Name: Harry and Meghan interview: BBC News Review
Uploaded: 2021-03-09T21:50:43.000Z
Duration: 10 min 34 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Hello and welcome to News Review from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil. Joining me is Catherine – hello Catherine.

Now, today's story is about an interview given on American television

The interview contains some potentially very damaging claims

If you want to test yourself on any of the vocabulary you hear today,

you can do a quiz on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.

But now, let's find out some more about our story

Yes. So, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – that's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle –

have given an interview on American television

about the reasons they gave up their roles in the British Royal Family.

Meghan in fact said she had been under so much pressure

Prince Harry said his father is no longer taking his phone calls.

He added that they both felt they weren't given enough support

by the British Royal Family. Meghan also added

that somebody in the Royal Family, and they haven't named this person,

expressed concerns about the skin colour of her unborn first child.

OK. Well, you've been looking at this story, Catherine.

You've picked out three really interesting expressions and words.

We have: 'lays bare', 'bombshell' and 'salvo'.

So, let's have a look at your first headline please.

Yes, we're starting in Canada with CP24 – the headline:

'Lays bare' – reveals something previously not known.

Yes. Now, this is a verb phrase. It's made of two words:

'lays' – L-A-Y-S – and 'bare' – B-A-R-E.

So, you can 'lay bare something' or you can 'lay something bare'

and it means to reveal something that was previously unknown

If you 'lay something bare' you show everything about it.

Everything is available for view or scrutiny

Yeah, it's actually quite clear from the two parts of this verb phrase:

'lay' means to put something in a place, often visible place,

and 'bare' – 'bare' is another word for naked – so, exposed.

Yes, exactly. 'Expose' is a very, very good synonym for 'lay bare'.

And this is an expression which is very useful, isn't it?

Yeah, you can use it really for most situations.

If you 'lay something bare', you just let the truth be known about it.

Yeah. So, for example, you could 'lay bare' the truth

about a relationship that's not going very well on a personal level,

'The data about coronavirus laid bare the need to have a national lockdown.'

So, it can be used there, sort of, for the personal

and also for more, kind of, important matters.

Most definitely. It's a very versatile expression.

We've just been looking at the expression 'lay bare'.

It contains that word 'lay', which is often confused with 'lie' –

but no need for further confusion, is there Catherine?

There is no need for that confusion. If you have any,

we can clear it up in just one minute when Sian will tell you

about the difference between the English words 'lay' and 'lie'.

OK. Let's have a look at your next headline please.

And we're now with Sky News, here in the UK – the headline:

'Bombshell' – describes a shocking event or piece of news.

Yes. It's all one word: B-O-M-B-S-H-E-L-L – 'bombshell'.

It's a military term. Neil, you know what a 'bomb' is, don't you?

Yes. A 'bomb' is a device that explodes in order to destroy things

like buildings or military hardware – those type of things.

Yes. And a 'bombshell' – excuse me – is the casing around the bomb.

So, 'bomb' or 'bombshell'. And yes, a 'bombshell' will destroy everything:

it's a shocking, life-changing, momentous event.

Nothing will be the same after a 'bombshell'

and that's the idea behind the word in this context.

A 'bombshell interview' is something that really shocks:

potentially very damaging, devastating even.

So, 'bombshell' is something really, really serious.

And we're talking about figurative damage here; we're not saying

that Harry and Meghan actually used a weapon of any kind.

No, no, no. Not unless you count words as a weapon.

Yeah, there's no actual weaponry involved here.

Yeah. In this example, 'bombshell' is an adjective, so we're talking about

a 'bombshell interview' – we can say a 'bombshell moment'.

But it's also often used as a noun and with the expression 'to drop a bombshell'.

If you 'drop a bombshell', you give very important, unexpected news.

So, your news – if you 'drop a bombshell', you're giving shocking

and surprising news at the same time. So, for example,

if your family have always expected you maybe to go to university.

You've always said you're going to go to university

and then, the day before you're supposed to go to university,

That would be... you would be 'dropping a bombshell'

or you'd be giving some 'bombshell news'.

Yeah and the degree to which this news is shocking is of course relative.

You know, it might be very important to an individual,

but not important on an international scale.

Yes, of course. Yeah, you don't have to be leaving a royal family

to 'drop a bombshell' – it's literally what's important to you

and the person that you're giving this news to.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Harry and Meghan interview: BBC News Review

phrase

context

reveal

multiple