English Impulse Podcast: Episode 1: Pomp and Gluttony. We are back with a brand new podcast called English Impulse. It is separated into three sections: 1. English Impulse which is related to news and fads, 2. Business Impulse which is related to business English learning and 3. Wellbeing Impulse related to mental and physical health. Today’s first episode was taped on September 19, 2025 and talks about the latest news events. Have a listen, check the vocabulary and expressions and remember to come back for next week’s episode.
Listen
Vocabulary
Impulse
- A strong desire to do something
- We had a strong impulse to make another podcast
- If you have an impulse to learn English, contact us.
Pompous (‘Pomp’)
- When something is taken too seriously or is given too much importance
- My colleague at work acts a bit pompous whenever our boss is around.
- It’s your first day of work. Don’t be so pompous.
Gluttony
- When people eat and drink in excess
- often used today to refer to over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything
- Gluttony is always looked down upon, but even more so in these difficult economic times.
- Of course people were going to call out their gluttonous behavior.
To feed/stroke someone’s ego
- to flatter someone by giving them praise and excessive praise.
- I didn’t really mean what I said, but I was feeding her ego a bit so she would feel more confident.
- We shouldn’t have to stroke his ego just to do business together.
Win someone over
- to get someone’s approval when they previously did not agree with you.
- My first impression of him wasn’t very good but over time he’s really won me over.
- If you want to win over the interviewer, remember to pay close attention to your body language.
Read between the lines
- to understand what someone is feeling or expressing from what they are saying or writing.
- To understand something even though it isn’t stated
- She stated that she is fine, but reading between the lines, she must be under a lot of stress.
- The boss said that the company is not doing well and that there won’t be any layoffs now, but reading between the lines, I don’t see how they can keep us all on for long.
Podcast
Now that you have listened to English Impulse Podcast: Episode 1, have a listen to our previous podcast Off the cuff:
Off the cuff: back to our bubble
Off the cuff: a slap in the face
