Video lesson

Welcome

Hello everyone, and welcome back to English Watch and Learn! I’m Jainie, and today we’re doing something really fun. We’re going to learn English vocabulary and even slang by watching scenes from a movie “A Minecraft Movie”. It’s funny, a bit strange, and full of great, natural English expressions.

How will this work? Simple! We’ll watch a short clip from the movie. When we get to an interesting word or phrase, I’ll pause the video, and we’ll talk about it. I’ll explain it in simple terms, maybe tell a little joke, and then we’ll continue watching. Ready to dive into the blocky world and learn some English? Let’s go!

Learn new words and phrases

mom’s signature tater-top breakfast pizza

Natalie says: “I made you mom’s signature tater-top breakfast pizza.” Let’s look closer at this sentence. First, ‘signature’ means something special that shows who you are, like your name on a painting. Henry’s mom has a ‘signature’ pizza recipe. And “tater-tot breakfast pizza”… well, tater tots are those little fried potato nuggets. Putting them on a breakfast pizza? Ha, that’s… creative! Maybe delicious, maybe a little weird! Let’s see if it helps Henry make friends.

you can hand out slices on your first day

Alright, ‘hand out slices’. ‘To hand out’ something means to give it to many people, usually for free. Like handing out flyers on the street or candy at Halloween. Here, Henry is supposed to give away pieces of this… unique pizza… to make friends at school. Do you think free pizza is the key to friendship? Sometimes maybe! Let’s hope it tastes good!

I got you some body spray

Okay, more interesting advice from Natalie! ‘Body spray’ is like a perfume, or cologne, often lighter and maybe less expensive, popular with younger people.

signature scents are huge here

A ‘signature scent’ is the one smell someone always wears, the one people associate with them. And ‘huge here’ means ‘very popular’ or ‘very important’ in this town. So, smelling unique is a big deal!

‘Velvet Mischief’

Perfume and body spray names are often dramatic or silly like this. ‘Velvet’ is a soft, luxurious fabric. ‘Mischief’ is like playful trouble or bad behaviour. Does it smell soft and troublesome? Probably not! It’s just a funny, fancy name to sell the spray.

you’re gonna wanna spray it and then walk into it

Ha. This is specific! Instead of spraying it on his body, she tells him to ‘spray it and then walk into it’ – spray the air and walk through the cloud of scent. Why?

don’t be too direct

Natalie says ‘Don’t be too direct’ because the scent is ‘really powerful’. If you spray too much right on you, the smell might be overwhelming! So, you walk into the mist for a lighter scent. Good advice for strong smells… maybe good advice for talking to people too sometimes – don’t be too direct!

Excellent, let’s see what happens next, on Henry’s way to school.

your store’s running cool

‘cool’ is slang. It means ‘good,’ ‘stylish,’ ‘interesting,’ or ‘impressive.’ When we talk about a place like a store or a café ‘running cool’ or just being ‘cool’, it usually means it has a good atmosphere, looks good, or seems like an interesting place.

non-committal, classic loser mentality

Whoa, harsh words from the guy collecting trash! Henry says he’s just looking, ‘checking some stuff out’. The garbage man calls this ‘Non-committal’. That means you aren’t making a firm decision, you aren’t saying ‘yes’ or ’no’ clearly. He then calls it a ‘classic loser mentality’ – meaning, he thinks this uncertain way of acting is typical of someone who doesn’t succeed in life. Is he right? Or just being incredibly rude? Probably just rude!

mentorship program for people who wanna win at the game of life

Okay, now he’s trying to sell something! A ‘mentorship program’ is when an experienced person (the mentor) guides or teaches someone less experienced. Garrett, the garbage man, wants to be Henry’s mentor… for $50 an hour! And he talks about helping people ‘win at the game of life’. This is a common metaphor – comparing life to a game that you can win or lose. Can you really ‘win’ life like a video game? Maybe not, but it’s a way to talk about achieving your goals.

charge

means to ask an amount of money for something, especially a service or activity.

desperate

means feeling that you have no hope and are ready to do anything to change the bad situation you are in.

I’m gonna give you a hot garbage tip

Garrett offers a ‘hot garbage tip’. Normally, a ‘hot tip’ is good advice. But because he’s the Garbage Man, calling it a ‘hot garbage tip’ is a joke. Is the advice good (‘hot’) or bad (‘garbage’)? Maybe both!

friendship is like a puzzle

This is another metaphor: Garret compares making friends to putting puzzle pieces together. He kind of tries to sound wise, but maybe isn’t perfectly clear.

And… Garrett tells Henry to leave his pizza! What an interesting start to Henry’s life in this new town, right? Henry’s adventure is just beginning! Don’t miss Part 2 where things get even more exciting! See you next lesson.

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