. But i am sorry i can’t understand the meaning of this dialogue. Please help me to understand it. thank you. with regards ,  Liana.

Dialogue No. 7 – A novice artist was painting a picture and was almost finished, then he made a mistake.  He got so upset, he was going to destroy the painting and start over.  However, an experienced artist told him, “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water…!” What did he mean, “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water?”

Thank you sir!

Daishengchao,

Literally you are correct! Since 6 on one side of the equation is the same as half-a-dozen (12/2=6) on the other side of the equation, the result is the same.  Therefore, what the speaker is saying is that if the lady asking for directions to City Hall takes the surface street or freeway it’s about the same distance.

Another example: If a person walks around a building in a clock-wise direction and then walks around the same building in a counter-clockwise direction, the direction travelled doesn’t matter, it’s the same distance (six on one, half a dozen on the other), now you got the meaning of the phrase!

I just posted an additional message on my profile page which states in part:”use English to develop an analytical and innovative mind”

This is an example of what I meant, because there are many ways to express yourself in English and “think outside the box” (outside of the structure of English).

Great job Daishengchao!

Do you mean to say that the distance are equal: 6 = 12/2, right sir?

Here is a hint to this dialogue meaning: using an equation

Dialogue No. 6

There was a lady who visited a new city and wanted to know where the City Hall building was located.  So, she asked someone, “can you direct me to City Hall?”

The person answered, “yes, you can take Main Street north until it ends or you can jump on the freeway, go north, come off at the last exit and go left.  Either way, it’s six on one, half a dozen on the other!  Have a nice day!”

What did the person mean by saying: “six on one, half a dozen on the other?”

Dialogue No. 5 Explanation:

Okay Everyone, here is the meaning:

Literally speaking, when a farmer tosses out an ear of corn or some other feed, certain animals will immediately try to devour what was thrown out.

When using this phrase, the person is saying that you shouldn’t be intimidated by someone just because they make a threatening type of statement.

In the example given, the landlord didn’t say he was going to raise the rent, he said he may raise the rent or he may not raise it, pending the reaction he received from them.

In other words, if he senses they are complaining about it and threaten to move, then he wouldn’t raise it. However, if he senses they received it calmly, then he probably would raise it.

Politicians are known for using this tactic, which is called sending up a “trial balloon.”  That is what the landlord was doing, however, Shelly responded to her husband that they were going to stand firm and send the signal that if the landlord raises the rent, they’re moving! The landlord doesn’t want that response, therefore, the answer to him from the results of sending up the trial balloon is to not raise their rent.

To native speakers, we would say they’re playing “hard ball” with the landlord.

Briefly, here’s the meaning of the two phrases “trial balloon” and “hard ball.”

Trial balloon= Sending out information to judge the response of someone.

Playing hard ball= Being strong or aggressive with someone in response to their similar action. 

I plan to explain these two phrases in Mini Lesson No. 18 which I write in the Teacher’s Forum. 

I hope this story will add to your knowledge of how native speakers speak.

Until next time, add informality to formality in learning English.

Dialogue No. 5

A landlord wants to raise the rent of an apartment rented by two of his best tenants, Gene and Shelley. However, he understands they may object and move to another place, which he cannot afford for them to do.  So he tells Gene in the conversation below:

Landlord:  Hello Gene, you and Shelley have been very good tenants, but I may have to raise the rent at the renewal of your lease.

Gene: I'll tell my wife about it.

Gene to Shelley:  Our landlord just informed me that he may have to raise our rent at the next lease renewal.

Shelly:  Just because our landlord tosses out an ear of corn doesn't mean we have to jump! 

Gene: Right!

What did Shelley mean by her statement?  Try to determine the meaning strictly by the context.

You're welcome TranceGirl and welcome aboard!

what can i say…good to know:)!

thanks!

You're welcome!

Hello Everyone,

Here is the answer to Dialogue No. 4:

John is saying to his teacher that his self-assessment of his writing skills are satisfactory (not great but acceptable), however, his wife can "run rings around" him, which means she is a much better writer than he is.

Running rings around someone or something means someone can do something much better than what you are comparing it to.

Here's an exaggerated example:

"In a race, a rabbit can run rings around a turtle!"

Since I've already started explaining this phrase, I'll go ahead and put it on the list for one of my mini lessons on "Understanding American English Phrases" in the near future.  This is a commonly used phrase in conversational English.

Dear Students,

Here is a hint for you: John is speaking of his wife as a writer.

Dialogue No.4:

John says to his English Composition teacher:

"I hold my own as a writer, but my wife can run rings around me!"

What is John saying to his teacher?

Tuongthieu and Criz search you are both correct!

The employer informed the employee that from her first day she was expected to start performing her jobs with urgency and without delay.  This phrase is used when there is work piling up and the next person has to complete various jobs to bring it to a normal condition.

Concerning the use of the term "company," it's used in a generic sense and not the actual type of business form. You both did a good job in determining the meaning from the context which you should develop before reaching for a dictionary.  If it makes common sense to complete the thought, then you may be correct or close to it.

In my opinion, the employer asked the new employee to concentrate and work with highest effect right from her 1st day.

Teacher, how do you distinguish : Company ; Corporation ; Incorporation ; Enterprise ? Thanks.

The goal of these dialogues is to help you determine the meaning by the context.  Here is Dialogue No. 3.

An employer says to a new employee:

"We are delighted to have you start working for our company, there is a lot of important work in your position.  We need for you to hit the ground running from Day 1!"

What did the employer want her to do?

It was a joke and the punchline was when the falling man answered "so far, so good" taking comfort in the present when in the end he's going to crash.  However to a native speaker it would be in response to a normal greeting of: "how's it going?," the other person may say, "so far, so good" then you could tell the joke and get a laugh.

No solid formal answer, just having informal fun between individuals to lighten the day.