Dante Villarreal: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time	Expression	Explanation
0:36	wears many hats	has many job responsibilities
0:48	dons	puts on, wears
0:50	pitchfork	long-handled barn tool for moving straw or manure
1:03	emcee an event	with microphone, to act as host/announcer for a public event
1:21	Brownsville, TX	bordertown city in south Texas
1:50	crop harvest	collecting the fruit or vegetables when they are ready for picking
1:58	pick produce	harvesting fruit or vegetables
2:47	breed of horse	variety of horse
2:55	in the Americas	North, Central, & South America (also called the New World)
2:59	Spaniards	people from Spain
3:05	gaited breed	animal type that has a fine-stepping movement
3:39	shock absorbers	equipment which makes a vehicle ride more smoothly
3:45	the Cadillac of the horse world	the best kind of horse (Cadillac is the most expensive brand of General Motors cars)
3:50	late mother	mother who is no longer alive
4:00	Conklin, MI	http://www.chester-twp.org
4:10	Byron Center, MI	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Center,_Michigan
4:12	40-stall barn	a barn with divided sleeping spaces for 40 horses
4:40	humble roots	very simple origin, not a fancy beginning
5:20	the Chevy of four-legged transportation	simple, basic form of animal transportation (Chevrolet is the less expensive brand of General Motors cars)
5:28	the Yugo of...	the cheapest brand of cars (made in Yugoslavia, it is now out of business)
5:40	Michigan Small Business Development Center	http://www.sbdcmichigan.org
5:48	housed at GVSU	uses space at Grand Valley State University for its offices
6:36	oversee	coordinate, monitor, supervise
7:04	West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce	http://www.hccwm.org
7:20	craft strategy	create or design action plan to achieve goals
7:30	Hispanic/Latino businesses	businesses owned by people with Central or South American heritage
7:50	stacked against them	having many obstacles in place
8:09	aside from	other than
8:20	access financing	obtain money to run the business
8:22	have faith in	trust, have confidence in, believe in
8:32	bring to the table	provide something that will benefit the project
9:24	recipient	person who receives something
9:28	food stamp programs	social support program which makes food more affordable
9:36	How can you not...?	You must... It is impossible not to do this.
10:20	work ethic	the belief that hard work is worthwhile
11:28	composition	framework, make-up, membership
11:35	regardless of	despite, without paying attention to
11:42	willing and able	want to do it and have the ability to do it
11:50	come a long way	made very good progress over time
11:58	a place at the table	belonging, having access, being part of the whole group

Attila Mosolygó: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time	Expression	Explanation
0:41	hung up his shoes	stopped performing, retired from dancing
0:48	Grand Rapids Ballet Co.	http://www.grballet.com
1:28	historical buffs	people who love history
1:35	Hungarian Revolution	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956
3:27	descendants dispersed
4:37	bubbly	brightly outgoing, loving to talk and be with people
4:43	extroverts	people who love to talk and be with others
5:05	ballet master
5:31	Little did I know.	I didn’t know this. I was unaware of this.
5:50	whim	sudden desire to do something, may be short lived
6:42	auditions	try-outs, competitions to see which performers will be chosen for singing, dancing, acting, or instrument playing
6:46	apprentice positions	positions where a young performer studies under master performers in order to gain skills and experience
8:07	Hungarian National School of Ballet	http://www.opera.hu/en/balett????
10:05	short-lived	for a short time, not lasting very long
10:31	choreographers	people who create dance compositions and movements
11:45	The Nutcracker	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker
11:52	Swan Lake	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Lake

