【Aurora’s English Vocabulary Diary】No. 15 Wimpy

In the morning.

Jack was talking to me about that he would cut the frequency of playing FIFA (the video game he plays on Xbox) to once a week.

“Also, all football is ending this month. No more footy til July.” He said.

“I guess they need some rest as well,” I said.

“Nah – don’t be wimpy!” Jack said it in a joking way.

“Wimpy? What’s that? I thought we’re talking about football players need to rest?” I was baffled. What was he taking the piss about?

“Yes I’m talking about it. Wimpy means like, being soft and weak.”

“Oh,” I understood the context instantly, “It’s like – come on, don’t be like little girls (who might need some rest).”

“Yes that’s it!” Jack realised that I’ve got what he meant whilst I was also pleased that I could interpret the meaning of the context he tried to say.

“Maybe don’t say little girls though. It’s sexist.” Jack suggested, “It’s like you think girls are not strong.”

In fact, when he was explaining wimpy before I actually got it, he also took the word pussy as an example to try to explain it to me. I knew what pussy means in different situations, so when he checked up the word on his phone for me and said that it could be an urban dictionary thing, I was a bit impatient moaning that what I didn’t know was wimpy, not pussy.

Therefore, when I got it in the end but also received his feedback “maybe don’t say little girls because it’s sexist”, suddenly, all I could feel was I got very frustrated and fuming for some reason after all this. I became quite grumpy.

Jack could also feel my mood change. He then asked “Are you alright?” but I just didn’t know what I was actually feeling and how to express it.

After I finally got my head in order, I said to him: “I guess it’s hard for you as a native speaker to get what I felt. I wanted to know what you said, what you meant, but then when I could actually finally understand and interpret it in my own way, I then also had to be corrected to some extent, because it’s not socially, politically correct!” 

I guess when I said that loud, I realised where my frustration came from.

Firstly, I wanted to have more chat going with him but I was disrupted by a specific word I didn’t know.

Secondly, when I eventually understood its meaning and Jack did know that I’ve got it, I got to be told that I might have to use a “better” word to explain it. There’s too much to pay attention to at the same time!

“It’s like you understand the first thing but the second thing coming for you to take care of…” Jack said to me, “See, I get it!”

As a learner who has been studying English as a second language forever, it felt like it’s never enough indeed and there will always be so much expectation – especially for sometimes when all you want to do is understand what your loved ones are saying.

I just had to sort my mind out and write all this down. I did feel bad that I said to Jack “As a native speaker you won’t get it” and I was even thinking “Why is it not you to speak in my language and try to relate what I feel?”

But I guess it’s not fair. Jack did try to understand my feeling and listened to all my moaning. 

Plus, I’m the one who has chosen to live the rest of my life in an English-speaking country after all. It’s my lessons.

So… Let’s not be wimpy then.

P.S. To be honest, my only impression about “wimpy” before this was the fast-food restaurant Wimpy in Bicester town😂

source – TripAdvisor