Hi!

Hoje o podcast é sobre estas aqui: “Fácil falar, mas fazer…” e “Não é tão ruim/alta/bom assim…”

Transcrição

What’s up? I’m doing fine here, ’cause I’m recording this podcast and that’s always fun to do. OK, a very short introduction today: I’m gonna talk first about a very common phrase, and then the next topic will be how to use the word THAT in a way that is not usually in the books. Oh, and this is Inglesonline podcast.

So let’s get right into it: You know when someone tells you to do something, and he or she talks about it like it’s something easy to do… but in reality, it’s not that easy? For example, let’s say you’re having problems at the office. Let’s say one of your coworkers, Bob, has been snooping around your desk. Let’s say Bob has been stealing some of your ideas, and presenting them to the boss as if they were his ideas.

So you tell your friend Jane about Bob. You tell her “I have this coworker, Bob, and he’s been stealing my ideas!” And your friend Jane knows what to do. She thinks this problem is really easy to solve. She says “You should catch Bob in the act! Actually, you should confront him about stealing your ideas. Better yet, you should talk to him in the presence of your boss, and make him admit he’s stolen your ideas!” And you say “Well, Jane, thanks, but that’s easier said than done. Bob’s father is the CEO of the company. So exposing the CEO’s son as a thief might not be the smartest career move”.

So, Jane’s suggestion? That you just catch Bob in the act, that you just tell the boss about what Bob’s been doing? That’s easier said than done. Easier said than done. Jane’s ideas are great. They sound great, but you think they’re easier said than done. It’s like we say in Portuguese “Falar é fácil…”. So Jane thinks you’re a fool, she thinks you’re a pushover because Bob is taking advantage of you and you’re not doing anything about it. But you know it’s not as easy as it seems. Jane’s ideas? They’re easier said than done.

And here’s another example: let’s say your friend Michael just lost his job and you are trying to cheer him up. You say “Hey, I’m sure you’re gonna be working again in no time. Just start sending out your resume and before you know it, you’ll have more job offers than you can count.” Well, your friend Michael doesn’t think it’ll be that easy. He says “Yeah, that’s easier said than done.”

And by the way… let me go back to what I just said: your friend doesn’t think it will be that easy. What does that mean?

Well, picture this: two people go to a bakery and they’re looking at the pies, and they see a beautiful chocolate pie. They each buy a slice and eat it. Then, one of them says “This is the best chocolate pie I have ever eaten! I can’t believe how good this is. It’s amazing!” And the other one says “Hey, cool it with the pie… it tasted OK, but it was not that good!” So he thought the pie was OK, but it wasn’t that good. It wasn’t that amazing. In other words, he thinks his friend is exaggerating. The pie didn’t taste that good. In Portuguese we say something like “Não era tão boa assim”. It wasn’t that good.

A few more examples:

* My friend is crazy about a TV show about monsters and supernatural stuff. She loves it. I think that show is OK, but I don’t think it is that good. I think it’s just OK.