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##Shady Uncle – Mini-Story Lesson

Hi, I’m Joe Weiss and I’m one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English.

And I’d like to welcome you to this mini-story lesson. Okay, as usual, I want to start the lesson by telling you about some of the idioms that you will hear in the story.

So let’s start there.

Okay, first is to “take someone under your wing” or you may even hear someone say to “take someone under wing,” it means the same thing, okay? So if you take someone under your wing it means that you teach or you guide or you care for someone who is younger and/or less experienced than you are, okay? So once again you teach or your guide or you care for someone and that person is younger and/or less experienced than you are. Let me give you an example to help you understand this one. When John became a professor, he took his students under wing. Okay, so what I’m saying is when John became a professor, he taught his students who were less experienced than he was. Okay, he took them under wing.

Okay, so next is “by the book.” So if you do something by the book it means that you do it according to the rules. You don’t do things that are against the rules or outside of the rules. For example, you don’t do things that are illegal. Let me give you an example. The Judge liked Harry because Harry was a lawyer who did things by the book. Okay, so what I’m saying is the Judge liked Harry because Harry was a lawyer who did things according to the rules. He didn’t do things that were against the rules or that were outside of the rules, okay? Harry did things by the book.

Okay, next is “shady,” okay, the word shady. So when the word shady is used as an idiom it means dishonest or untrustworthy, okay, that which cannot be trusted.

And a person or a thing can be called shady, alright? Let me give you an example.

No one wanted to do business with Charlie because Charlie was shady. Okay, so what I’m saying is no one wanted to do business with Charlie because he was dishonest. He could not be trusted. He was untrustworthy. Charlie was shady.

Okay, so next is “under the table.” So if you do something under the table it means you do it secretly and usually you do it secretly because it’s illegal or it’s wrong to do it. Now most of the time when I hear this idiom used it’s when a company or a person pays someone under the table. So when a company or a person pays someone under the table it means they pay that person secretly. They don’t, say, report the payment to the government. They don’t announce the payment, okay?

And usually when this happens it’s because they don’t want to pay taxes on it.

Okay, let me give you an example. John paid his employees under the table because he did not want to pay taxes. Okay, so what I’m saying is John paid his employees secretly. He did not report the payments to the government because he did not want to pay taxes.

Okay, we’re on our last one now. I have one more for you and this one is “under water.” And what I’m talking about is when a business is under water. So when a business is under water it means that business owes a lot of money. It has a lot of debt and it is not making enough money to pay that debt. Okay, so the business is unable to handle its financial obligations. You can think of it in terms of that. Let me give you an example. Mark had to sell his house to get some money because his business was under water. Okay, so what I’m saying is Mark had to sell his house to get some money because his business owed a lot of money and it was not making enough money to pay its debt, okay? It was unable to meet its financial obligations.

Okay, so now I’m going to tell you a story and when I tell you that story I’m going to ask you a lot of questions as I tell the story. So when I ask you a question I want you to answer that question quickly. Okay, just tell me the first answer that you think of and don’t worry about making mistakes. You know, mistakes are okay as long as you learn from them. And when you answer these questions I don’t want you to speak really softly. I want you to speak loudly and confidently, okay?

Alright, let’s start our story then.

There was a man and his name was Anthony. And Anthony was 19 years old and Anthony wanted to own a restaurant. Yes, he wanted to own a restaurant but he had a problem. Anthony had never owned a restaurant before so he did not know how to manage a restaurant.

Okay, time for some questions. What was the man’s name? Was it Frank?

No, no, the man’s name wasn’t Frank.

What was the man’s name?

It was Anthony, the man’s name was Anthony.

And was Anthony 19 years old?

Yes, he was, Anthony was 19 years old.

Who was 19 years old?

Anthony was, Anthony was 19 years old.

So was Anthony older than 18 years old or younger than 18 years old?

He was older than 18 years old because he was 19 years old. Anthony was older than 18 years old. Anthony was 19 years old.

