This week’s English lesson is taken from the TV series King of Queens. It shows Carrie Heffernan giving a hilarious and somewhat embarrassing wedding speech.
For optimal learning results, I recommend following the five steps in exactly this order:
- Watch the complete scene with Subtitles
- Read the full Transcript
- Learn the Vocabulary and Phrases
- Test yourself by watching the whole scene again (this time without subtitles)
- Test yourself with some quiz questions
Step 1: Watch with Subtitles
Step 2: Read the Transcript
Carrie: Hi, what can I say about Todd? I’m just remembering now, Todd and I ran into each other a few years ago at a party. And I was there on my second date with this guy named Doug, who’s now my husband.
Thank you. Anyway, I introduced Todd as my really good friend, which was mostly true, except for one thing that I left out. Which was that Todd and I had actually been sexually intimate. Doug.
Doug, would you listen to me?
Maybe I should’ve told you the truth that night but I didn’t because I really liked you, and I wanted things to work out between us. I mean, if I would’ve said: “Hey, PS, you see that guy over there? I did him.” Would you have asked me out again?
Doug: I don’t know, maybe.
Carrie: Yeah, maybe. And maybe not. And then, we wouldn’t have gone to Coney Island and you wouldn’t have kissed me on the bumper cars, and I would’ve missed out on the…
… the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Doug: You’re referring to me?
Carrie: Yes, I’m referring to you. I love you.
Doug: I love you too. Maybe I overreacted. It’s just that… I don’t know, even imagining you with another guy just gets me insane.
Carrie: Believe me, my thing with Todd was nothing to get insane about.
Doug: Really?
Carrie: Really. It was nothing. And I mean nothing. Nada. Zip. Over in a minute.
Doug: Yeah, in a minute? Really?
Carrie: Yeah, if that. And then he kept apologizing and he burst into tears. Then he said something about having a fear of intimacy because his mother didn’t hold him as a child. It’s like, too much information, buddy.
Doug: Oh, my God. Hey, is that microphone still on?
Carrie: Hope you guys enjoyed our little skit. It was just our little way of wishing Todd and Paula good luck.
Doug: Good luck, kids.
Carrie: Play something.
Step 3: Learn the Vocabulary
to run into someone = to meet someone you know when you are not expecting to
Example: Guess who I ran into today!
to be sexually intimate = to have sex with someone
Please note: Carrie could have left out the word “sexually” and it would still mean the same.
Example: He denies that he was ever intimate with her. (= He denies that he ever had sex with her.)
to work out = If a situation or relationship works out or works out well, it happens or progresses in a satisfactory way.
Example: Things just didn’t work out as planned.
PS = short for postscript; used when you want to add extra information at the end of a letter or email
Example: PS, don’t forget to bring your raincoat!
to do someone (slang) = to have sex with someone
bumper car = a small electric car driven for entertainment in a special closed space at a fair, etc., where the aim is to try to hit other cars
Example: It’s as simple to drive as a bumper car at the fairground.
to miss out on something = If you miss out on something that would be enjoyable or useful to you, you are not involved in it or do not take part in it.
Example: We’re missing out on a tremendous opportunity.
to refer to someone = to talk about someone; If information refers to someone, it relates to that person.
Example: The new salary scale only refers to company managers and directors.
to get insane = something annoys and irritates you a lot
Please note: Instead of saying that something gets you insane, you could also say that something drives you crazy.
Example: We love our two-year-old, but sometimes she drives us crazy.
nada (informal; mainly US) = nothing
zip (informal; mainly US) = nothing
Example: I know zip about computers.
if that = or even less
Example: There is not much to discuss, so today’s meeting should be over in half an hour, if that.
to burst into tears = to suddenly start to cry
Example: I was so upset, I couldn’t stop myself from bursting into tears.
buddy = a friend; sometimes used when talking to a man, often when you are annoyed
Example: Drink up and go home, buddy.
to be on = to be engaged or functioning
Example: Is the car engine still on?
skit = a short, funny play that makes a joke of something
Example: I thought the skit on politicians was really funny.
Step 4: Watch without Subtitles
Step 5: Take the Test
Scene taken from Season 1, Episode 13 of King of Queens: Best Man | Definitions and example sentences are primarily taken from the Cambridge, Collins, Wiktionary, and Oxford Dictionary.
