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VOCABULARY
1. staged (adj)
2. go off without a hitch (phr)
3. backlash (n)
4. beam (v)
5. tacky (adj)
Episode 3 transcript
Intro
Hello there and welcome to Learn English with the News with me, Karen. In every episode I bring you a real news story and unpack five useful words or phrases that can help boost your English skills. We’ll look at how they’re used in context and how you can pronounce them naturally. No boring textbooks here.
If you’re ready to learn something new while staying up to date with the world, let’s jump in.
What’s our topic today? In this episode, we are going to Venice, where Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez held a very grand, very expensive wedding. They invited lots of famous people and the setting was beautiful, but not everyone loved the event.
Some people in Venice protested and others said the wedding was over the top. So, was it romantic or just awful? Let’s look into it.
Before we start, I do want to offer a personal apology to all Italian people for the way I’m going to pronounce the lovely city of Venice. In English, we say Venice. I know it’s Venezia. We say Venice. I’m sorry.
Introducing the vocabulary
Right. Today’s vocabulary, you will hear five words and phrases that I will then use in today’s story. I’ll explain them more fully later in the episode, but I’m just introducing them here. So let’s get started.
Number one is staged. Staged. When something is staged, it looks fake or too carefully planned, almost like a performance.
Think of a surprised face in a social media video that looks a little bit too rehearsed. Staged.
Vocabulary item two is a phrase. Go off without a hitch. Go off without a hitch. This means that it happens smoothly. The event with no problems at all.
You might say a big work presentation went off without a hitch if the technology all worked, the timing was right and everyone was happy at the end. Go off without a hitch.
This is an interesting phrase to use about a wedding specifically, and I’ll explain why at the end.
Vocabulary item three is backlash, which is a noun. A backlash is a strong negative reaction to something, especially when people think that thing is unfair, rude or over the top. Have you ever seen a celebrity post something online and then quickly delete it because of public anger? Well, that anger, that public anger, is a classic example of backlash.
Vocabulary item four is the verb to beam, beam. Beaming is smiling in a really big, warm way, usually because you’re feeling extremely proud or extremely happy. You might beam after getting great feedback, or when your friend walks into the room unexpectedly. There’s a joy in it that shows on your whole face beam.
And vocabulary item five is tacky. This is an adjective and it means something that is cheap looking or in bad taste, not elegant or sophisticated or classy.
Something is described as tacky, especially when it’s trying too hard to be impressive. For example, imagine a sparkly plastic handbag that’s falling apart, or a room decorated with way too much gold and glitter. It might be expensive in reality, but it seems too much. It’s tacky.
The news story
Jeff Bezos gets married in Venice as the world watches.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez recently held a three day wedding celebration in Venice, Italy, attracting global attention. Vogue magazine described it as the wedding of the century, and the couple were joined by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom and the Queen of Jordan.
They hosted events at luxury venues and it cost an estimated $50 million. However, the wedding was described by some as feeling very staged, with carefully timed entrances and guests apparently being told exactly when to smile.
But on a positive note, the event appeared to go off without a hitch.
But not everyone was impressed and there was quite a backlash.
Local activists protested against the extravagance, criticising Bezos for his environmental impact and tax practices. We all know about that.
One group called No Space for Bezos claimed victory after the couple moved one of their events away from the city centre. Protestors carried signs reading, ‘Eat the Rich’ and ‘The Planet Burns’. Bezos, however, did donate $1 million to environmental research groups in Venice.
And despite the negative attention, Bezos was beaming throughout the entire weekend, clearly enjoying the attention and celebration.
The final night featured a pyjama party with, with performances by Usher and DJ Cassidy and guests wore everything from silk robes to designer lingerie.
There was also a foam party on Bezos’s $500 million superyacht.
Some commentators called the wedding tacky, pointing to the over the top fashion celebrity excess and the high cost. Others noted that the event seemed more like a TV show than a personal celebration.
So what do you think? Was it romantic or was it just awful? Tell me in the comments. I want to know your views.
The vocabulary in depth
Now for the vocabulary in more detail.
Vocabulary item one was staged, which is an adjective, and it describes something that has been planned in a way that feels unnatural or fake, like a performance. In the news story, parts of the wedding were described as staged because guests were told when to pose or smile, and the event felt too controlled as if it were being filmed for TV.
I do see what they mean. This is a bit harsh, though, because weddings do have to be planned, don’t they?
The opposite of this word is spontaneous.
Let’s look at the pronunciation. Staged, staged. Don’t add an extra syllable. Don’t say something like Stag-ed. It’s staged. Staged.
Vocabulary item two is go off without a hitch. Hitch is spelt H-I-T-C-H.
Go off without a hitch means that something happens smoothly with no problems at all. The news story said the wedding seemed to go off without a hitch. In other words, everything worked as planned. There were no technical disasters, no lost rings, like in Four Weddings and a Funeral, and no rain.
A hitch here is a small problem or obstacle. So in this expression, there weren’t any. It went off without a hitch. It all happened without any problems.
So why is it interesting that this phrase is used in a news story about a wedding? Well, because get hitched, get hitched, is a slang way of saying get married and it uses the same word – hitch – in this case, hitched with an ed. So get hitched is a very informal way of saying get married.
Backlash. Backlash is a noun and it’s a sudden wave of criticism or an angry response, especially from the public. It often follows something bold, controversial or seen as out of touch with reality.
In the news story, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez faced backlash after their extravagant wedding celebrations. Backlash is often used after actions that spark emotional or moral disagreement, like raising prices unfairly, showing extreme wealth or making insensitive comments.
And a note on the pronunciation, the stress is on the first syllable: backlash. And it’s spelt B-A-C-K-L-A-S-H. Backlash.
Vocabulary item four is beam, B-E-A-M. And this is a verb that means to smile widely when you’re really happy or proud. In the news story, Bezos was beaming all weekend, so much so that people commented on it. There were a lot of comments online. He was clearly enjoying the attention and celebration, and I suppose he really loves his new wife.
A beam is not just a little smile. It’s the kind that lights up your whole face. Beam with a long /iː/ sound. Beam.
When was the last time you beamed? You can tell me in the comments.
And vocabulary item five is tacky, which is an adjective spelt T-A-C-K-Y. This describes something that looks cheap, badly made or in poor taste.
So it can be expensive or it can be cheap, but the point is that it looks in bad taste. It doesn’t look elegant, classy or sophisticated. And this is used, especially if something is trying to be impressive.
Some people said Jeff Bezos’s wedding was tacky, suggesting all the glamour and all the money didn’t create elegance.
It might have looked more like a costume party than a classy celebration. Do you agree?
A bonus tip here in British English, naff is a slang expression that means the same as tacky. If something is a bit naff, it means it’s tacky. It’s a bit milder, but it means more or less the same. Naff is spelt N-A-F-F.
Outro
And that’s it for this week. Thank you very much for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe. Give me a rating – I would be really grateful and see you again next time.
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