Vocabulary: "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show"

--We didn't watch this on Tuesday because of DVD player problems. We didn't watch this on Thursday because it would have lasted past the end of the class and I had already made you stay late in the first two hours.

Bungee jump: A sport in which you jump off a bridge with a cord around your waist. The cord stops you from hitting the ground. It's supposed to be fun, but I've never done it.

"stinking up...": Doing a bad job. "His acting stunk up the theater."

crash-land: ending badly. "His paper crash-landed because he didn't put enough effort into writing the conclusion."

focus group: This a a group of people recruited by businessmen. The focus group watches a new movie or television show or product and shares their feelings about the movie or show or product.

poison: Something bad. "Box office poison," for example, would be a person who would make a movie not make money if he appears in it. "Keanu Reeves is box office poison: none of his movies makes money." "He is classroom poison: anytime he is in class, the class is bad."

creaky: something that doesn't work well; it might also be old. "I can't job because I have a creaky knee." "The movie is bad because the plot is creaky."

acclaimed: considered very good, usually by critics. "Jay Chou is an acclaimed singer."

speedo: A small swimsuit worn by men.

"real-life problems": problems that most people experience. "I like movies that look at real-life problems."

"Far-out situations": unusual experiences or actions.

realistic: Something that might happen like it happens in real life. "The violence in this movie is realistic: it is scary to watch and not cool."

"down to Earth": Relaxed and not arrogant. "Even though Jolin is very famous, she is down to Earth and nice to her fans."

"off the wall": Unusual or silly. "This television show has an off the wall sense of humor."

"swarming with": There is a lot of something in a place or thing. "The night market is swarming with customers."

"You saved....": You found a way to make something better, or you helped prevent something bad from happening. "You saved my life. Thank you."

egghead: A nerd. A person who is smart but doesn't communicate with people well.

dramaturgical: Related to drama (acting, theater, etc.)

dyad: A relationship between two things.

pretentious: Overly intellectual. "His taste in movies is pretentious: He only likes slow movies and can't enjoy a good, fun, stupid movie."

gangster: Slang meaning that something is cool. Usually pronounced "gangsta". It's hard to use this word without sounding silly.

predictable: You can tell what will happen next. "This movie is so predictable. It's obvious that Jim is Todd's father."

Cerberus: A wolf in Greek mythology that guards the gates of Hades (Hell).

in-your-face: Something or someone is loud and confrontational. "Not everyone likes her in-your-face teaching style."

edgy: Unusually challenging or shocking. "This is an edgy television show. It was the first show to have characters curse on television."

proactive: Always doing something. "To succeed in business, you have to be proactive: you can't wait for people to come to you."

paradigm: A way of thinking, or a way of seeing the world. "Most of the Western world looks at global trade from a free market paradigm."

buzzwords: Popular words that people use in certain industries: business, politics, entertaining, etc.

context: The situation in which something takes place. "This movie looks at love from the context of third-world childhood experience."

schmear: A Yiddish (European Jewish language) expression meaning "a small amount of." Similar to "smear".

open casting: When a movie or TV show or advertisement lets anyone try out for a role in the show or movie or ad. "She wants her daughter to be famous, so she takes her to every open casting call."

"What are you smoking?": "Why are you acting so stupid?" (The idea is that someone is being so strange that he must be on drugs.)

Perfection: When something is made excellent through a lot of effort and practice. Also the verb form, "perfect." "She wanted to perfect her hot and sour soup. After she added some more salt, her soup reached perfection."

tongue twister: A sentence that is very hard to say. People use it to practice speech or to "warm up" before speaking. A popular tongue twister is on the episode: "She sell sea shells down by the seashore." Try to say this very fast. Homer screws it up badly.

experience: Having worked at something for a long time. "He has twenty years of experience teaching."

strain: Something that causes physical or mental stress or pain. "Finals' Week is a great strain on students. They often can't sleep because of the stress."

withdraw: To remove oneself from something. "I had to withdraw from school because I was sick."

stoked: Excited. "I was stoked when I heard the new Indiana Jones movie was coming out."

"to the extreme": With great intensity. Not a term people use much.

"worst...ever": A sarcastic way to say that you don't like something. The opposite is "best...ever." "That was the worst class ever."

rest assured: You can be certain of something. "Rest assured, I will work hard for your company if you hire me."

What right do you have...?: Why do you think you have the authority to do something? "What right do you have to tell me what to do?"

Fundamental shifts: A change that affects the nature of something. "With fundamental shifts in car production, people drive less often and use smaller cars."

key demographic: An important group for something. "Children are a key demographic for the movie Kung Fu Panda."

"Put a sock in it": Be quiet.

"Grow old together": Stay with each other for the rest of our lives. "Marry me. I want us to grow old together."

"I learned my lesson": I've had an experience and I know something knew because of that experience. I am smarter now because of what has happened. "I yelled at a small man and he beat me up. I learned my lesson: now I know that even small people can be good fighters."

"creative control": The ability of an artist to not let other people change his work. "I write movie scripts, but I don't have creative control: often other people change my words before the movie is made."

"Thank your lucky stars": Be fortunate of something. "You should think your lucky stars that the test is postponed until next week. Now you can study more."

"What else is on?": What someone says when they don't like the TV show they are watching. People can use it as a joke to talk about things other than TV.