Using English at Work

Episode 5 - Taking a Break and Eating Lunch

mug - a large cup with a handle, usually used for drinking hot beverages

* Sally uses a mug with pictures of her kids so that she can see them all day while she's drinking coffee.

vending machine - a machine that sells food and drinks

* Kamil buys a can of soda from the vending machine every afternoon.

candy bar - a long, rectangular, sweet type of food usually made from sugar and chocolate

* Some popular candy bars include Snickers, Butterfinger, and Kit Kat.

potato chip - a thin slice of potato that has been fried in oil and salted

* Do you like plain potato chips or flavored ones?

to join - to participate in something; to do something that other people are doing

* Randolph would like to join us for dinner and a movie tonight. Is that okay?

to beat the rush - to get somewhere before most other people do; to get somewhere before it becomes very crowded

* We beat the rush at the movie theater by buying our tickets for the evening show earlier in the day.

hostess - a female restaurant employee who greets customers, takes them to their table, and offers to bring them drinks before the waiter or waitress comes

* Zhanna asked the hostess for a table next to the window.

drink order - what one asks for to drink at a restaurant of bar

* The most common drink order at this restaurant is strawberry lemonade.

server - waiter or waitress; a restaurant employee who brings food to customers at their table

* We asked the server to bring us ketchup for our hamburgers.

lunch special - a combination of foods that are offered for a lower price during lunchtime hours, usually from Monday to Friday

* The restaurant across the street has a great lunch special with soup, salad, and a sandwich for only $6.99.

all-you-can-eat - a restaurant meal where customers pay one price and can eat as much as they want to of a particular kind of food

* If you're very hungry, going to an all-you-can-eat restaurant is a good idea because you can eat a lot of food for a low price.

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Using English at Work

Episode 5 - Taking a Break and Eating Lunch

salad bar - a long table at a restaurant that has many different vegetables, salad dressing, cheese, fruits, and other foods so that people can build their own salads

* Josette likes eating at salad bars because that way she can decide which vegetables she wants to eat.

to clear (one's) plate - to remove one's plate from the table and take it to the kitchen after one has finished eating

* In the Chavez home, the children have to clear the plates from the table before they can go outside to play.

bill - a piece of paper that says how much a customer needs to pay

* The bill charged us for two iced teas, but we had ordered only one, so we asked the waiter to correct it.

separate checks - pieces of paper showing how much each customer at a table needs to pay the restaurant; a bill that isn't combined for everyone at the table

* The guys requested separate checks so that they wouldn't have to calculate how much each person should pay at the end of the meal.

bag lunch - food brought from home to eat at school or the office for lunch, usually in a paper bag

* Zhaklina always brings the same bag lunch to school: a ham sandwich, an apple, and a diet soda.

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