Floriza Genautis: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time	Expression	Explanation
0:39	wanted no part	didn’t want at all
0:45	networker extraordinaire	extraordinary networker (Note: “extraordinaire” is a French adjective. In French, the adjective usually goes after the noun.)
0:48	pillar	solid support mechanism
2:05	ended up	resulted in (something happening)
2:33	miss cut-offs	miss deadlines
3:00	wait list	list of names of people who have to wait their turn
3:15	family nucleus	center of the family
4:00	nannies	babysitter or childcare worker who lives at the children’s house or at least spends much of the day there
4:15	Manila	capital city of the Philippines
4:23	skipped it	didn’t attend it, avoided it
4:31	De La Salle University	http://www.dlsu.edu.ph
4:40	didn’t show up	didn’t appear, didn’t come
4:50	watched like a hawk	watched very, very closely
4:59	rubber stamp	automatic official approval
5:50	not a verifiable degree	can’t check to see if it’s a valid degree
5:56	KFC	Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant
6:15	cushy life	easy, comfortable life (like a comfy cushion)
6:20	from the bottom up	beginning very low and working upwards
6:28	flip a switch	make a sudden change
7:20	staffing industry	business of finding jobs for people
7:55	melting pot	where all races and ethnicities get blended together
8:00	jump-start my career	give a big, strong (electric-like) boost to my career
9:00	practiced religion	did the various behaviors related to that religion
9:08	Catholicism	the Roman Catholic way of being a Christian
9:20	Management Business Solutions	http://www.mgmtbsolutions.com
9:50	(Do you) know what?	I am about to tell you something very interesting.
10:05	vested to	financially connected to the profit of a company
10:08	ownership track	aligned to become part-owner of the business
10:20	up for grabs	available to take
10:55	thick accent	strong foreign pronunciation (here, of English)
11:12	dig a little harder	try a little harder
12:11	controller	senior financial manager

Jinane Itani: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time	Expression	Explanation
3:40	fearful time	a time of being afraid
4:18	travel agency	company that makes travel arrangements for customers
6:25	the Seventies	the decade from 1970 to 1979
8:20	E.S.L.	English as a Second Language = language classes for immigrants and refugees
8:45	adult foster care	care for elderly adults and adults with disabilities who cannot live alone safely
9:14	in our pocket	in our possession
9:18	green card	a permit allowing a foreign national to live and work permanently in the United States
9:40	Social Security number	a numbered card that identifies to the government that someone may work and pay taxes in the U.S.
10:00	Gulf War	the 1990-1991 war fought by the United States and 33 coalition countries in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait; with military code names of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, it was also known as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Kuwait War, First Iraq War
10:58	take their cues	learn how to behave by observing
12:25	Nano’s Care	http://bit.ly/1wgkLYU
14:10	citizens of the world	people with a global mindset, rather than one single national identity
15:30	volunteer commitment	participation (without pay) in an organization which benefits the wider community
15:39	Community Relations Commission	http://bit.ly/1tlGZX5
16:03	anti-discrimination	working against unfair treatment of others
16:12	LGBT case	a discrimination complaint brought to the Commission by a person from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community

Raymond Trujillo: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time	Expression	Explanation
0:49	jack-of-all-trades	person with many skills, one who can do many jobs
1:05	emcee (M.C.)	master of ceremonies, person in charge of making the introductions at a public event
1:55	trace your roots	research where your family ancestry comes from
3:17	Hudsonville, MI	small town near Grand Rapids
3:42	Edinburg, TX	small town 20 miles from Mexican border
3:58	insecurities	feelings of worry, low confidence
4:50	Spanglish	part Spanish, part English
5:00	thrill + -ear	the English verb ‘thrill’ plus the Spanish (verb) ending –ear makes the Spanglish verb ‘to surprise’
5:08	freak out	be surprised, shocked, worried
5:15	smarty-pants	slang: someone who thinks s/he is very knowledgeable
5:25	put me down	to criticize me, tell me I am not good, speak poorly of me
6:30	Raimundo	the Spanish name for Raymond, meaning king (rey) of the world (mundo)
6:38	way in the back	far from the front seats in the classroom
7:30	P.E.	physical education class, also called gym class
8:10	moving up	progressing, advancing
10:00	show off	try to impress people
10:30	Art Institute of Houston	http://new.artinstitutes.edu/houston
11:30	low self-esteem	not confident about oneself
11:55	self-taught	learned on one’s own, without formal classes
12:44	ArtPrize	an international art competition open to any artist, with winners voted by the public
13:08	piñata	a container often made of papier-mâché, covered with decorations, filled with small toys or candy, hung in the air, and then broken open with a stick during a celebration; as the goodies fall out, they are collected by eager children
13:30	Mexican folkloric dance	Mexican dance traditions that blend of elements from its indigenous and European heritage
13:50	mariachi music	a style of Mexican folk music
14:25	common thread	the one element that connects everything together
15:30	floral design	arranging flowers for decorative purposes

