Episode 28 • Crime
Get mugged
Be held at gunpoint
Wail
Run away
Thug
Story
[Sirens wailing]
I don’t know what they looked like, officer. Their faces were covered so I couldn’t see them. I was waiting here at the corner for a friend when that lady got mugged. She screamed so I turned around and saw she was being held at gunpoint by a group of men, there were, I don’t know, four, maybe five of them. It all happened so fast and when they heard the police sirens wailing, they all ran away with the bag. I didn’t have time to even react, you know? Anyway, I hope you catch those thugs… Poor lady!
[Phone ringing]
Yo, man? You got the purse? Nah, they asked me a bunch of questions but they don’t suspect anything. I’ll meet you later, man.
Questions
What did you think of my impression of a criminal? Okay. Let's take a look at today's expressions.
Get mugged
'I was waiting here when that lady got mugged.'
• Who can get mugged? A robber or an innocent person?
It's the innocent person that gets mugged by a robber, someone that wants to steal things from them. Now let's talk about mugging because it's different from stealing or robbing and all those things.
• If you get mugged, are you in a public place or at home?
That's the thing about mugging, is that it happens in a public space. Now, it can be in the street, it can be in the park.
• What are some things you can do to avoid getting mugged?
I was thinking about that and obviously, number one is, don't go to these very dark, tiny streets all by yourself, maybe at night. Just try to be safe. That's number one. Number two, don't flash cash. If you just withdrew some money and you're walking around happily and proudly showing everybody that you've just withdrawn, what? Like $500. That's probably not the smartest thing to do because somebody who's got bad intentions might see you and they might decide to mug you. You might get mugged.
Be held at gunpoint
'She was being held at gunpoint.'
• If you are being held at gunpoint, what weapon is your attacker using?
That's pretty easy, right? If you're being held at gunpoint, that means that your attacker is holding a gun.
• If you are held at gunpoint, have you been shot or not?
Technically, no, you haven't been shot yet. The person that's holding you at gunpoint is threatening to shoot you, meaning they're going to shoot you unless they get what they want. Now, imagine the situation.
• How would you react if you were being held at gunpoint?
I personally think I would freak out. I would be the kind of prison that just goes like, "Okay, okay, okay. Take whatever you want. I don't want to know anything about this. I want to live." I wouldn't do anything super brave or anything like that.
Wail (sirens)
'They heard the police sirens wailing.'
• What sound do sirens wailing make?
The sound that they make is this one. [siren wails] I was going to do it myself and then I thought, "Maybe it's better for the listeners if they hear the real thing and not me just going WEE-oww-WEE-oww-WEE-oww. Here we go. Now you got it.
• What vehicles have sirens that wail?
Well, pretty sure your car doesn't have sirens that wail, or it doesn't have sirens period. A police car would have it, ambulances, fire trucks as well. I think that's it, right? Yes, I think that's it.
• Do you hear sirens wail a lot where you live?
Right now, I don't hear-- Well actually sometimes I hear sirens wailing in the distance, but back when I was living in Italy, I used to live right next to a hospital and so there were ambulances passing by all the time, which was okay. It really didn't bother me except for, at night, sometimes it was a little annoying.
Run away
'They all ran away with the bag.'
• If you run away, is it because you’re excited about something or scared?
If you run away, that means that you're escaping, so you are scared. Now, in this case, the guys were scared of the police but you could be scared of a spider and decide to run away. Usually, when you run away, it means that you leave the room or you leave the place where you are.
• If you hear a strange noise, what do you do? Do you run away or go investigate?
Like I said, I'm not exactly the bravest person in the world so if there's somebody with me in the house, I would normally tell them, but I heard a strange noise and ask them if they could please go check what it is. If not, I would just stay away from whatever the noise was coming from.
Thug
'I hope you catch those thugs!'
• Is a thug a good person or a criminal?
I thug is a criminal. In the story, the four or five men who mugged the lady, those were thugs.
• Is it a criminal that acts violently or not?
This distinction is really important because there's all sorts of crimes. You can also commit a crime like a cybercrime, for example, sitting at home. If you're that type of criminal, you cannot be called a thug because you're not using violence. You need to act violently, maybe threaten someone, or hit them, or threatened them with a gun. That can be considered a thug.
• Are there a lot of thugs in the neighborhood where you live?
Not at the moment. I feel like I'm pretty safe here, but again, when I was back at home-- It sounds like a really bad neighborhood, but it really wasn't. When I was really, really young, so when I was a kid or even before I was born in my neighborhood-- Or I should say my neighborhood was known for having a lot of thugs living in it. I think it's just because it was a poor neighborhood.Maybe the family conditions weren't great, and so the kids didn't get a very good education and stuff like that, and so they became thugs. Now the situation's better, but you still see maybe one or two thugs in a few areas of my childhood neighborhood.
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