BBC 6 minute English-What’s wetiquette

Transcript of the podcast

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Rob: Hi, I’m Rob and welcome to 6 Minute English, where we talk about an interesting topic and six items of related vocabulary

Neil: And I’m Neil… And today we’re talking about wetiquette! What’s that, Rob

Rob: I have no idea

Neil: Well, you won’t find wetiquette in many dictionaries – it actually means ‘swimming pool etiquette’. W-etiquette – get it? Etiquette is a set of rules for how to behave in social situations. And wetiquette is a set of dos and don’ts to keep things calm in the water

Rob: Dos and don’ts are also rules telling us how to behave. So things like ‘No running by the pool’ or ‘No diving in the shallow end’. Am I right

Neil: Yes and no, Rob. Those are traditional swimming pool rules. But wetiquette covers slightly different things

Rob: OK, well before we get to those, I have a question for you, Neil. According to the US Water Quality and Health Council, how many people admitted to not showering before using the pool? Is it

a) 7%

b) 17% or

c) 70%

Neil: Well, I’m going to be optimistic and say 7%, Rob

Rob: So I take it you do always take a shower before swimming, Neil

Neil: Correct. Taking a quick shower is such an easy thing to do, and it stops all that horrible sweat and bacteria getting in the pool water! I can’t understand why some people don’t do it

Rob: I can see it’s making you quite hot under the collar – and that means angry. Let’s listen to swimming specialist, Jenny Landreth, talking about what annoys her

INSERT Jenny Landreth, swimming specialist, interviewed by the BBC

Jenny Landreth: I’m very keen on my wetiquette in the pool

Interviewer: It’s that thing where people can get quite cross about, which is: Do you go around clockwise or anticlockwise? Do you overtake or not

Jenny Landreth: People need a rule. We need to observe the rules of the pool and I’m very keen on that. Most other swimmers will suffer from lane rage if people are in the wrong lane of the pool. And don’t know how to observe the rules of that lane

Interviewer: Lane rage – you mean if you’re a kind of slow swimmer and you dare to go in the fast lane

Jenny Landreth: Well, I hate to say it, but it is quite often that gentlemen quite often misjudge their speed and think they’re slightly faster than they are

Interviewer: Ah! The male ego here

Jenny Landreth: They quite often don’t like it if there’s a woman swimming faster than them. So very often they’ll go in the slightly faster lane and should be gently encouraged by wetiquette to get in the correct lane

Interviewer: Know your speed

Jenny Landreth: Yes

Rob: That was Jenny Landreth – a swimming specialist – talking about the things that annoy her about other people in the pool

Neil: Yes. Jenny doesn’t like it when people are slower that they should be for the fast lane. Older men, like you, Rob

Rob: Neil, how dare you! Yes, Jenny gets lane rage

Neil: Lane rage! Where swimmers get hot under the collar when there’s a slow swimmer in the fast lane

Rob: Swimming lanes are the vertical sections of a swimming pool that are often labelled as ‘fast’, ‘medium’, and ‘slow’. Do you know your speed, Neil

Neil: Yes – I’m fast

Rob: Are you sure you are not misjudging your speed? Do you think you might actually be a medium-fast swimmer

Neil: To misjudge means to guess something wrongly. And our ego is the idea we have of ourselves – with regards to how important we feel we are. And to answer your question, Rob, no, I’m definitely fast

Rob: Are there other things swimmers should be aware of in the pool

Neil: Yes – if somebody taps your foot, it means they want to overtake you

Rob: Overtaking means to pass another person travelling in the same direction because you are going faster than them

Neil: I hate it when swimmers overtake me

Rob: Really, Neil? Is that your male ego talking

Neil: No, not at all – I just hate getting splashed

Rob: I see. Well perhaps now is a good time to move on and hear the answer to today’s quiz question. Remember I asked: How many people admitted to not showering before using the pool? Is it

a) 7%

b) 17% or

c) 70%

Neil: I said 7% and I hope I’m right

Rob: Well, I’m afraid you’re wrong, Neil. It’s actually ten times that amount – it’s 70%! The 2012 US report from Water Quality and Health Council found that around 70% of people do not shower before taking a swim in the pool – adding to the number of germs in the water

Neil: Perhaps swimming pools should start fining people who don’t take a shower? That might make a difference. Now, let’s go over the words we learned today

Rob: Yes, the first one is ‘dos and don’ts’, which are rules telling us how to behave in a particular situation. For example, What are the dos and don’ts of meeting the Queen

Neil: Good question – Is the correct etiquette to call her Your Highness or Ma’am? Are there certain subjects you shouldn’t talk about

Rob: Do you shake her hand or curtsy

Neil: These are things you need to know – or else the Queen might get ‘hot under collar’ – that’s our next word, and it means angry

Rob: Both politicians got hot under the collar and insulted each other

Neil: OK – number three is ‘lanes’ – which are the vertical sections of a swimming pool that are often labelled as fast, medium, and slow

Rob: Our British Olympic gold medallist is swimming in lane one

Neil: Our next word is ‘misjudge’ which means to guess something wrongly. For example, I’m sorry I misjudged you, Rob. Please forgive me

Rob: Oh alright then, Neil. But don’t misjudge me again OK? Next up is ‘ego’ – which is our sense of how important we are

Neil: Losing the race was a huge blow to her ego

Rob: And our final word is ‘overtake’ – which means to pass another person travelling in the same direction because you are going faster than them

Neil: I don’t enjoy overtaking big lorries on the motorway

Rob: Neither do I, Neil. Now one of the don’ts of this show is not talking for more than six minutes. So it’s time to say goodbye

Neil: But please visit our Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages and tell us what makes you hot under the collar

Rob: And remember – you can explore our website: bbclearningenglish.com, where you’ll find guides to grammar, exercises, videos and articles to read and improve your English. Bye bye

Neil: Goodbye