Vandana Magal Show: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time	Expression	Explanation
0:45	millennia	thousands of years
1:35	Times of India	http://bit.ly/1ieIYsz
1:44	Economic Times	http://bit.ly/1hRLq5A
1:58	doctoral program	PhD studies
2:05	trajectory	the arc or pathway of a flying object
2:20	freelance writer	independent person writing for more than one publication
2:30	Toledo Blade	http://bit.ly/1j69D7g
2:45	“From Somewhere Else: Transnational Communities and Media”	http://bit.ly/1rIDA1H
2:50	transnational	moving freely across national boundaries
2:58	heritage communities	cultural locations where people originate
3:25	Indo-American	Americans of (South Asian) Indian ancestry
3:30	hyphenated identity	belonging to two national cultures, e.g., Bosnian-American
4:00	sociological	about social issues, especially related to cultural and environmental aspects (not psychological or personal ones)
4:10	illuminates	shines light on, illustrates, shows
4:13	transcended	went beyond the usual range or limits
5:25	less mobility	not moving as much
5:40	angle to this	way of viewing this
7:02	WhatsApp	instant messaging subscription service for smartphones
7:47	diasporic consciousness	way of thinking for people who are migrated/scattered from their original homeland
8:20	advent	arrival
8:36	tedious	long, slow, tiresome
8:50	hyperactivity	having more action than is usual or desirable
9:18	all walks of life	all kinds of occupations and backgrounds
9:42	relegated to memory	limited to what we remember from the past
10:00	less abrupt	not changing so suddenly
10:45	hyphenation	joining two words together, e.g., Chinese-American
10:53	media-centric	defined from the media’s point of view
12:05	submerse yourself 100%	join something totally (without looking for other options)
12:14	hybrid identity	having two or more ways of seeing oneself
12:30	Sicilians	people from the Italian island of Sicily
12:45	salad bowl	mixing together many vegetables and allowing them to keep their original identity within the new mixture
12:55	intact	together, without coming separated
13:48	parallels	comparisons of similarity
14:25	solitude	aloneness
15:55	give voice to	allow someone to speak, allow someone to represent him/herself

Hello, World!

Ray Nadda Show: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time	Expression	Explanation
1:35	entrepreneurial spirit	the energy of being one’s own boss
2:09	hitch rides	hitch-hiking, asking drivers if they can take you along
2:15	wholesale/retail	buying at a discount and reselling at full price
3:35	blossomed	matured, became fully developed
3:49	latched onto	connected or attached himself to
4:33	Bradley University (Peoria, IL)	private university in central Illinois
4:35	out of all places	this unlikely place
5:00	not suited	mismatched, not a good fit
5:37	direct reports	employees who report directly to a supervisor
5:39	back off	be less aggressive, move away
5:50	comes down to it	as the final result, in the end
6:30	pet grooming	washing, trimming, and combing the dogs and cats
7:05	Wyoming, MI	southern suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan
8:41	word of mouth	sharing information by telling others directly
9:00	entrepreneur/groomer	someone who is an entrepreneur AND a groomer (“slash” is written as [/] and means “and”)
9:08	stepping stone	a beginning position which leads to a higher opportunity
9:19	prohibitive	not affordable, not possible, or not allowed
9:28	leverage	access extra power from other assets
9:34	shuttle between	travel back and forth
10:28	a stray	a dog or cat wandering around, seemingly without owner
10:40	in a different light	viewed in a different way
10:53	popping up	emerging, appearing
11:30	sects	groups with different religious beliefs
11:48	denominations	Christian groups with different religious beliefs
12:37	red tape	excessive rules and regulations which slow down progress
12:39	dreadful	awful, causing fear or hopelessness
12:55	through a lot of hoops	following very many official requirements
13:05	no bribing	impossible to give people money to get special favors
13:35	forebears	ancestors, relatives who lived before you and your parents
13:45	acclimate	get used to the climate or system
14:00	back of their head	still keeping in mind, not letting go of this thought
14:04	gadget	device, small machine
14:50	Dearborn, MI	western suburb of Detroit with high Arab population
15:01	hospitality	the art of making people feel welcome in your place
15:21	hospitable	welcoming
15:32	more hands-off	not having direct contact, not touching
15:34	less touchy-feely	less emotional, less direct caring