Okay, so tell me this. Did Anthony want to own a restaurant?

Yes, yes, he did, Anthony wanted to own a restaurant.

Who wanted to own a restaurant?

Anthony did, Anthony wanted to own a restaurant.

And what did Anthony want to own?

A restaurant, Anthony wanted to own a restaurant.

So did Anthony know how to manage a restaurant?

No, Anthony did not know how to manage a restaurant. Anthony did not know how to manage a restaurant.

Who didn’t know how to manage a restaurant?

Anthony, Anthony didn’t know how to manage a restaurant.

And what didn’t Anthony know how to do?

He didn’t know how to manage a restaurant.

Well, Anthony had an uncle and his name was Louis and Louis owned a restaurant. And Louis knew that Anthony wanted to own a restaurant, too, and he also knew that Anthony didn’t have any experience owning and managing a restaurant. So Louis took Anthony under his wing.

Okay, time for some more questions. Who had an uncle? Did Kristin have an uncle?

No, Kristin didn’t have an uncle.

Who had an uncle?

Anthony did, Anthony had an uncle.

And did Anthony have an aunt or an uncle?

An uncle, Anthony had an uncle. He did not have an aunt.

What was Anthony’s uncle’s name?

Louis, Anthony’s uncle’s name was Louis.

So did Louis have a nephew?

Yes, yes, he did, Louis was Anthony’s uncle so that means that Louis had a nephew.

His nephew was Anthony.

Okay so tell me this now. Who owned a restaurant? Louis or Anthony?

Louis did, Louis owned a restaurant.

And what did Louis own?

A restaurant, Louis owned a restaurant.

So did Louis take Anthony under his wing?

Yes, yes, he did, Louis took Anthony under his wing.

Who took Anthony under his wing?

Louis did, Louis took Anthony under his wing.

And did Louis take Kristin or Anthony under his wing?

Anthony, Louis took Anthony under his wing, not Kristin.

Okay, so tell me this now. Did Louis teach Anthony about owning a restaurant?

He did, yes, Louis took Anthony under his wing so that means that Anthony was less experienced than Louis and Louis taught him or he guided him. Now we know that Anthony had no experience owning a restaurant but Louis did. Louis had experience owning a restaurant. He owned a restaurant. And Louis took Anthony under his wing so Louis taught Anthony about owning a restaurant.

Well, I want to tell you some more about both Anthony and Louis because they were very different. Anthony was honest and he did things by the book.

Now Louis was different. Louis was shady and he did not do things by the book. For example, Louis paid his employees under the table. Yes, he paid his employees under the table because he refused to pay taxes. But Anthony was different than Louis. Anthony always paid his taxes because he did things by the book.

Okay, so tell me this. Who was honest?

Anthony was, Anthony was honest.

And was Anthony shady?

No, of course not, Anthony wasn’t shady.

Who was shady?

Louis, Louis was shady.

So was Louis honest and trustworthy?

No, no, Louis was shady so that means he was dishonest and he was untrustworthy.

He could not be trusted. Louis was shady.

So did Louis do things by the book?

No, no, Louis didn’t do things by the book.

Who did things by the book?

Anthony did, Anthony did things by the book.

So did Anthony do things according to the rules?

Yes, sure he did, Anthony did things by the book so that means he did things according to the rules. He didn’t do things that were outside of the rules. For example, he didn’t do things that were illegal.

So did Louis pay his employees under the table or did Anthony pay his employees under the table?

Louis did, Louis paid his employees under the table.

And who did Louis pay under the table?

His employees, Louis paid his employees under the table.

So did Louis pay his employees secretly or did he report the payment to the government?

He did it secretly, Louis paid his employees under the table so that means he paid them secretly. He did not report the payment to the government. He paid them under the table.

Okay, but why did he do it? Why did Louis pay his employees under the table?

He refused to pay taxes, Louis paid his employees under the table because Louis refused to pay taxes.

Who refused to pay taxes? Did Anthony refuse to pay taxes?

