New format - 71 - April Fool! The language of la broma in English - the prank, the trick, the practical joke

[00:00:00] Hi! Welcome to the Notte Rindas Intermediate English Stories Podcast. Este es un podcast para hispanohablantes que quieren mejorar su comprensión aditiva del inglés de los Estados Unidos. Soy tu presentador Goyo, un maestro que vive en Atlanta, Georgia, USA, y soy de herencia mexicana.

[00:00:25] Una vez al mes, presento una lección que enseña inglés bajo un formato de una anécdota breve. Our long time listeners will note immediately that my brother Gabe is not on the program today.

[00:00:46] So Gabe and I still talk regularly every week, but his work schedule has changed, and so in order to continue the podcast, I have had to make a few changes. So from now on, it'll just be yo, just Greg. And I will focus on one short story every episode. Today's episode will focus in English on the concept of la broma, o tomándole el pelo a alguien.

[00:01:17] When you hear these words and phrases, they suggest a type of lying or tricking for the sake of creating embarrassment and often humor. Today's story will use the phrases, pulling your leg, kidding, playing a prank, and playing around.

[00:01:41] You'll also hear that what's done in the story is called a practical joke. A practical joke is a synonym for playing a prank. It's a prank or a practical joke. And after I tell the story, I'll review these concepts with you with examples.

[00:02:19] As I sit here posting about this from my hospital bed, my warning to you is this. Practical jokes can have consequences. Unintended consequences. As I entered the office that day, I caught sight of Charlie and Carlo walking down the hall, but they looked odd. They looked strange.

[00:02:50] Charlie was dragging one foot behind him, and the leg of his pants was ripped and stained red. Carlo was wearing cloth bandages around his head and shoulder. And he couldn't use his right arm because it was in a sling. Or was it an arm cast?

[00:03:20] Did he have a broken arm? Or maybe just some cuts? Or some other kind of wounds? What I didn't understand is that nothing was really wrong with either Charlie or Carlo. They were about to play a prank on another person in the office. And her name is Terry.

[00:03:49] Charlie and Carlo approached Terry's office. And stood at its entrance. I was about ten feet behind them. And they had not yet seen me. Charlie, the leader of the two, started the prank with, Hey Terry, just look at us. This is all your fault. Yeah, said Carlo.

[00:04:19] All your fault. Good heavens! What's happened to the two of you? She asked. Standing up from behind her desk. Do you remember when we were walking out to the parking lot with you yesterday? Meow! And you heard that cat high up in a tree? Asked Charlie.

[00:04:43] You made us promise not to go home until we had climbed up there and got the cat down. Well, we stayed until seven o'clock last night calling that cat man. And we could never get it down. We could never earn its trust. We tried everything. So we went back early this morning. But this time with a ladder.

[00:05:16] We didn't realize it. Because we never actually saw the cat yesterday. But Terry, that was no house cat. It was some kind of wild feline. Like a bobcat or a puma or something. Yeah, said Carlo. It jumped onto my face. And bit me. And scratched me. It attacked my leg.

[00:05:44] As I stood unseen behind them, I had a special view of what happened next. As Charlie was showing his leg bandages to Terry, Carlo pulled out his cell phone, tapped it a couple of times, and placed it behind his back. Within a few seconds, their trap was ready. Meow! A screaming meow and hiss filled the air.

[00:06:14] And Terry jumped from her desk. Oh my God! Screamed Charlie. It's the bobcat! Run! Both ran past me, followed by Terry. The hissing and meowing seemed to follow them as they ran. Meow! As they made it around the corner, into the water fountain,

[00:06:43] the two men slowed and started to laugh. Ha ha ha! Gotcha! Said Carlo, as he hit the stop button on his phone. Of course, there was no wildcat, or puma, or jaguar, or bobcat. It was just the sound of one on his cell phone. You guys almost gave me a heart attack, said Terry, as she punched Charlie in the arm. Ow!

[00:07:12] April Fool! bellowed Carlo, between gasps of laughter. You should have seen your face, said Charlie. We got you good. Terry looked hurt. You guys shouldn't play pranks like that at work, she said. Come on Terry, we were just pulling your legs, said Charlie. Yeah, offered Carlo.

[00:07:42] We were only kidding. It was at that moment, that I realized, that I had left my own phone, in my car. As I took the stairs down into the parking garage. I smiled at the prank, I had just witnessed. Standing next to the driver's side door of my Toyota. I looked over,

[00:08:11] and could see two yellow eyes, staring back at me, under the next car. Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! It's really funny guys, I said, as a horrific growl, came from under the car. Okay, okay. Ha ha ha! Stop fooling around guys, it's not funny. I had about five seconds to open the car door, sit down,

[00:08:42] close the door, and place myself in perfect safety. But instead, I stood there, laughing, and said, Where did you guys find such a realistic looking doll? It almost looks like a real cat! So this practical joke happened,

[00:09:11] because two office mates, played a prank on a co-worker. Played a prank on a co-worker. So if Charlie and Carlo wanted to justify, or explain their prank, to Terry, or to you, they might say, We are just kidding. Or, We're just kidding around with you. Lots of times the word around is used with kidding, and some other words that we're going to hear in just a second.

[00:09:42] Around. Makes it sound a little bit casual. Yeah, we were just kidding around. Stop kidding around! That's very common. Two other ways that you can say something similar are, fooling around, and playing around. These are also very common. These are often used to justify the cruel action after it's been done. Like, We're only fooling with you Terry,

[00:10:12] there's no big cat in the office. Or, We were just playing around with you Terry, you know, because it's April Fool's Day. At the end of the prank, the guys might say, There's no wild cat in the office. We were just pulling your leg. We were just pulling your leg. Pulling someone's leg.

[00:10:38] And these other expressions almost always are expressed in the continuous, more progressive sense of the verb. I have never heard someone say, I pull your leg. Or, She pulled his leg. But instead, I'm just pulling, pulling your leg. Or, She was just pulling his leg when she said that he had a hole in his pants.

[00:11:08] Now, before I do the quiz, I want to thank our regular listeners and welcome my new ones. If you wish to learn more about the show or how to support it, please go to Noterindaspodcast.us Alright, it's time for our quiz. Question number one. Carlo and Charlie played a A. Leg. B. Prank.

[00:11:37] Or C. Kid. Carlo and Charlie played a leg. Played a prank. Played a prank. played a kid. If you said played a prank, that's correct. We do use the words leg and kid in other ways when we're talking about practical jokes. We can say, I'm pulling your leg, for example.

[00:12:08] Or we can say, I'm kidding. I'm kidding around with you. But we don't play a leg or play a kid. We play a prank. Question number two. Is it common to hear fooling up, fooling down, or fooling around when talking about a practical joke? Fooling up, fooling down,

[00:12:38] or fooling around. If you said fooling around, give yourself a piece of candy. That's correct. We can also play around or joke around. Question number three. And the last question. Which is more common to hear in this context? Pull your leg, or pulling your leg?

[00:13:07] Pull your leg, or pulling your leg? And I think you probably know that it's pulling your leg. If I say to you, hey, you have something on your forehead there. Yeah, right there. Right above your cejas. Right above your eyebrow. Yeah, right there. Yeah. Yeah. It's blue. It's really blue. What? I'm just pulling your leg. Right? That's what that means. I'm just pulling your leg.

[00:13:37] I'm just playing a joke. I'm just playing a prank on you. Please watch for the next episode of No Te Rindas Intermediate English Stories on the first Sunday of every month. Thanks for listening.