Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 41, Day 3 of Your English Five a Day. We're working really hard on your active vocabulary as well as improving your listening skills. So, stick around as we explore five more items of vocabulary. We start today's list with an idiom to have your fingers in the till. To have your fingers in the till. Have your fingers, F I N G E R S, fingers; in the till, T I L L. To have your fingers in the till means that you're stealing money from the place where you work. Have you ever experienced this? Have you ever worked with someone who has been taking a little bit of money out of the till or doing something very naughty with the bookkeeping and actually transferring money to themselves, essentially stealing from their employer? Maybe claiming things in petty cash that aren't really allowed. Have you experienced that at all? Now, I was shocked when I found out that somebody I went to college with, who I sat next to in many of my classes, who was known for being a goody two shoes. Someone who was the teacher's pet, who never put a foot wrong. Lots of sayings there. Someone who was always very good, very straight-laced. He, many years later, ended up on the most wanted list of criminals. He was one of the most wanted because he had been involved in some very serious fraudulent activity. I couldn't believe it. He very much had his fingers in the till. Here's another example,"The banker was caught with his fingers in the till of an investment fund that he managed." Okay, next on the list is the adjective glowing, glowing. We spell this G L O W I N G. Glowing. Glowing. If something is described as glowing, then we're normally talking about a compliment or a report or praise. And if it's glowing, then it's extremely enthusiastic. So, a glowing report is a very positive report. Hopefully, you received a glowing report from school. Hopefully, you will receive a glowing report from your manager next time they have to do an assessment of your work. Sometimes I receive lovely emails and messages from listeners giving a glowing report of their time listening to The ELAN Podcast. Okay, here's another example,"The movie received glowing reviews from both the critics and the public." Okay, next on the list is the noun reference, reference. We spell this R E F E R E N C E. Reference, reference. A reference is a letter that's written by someone who knows you and it describes you and lets the other person know if you're suitable for a job. So, if you are applying for a new job, then your new potential employer will ask for a reference from your previous employer to find out if you are someone they want to hire. Because you might have been terrible. You may have a good CV. You may look good on paper. But you might be a tyrant to work with. You might be lazy. Who knows? So they ask for a reference from someone who knows you. And hopefully, you'll be able to provide them with glowing references from your previous bosses and colleagues. Here's another example,"It's a good idea to maintain a positive relationship with old bosses in case you need them to write a reference for you". Next on the list is another noun and it is instinct, instinct. Instinct, we spell this I N S T I N C T instinct, instinct. Instinct is the way that people or animals naturally react or behave without having to think or learn about it. It's just your natural way. It's your instinct. For example, if you put your nose to food that is rancid. Let's use meat or milk as an example because this for me is something that I can't stand. Let's say you open a packet of raw chicken or a bottle of whole milk. And as soon as you open it, you get this awful smell in your nostrils. Your instinct is to recoil. Your instinct is to pull back and throw that food either in the bin or pour the milk down the sink. You do not want to cook with or eat rancid food, and no one has to teach you that. Your senses tell you that that is not edible food, that that's going to make you sick. So your instincts kick in. They start working for you. Here's another example,"Her instincts told her not to walk down the dark street alone at night." Next on the list is the phrase something is up, something is up. Something, S O M E T H I N G. Something. Is, I S. Up, U P. This phrase means that something is wrong or something strange is happening. You might not know what it is necessarily, but you know that things aren't right. Here's an example sentence,"Something's up with my phone I can't make calls." The other day I walked into my house and I knew instantly that something was up because there was an unusual smell a smell that was familiar to me but I certainly didn't associate with the entrance of my home. And then I realised that the smell was a smell of damp, not like damp, clean clothes, but nasty damp, mouldy damp. And following my nose, I found the culprit. It was a leaky old dishwasher that had been leaking under the unit in my kitchen. And had I not been hit by that smell, it would have gone on for longer and longer causing more and more damage to the wall and the floor beneath it. So, I have now replaced the dishwasher, which is slightly annoying because the dishwasher otherwise worked fine apart from the leak. But we've replaced the dishwasher and now we are hoping that as the damp areas dry out, the smell will subside. But I knew something was up straight away. As soon as I entered my house, I knew something wasn't quite right. Okay. So, that's our five for today. Let's do a quick recap. We started with the idiom to have your fingers in the till. Oh, naughty, naughty. It means to steal money from the place where you work. Then we had the adjective glowing, which means something that's given with great enthusiasm, like a glowing report or review. Then we had the noun reference. A letter written by someone you know telling the reader whether you're good for a job or not. Then we had the noun instinct, which is the way people and animals naturally react or behave. Then we had the phrase something is up, which means that something is wrong, something strange is going on. Okay, let's do this now for pronunciation purposes. Please listen very carefully and repeat after me. Have your fingers in the till. Have your fingers in the till. Glowing. Glowing. Reference. Reference. Instinct. Instinct. Something is up. Something is up. Very good. What's the idiom that I would use to describe someone stealing money from the place where they work? Yes, they have their fingers in the till. And if I'm going to get a new job because I was caught with my fingers in the till, I'm going to struggle to get that letter from my old boss saying that I'm suitable for a new job. What is the thing? What is this letter referred to as? A reference. Yes, I'm going to struggle to get a reference if I was fired for having my fingers in the till. What I need is someone who will give me very enthusiastic praise. What adjective could I use for this kind of enthusiastic praise? Glowing. I need a glowing report or review from someone who thinks that I am wonderful. What's the noun that you would use to describe the way people naturally react and behave? Instinct, yes, your instinct tells you a lot and often we should follow our instincts, if it's appropriate, of course. Now, if you can sense that something is wrong, what phrase could you use? Something is up. Yeah, something is up. Very unusual, something is very much up. Okay, let's listen out for these items once again in today's storytime. When Dan started working as the new accountant at Crimson Co, everyone was impressed. His CV had glowing references and he quickly showed that he was efficient, friendly, and hardworking."We're lucky to have him," Mrs. Thompson, the boss, often said. Dan's coworkers agreed, saying nice things about how hard he worked and how careful he was. As time passed, Dan fit into his job very well. He offered to do extra work, stayed late to help others, and even planned office parties. It seemed the company had found the perfect employee. One day, while checking some financial reports, Paula, Dan's coworker, saw something strange. Small amounts of money were missing from different accounts. At first, she thought it was just a mistake, but as she looked more closely, she found more unexplained problems. Paula's instinct told her that something was up, but she didn't want to say anything. She couldn't ignore the problems she found though. Finally, Paula went to talk to Mrs Thompson."I don't like saying this, but I think someone might have their fingers in the till," she said nervously. Mrs Thompson was very surprised."Are you sure? Who do you think it is?" Paula took a deep breath."I think it might be Dan. The problem started soon after he joined us." The company started looking into it, and to everyone's surprise, Paula, was right. Dan had been taking money, using his friendly personality and good work to hide it. As security guards took Dan away, his coworkers watched in shock. They had all been tricked by his perfect act, reminding them that sometimes people are not what they seem, and that we should listen to our instincts. And that brings us to the end of today's episode. If you enjoyed today, then please take a moment to leave a like, a rating or review so that others may find this podcast. Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.