No, no, Anthony didn’t refuse to pay taxes. Remember, Anthony did things by the book.

Who refused to pay taxes?

Louis did, Louis refused to pay taxes.

And what did Louis refuse to do?

Pay taxes, Louis refused to pay taxes.

So did Louis refuse to pay rent or taxes?

Taxes, Louis refused to pay taxes.

Well, I have some bad news for you. Louis’ restaurant was under water and he needed money because he was in debt $112,000.0. So guess what he did?

He robbed a bank! Yes, that’s right, Louis robbed a bank. Louis stole $714,000.00 from the bank. And after he robbed the bank, he counted the money at the restaurant.

Okay, so what was under water?

Louis’ restaurant was, Louis’ restaurant was under water.

So did Louis’ restaurant owe a lot of money and did it not make enough money to pay its debts?

Yes, Louis’ restaurant was under water so that means it had a lot of debt. It owed a lot of money and it was not making enough money to pay that debt. Louis’ restaurant was under water. It was unable to handle its financial obligations.

Okay, so tell me this now. Who was in debt $112,000.00?

Louis, Louis was in debt $112,000.00.

And how much was Louis in debt?

$112,000.00, a lot of money.

So was Louis in debt $112.00 or $112,000.00?

$112,000.00, Louis was in debt $112,000.00.

So did Kristin rob a bank?

No, of course not.

Who robbed a bank?

Louis did, Louis robbed a bank.

And what did Louis rob?

A bank, Louis robbed a bank.

So did Louis steal $714,000.00 from the bank?

Yes, yes, he did, Louis stole $714,000.00 from the bank.

Who stole $714,000.00 from the bank?

Louis did, Louis stole $714,000.00 from the bank.

And how much money did Louis steal from the bank?

He stole $714,000.00, Louis stole $714,000.00 from the bank.

So did Louis steal $714,000.00 from the church or the bank?

The bank, Louis stole $714,000.00 from the bank.

So tell me this now. Did Louis count the money at the restaurant?

Yes, he did, Louis counted the money at the restaurant.

Who counted the money at the restaurant?

Louis did, Louis counted the money at the restaurant.

And tell me this. What did Louis count?

The money, Louis counted the money.

Okay, but where did he do it? Where did Louis count the money? Did he count the money at the beach or at the restaurant?

He counted the money at the restaurant. Louis did not count the money at the beach, he did it at the restaurant.

Well, when Louis was counting the money, Anthony arrived at the restaurant.

And when Anthony saw the money, he knew that Louis had robbed the bank so he called the police.

Okay, so did Anthony arrive at the restaurant when Louis was counting the money?

He did, yes, Anthony arrived at the restaurant when Louis was counting the money.

Who arrived at the restaurant?

Anthony did, Anthony arrived at the restaurant.

And where did Anthony arrive at?

The restaurant, Anthony arrived at the restaurant.

Okay, but when did he do it? When did Anthony arrive at the restaurant?

When Louis was counting the money, Anthony arrived at the restaurant when Louis was counting the money.

So tell me this. Did Louis call the police?

No, of course not.

Who called the police?

Anthony did, Anthony called the police.

And did Anthony call his mother?

No, Anthony didn’t call his mother.

Who did Anthony call?

The police, Anthony called the police.

Well, after Anthony called the police, the police arrested Louis and they returned all of the money to the bank. And the owners of the bank were so happy that they gave Anthony a reward of $234,000.00. Well, Anthony used the money to open his first restaurant. And at the restaurant, he did everything by the book.

Okay, well that’s the end of our story and I hope you enjoyed this story because now I want you to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. And when you tell the story, I want you to use all of the idioms that I taught you at the beginning of this lesson. And I want to be sure that you learn this material deeply so I want you to listen to this lesson every day for at least seven days. I say at least because it may take you more than seven days. This is one of the cases where more is better. If you listen to it more than seven days, you’ll learn the material even deeper.

Okay, well that’s the end of this mini-story lesson then. I look forward to seeing you again soon.