Talk Like a Native

Episode 13: “Dodge a Bullet”

Kevin: Hey Christine, what are you looking for?

Christine: I lost the USB drive that my boss gave me. It has the project that we’ve been working on for the last month!

Kevin: I’ll help you look too. When was the last time you saw it?

Christine: I had it this morning when I was getting ready for work.

Kevin: Have you checked the bathroom?

Christine: Why would it be in the bathroom?

Kevin: I usually brush my teeth before I leave the house. Sometimes I leave my phone there and I have to go back for it.

Christine: Oh, that makes sense. I’ve done that before too. Let me go check the bathroom...

Oh, I found it! Thank you Kevin! Thanks to you I really dodged a bullet.

Kevin: Dodged a bullet? Do you work for the FBI or something?

Christine: No! I work for a media company. It was an important proposal for an upcoming business deal. If you hadn’t helped me find my USB, I could have lost my job! To dodge a bullet means to successfully avoid something bad from potentially happening.

Kevin: Oh you mean like how I dodged a bullet when I didn’t eat that chicken at the BBQ last week?

Christine: Hey! I warned them that the meat might have been a little undercooked. It’s not my fault they got food poisoning! Anyways, let’s give our listeners some examples.

- I really dodged a bullet when that meeting where I had to present got cancelled.

- Talk about dodging a bullet! I almost married that jerk who cheated on me.

- We really dodged a bullet leaving before the storm hit! I heard the streets flooded, and everybody was stuck on the mountain until the next morning.

Kevin: I heard that Steve was so sick that he couldn’t even go to work the next day.

Christine: Well, I guess I dodged that bullet too. I was so busy cooking that I didn’t have time to eat the food.

Kevin: Maybe next time you should make sure you focus on cooking the food instead of looking at your phone.

Christine: I thought I saw a Pikachu! Gotta catch’em all!