[00:00.74]Hello and welcome to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, I'm Helen. With me today is quite a frustrated-looking Neil.
[00:09.84] Neil, what are you doing to that mobile phone?
[00:12.84]Argh, I can't get it to make a phone call.
[00:16.75]It does everything else. It takes photos, it connects to the Internet, it even irons my shirts but it won't make a call.
[00:25.80]Your mobile phone irons your shirts?
[00:27.89]No, not really, but honestly it does everything apart from the one thing I want it to do, make a phone call. It's a joke.
[00:38.10]A joke? But you're not laughing. It can't be a very funny joke.
[00:42.69]Well if you say something is a joke in English it can also mean that it's not very good or not worthy of respect.
[00:49.83]Yes, "joke" has a second meaning.
[00:53.92]The investigation into police corruption was a complete joke. Everyone knows the officers were taking money but they were let off.
[01:01.99]The weather forecast was a total joke. It said it would be warm and sunny but it's freezing and raining.
[01:10.22]As you heard there in the example, the person described an investigation into police corruption as a joke.
[01:17.64]This doesn't mean it was funny. It means it wasn't serious. Also the weather forecast was so bad it was described as a joke.
[01:27.52]Notice that you can add words before "joke" to make the meaning even stronger. It's a complete joke.
[01:34.31]A complete joke.
[01:36.60]It's a total joke.
[01:37.55]A total joke.
[01:38.87]It's an absolute joke.
[01:41.37]Anyway Neil, why don't you just read the instructions for your new mobile phone? Then you'll probably be able to work out how to make a call.
[01:49.67]I looked at the instructions but they're an absolute joke.
[01:52.86]Oh really?
[01:53.78]Well for a start they are in about 17 languages apart from English.
[01:58.33]What a joke!
[01:59.34]Yeah I know.
[02:00.60]Well we've heard lots of jokes in today's programme but there hasn't been much laughing.
[02:04.73]Argh, what a useless piece of.
[02:07.74]Let's hope Neil finally works out how to use his phone.
[02:11.66]Argh, this is beyond a joke, it really is.
[02:14.56]Join us again for The English We Speak.
[02:17.80]Argh, mobiles…