“Hi Sarah, listen I only have a minute. I’m about to get picked up for a blind date, can you call me in a half hour just in case it’s going bad? Yes? Ok great! We’ll speak.” Raquel gave herself a quick spray of perfume, checked herself out one more time in the mirror, and headed outside to wait for the guy. Sure enough after twenty minutes Raquel was discreetly checking her watch. After ten more long minutes her phone finally rang. Raquel listened for a few seconds, pursed her lips, and turned to her date, “I feel terrible, but my Grandmother is terribly sick, and I must go home now .” “No problem!” Said her date with a big grin, “in a few more minutes my dog was going to get run over by a car!”
Questions:
- What is a blind date?
- What is the definition of “discreetly”?
- What does “pursed her lips” mean?
- Why did she tell him “I feel terrible, but my Grandmother is terribly sick, and I must go home now .”?
- Why is this funny?
- Is it common to call friends when they are on a blind date?
Answers:
- A blind date is when you have a first date with someone that you have never met. The two people have never seen each other so we say “blind” date. example: A friend may arrange a date with you and another friend because they have never met.
- Discreetly means doing something without being noticed or seen.
- “Pursed lips” mean the mouth and lips are closed and show concern and upset. She pursed her lips to show concern and sadness about her grandmother.
- She needed a good excuse to leave because it was a bad date. She wanted to end the date quickly. When her friend (Sarah) called, she could pretend the phone call was an emergency if the date was bad. She can then tell her date that she must go because it is an emergency. This is more polite and easier than trying to tell a date that you are not interested in them. She said this as her excuse for a fake emergency.
- This is funny because he was getting ready to do the same thing to her. He told her “in a few minutes, he would receive a phone call saying his dog was going to get run over by a car!” That would be his fake emergency when his friend called in a few minutes. He was planning to do the same thing because he was not interested in her.
- This is common in the USA for friends to call on a blind date to give the opportunity to have an excuse if the date is bad.
