"Hungry for Success" by English Professionals. EPISODE 11 : Every dog has its day

Tim finally decides where he stands.
Sue shows she is more than a "touch-feely" HR manager

Transcript

Hungry for success 

by English Professionals

11. Every dog has its day

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

“I’m in”, said Tim, “tell Steve I’m in “ 

“whatever it takes” he added as an after-thought

Sue smiled . “OK then” she replied

Tim immediately felt a huge sense of relief. He knew where he stood. For the first time for a long time he didn’t feel like a loser - quite the opposite in fact.

Sue looked at Tim. Tim looked at Sue. Each seemed to be sizing each other up like two prize fighters pacing up and down before the start of a bout.

Sue appeared to have reached a conclusion - “So let’s talk”, she said

“First let’s start with what you know and then I’ll fill you in with what I know”

This was a side of Sue that Tim hadn’t seen before. Determined, forceful, direct! Not your typical touchy-feely HR manager he thought to himself.

Tim unfortunately wasn’t able to add much. For some reason he hesitated before mentioning the lunch with Rebecca.  Then he decided “in for a penny, in for a pound” - he really had to do something about this - he was sounding more and more like Steve every day. Perhaps it was catching. 

Sue listened to Tim with obvious interest, interrupting every now and again to clarify a point or to solicit further details. 

“And what makes you think James knows more than he’s letting on?” - she asked 

“It was something about the way he looked at me when I asked whether he knew what Macrosoft had in mind. It’s as if he thought I knew something - as if”, Tim hesitated, “he thought I’d found out something. He looked ……scared”

When Tim had told Sue everything that he knew, Sue began to speak. 

“I can’t believe that it all happened so quickly with no warning beforehand. No company goes about a takeover like this. It takes months.  As soon as James announced it yesterday I knew something was not quite right. But what?

And another thing. I had someone check the mileage on James’ car after he came to work late this afternoon - made up some excuse about needing to do so for insurance purposes.. Fortunately he just got his car back from the annual service yesterday evening so I knew the mileage beforehand.  I don’t know where he was but, between yesterday evening and when he came to work this afternoon, he’s driven over two hundred miles - that’s a lot further than  the golf club. I asked him whether he had a good game this morning and he made up some story about feeling ill and staying at home. Well if he stayed at home, his car drove itself.

So if I had to put money on it, I would guess he went somewhere to meet someone. Two hundred miles ?  That would get you to Heathrow and back, wouldn’t it? Just a wild guess I have to confess but a bit of a coincidence don’t you think?.

Tim had a brainwave. “Why don’t you see if you can check the satnav. Maybe he used it to go wherever he was going. You can see the previous destinations if you open up the settings”

“Why Tim you are a dark horse” - said Sue somewhat admiringly. “Which movies have you been watching?  But that’s a great idea - I’ll see if I can make up some excuse to get back into his car tomorrow. I know I’ll get Robert to take it to the car wash for him -I can contrive some reason to have a look - mileage expense claim or something like that. Robert won’t ask any questions”.

Now it was Tim’s turn to be impressed. Which movies have you been watching Sue?  You seem strangely good at this. 

“Every dog has its day” replied Sue mysteriously

COMMENTARY

The plot thickens - which is a phrase meaning that a story is becoming more complex and puzzling. 

Tim and Sue are described as two prize fighters pacing up and down before a bout. Prize fighters were generally boxers and a bout is another word for a fight. Sizing each other up means each person was carefully observing the other trying to decide what they think about the other. If you’ve ever seen the beginning of a boxing match, you’ll know what I mean. I’m guessing that Sue was trying to decide whether to trust Tim or not. Clearly Tim is surprised by Sue’s behaviour. She’s certainly not the touchy-feely HR manager he thought he knew. Touchy-feely is an informal, colloquial expression used to describe someone who openly shows emotions and feelings. Unfortunately it’s frequently used in a slightly derogatory sense - perhaps implying weakness.  

Tim fears he has perhaps caught a disease from Steve - the disease of speaking using too many idioms  “In for a penny, in for a pound” - obviously referring to British currency, means that someone intends to see something through to the end - however much time, effort, or money is involved”. We’ve already spent some pennies (a small amount of money) so why not spend some pounds Tim, after initial hesitation, on reflection decides that it doesn’t make sense to withhold the information that he asked for Rebecca’s help. After all he’s already said “whatever it takes”. 

Sue guesses, based on the mileage (the number of miles driven in James’ car), that James has driven to Heathrow airport and back. She is sure enough to be prepared to put money on it - in other words to place a bet. If you are prepared to put money on something, it means that you’re sure enough to risk losing money if you’re wrong. 

Tim has a great idea or a brainwave. A brainwave is a very good idea which comes into your head instantaneously without previous thought. Sue is very impressed with this brainwave and calls Tim a dark horse. Strictly speaking a dark horse is someone who is not expected to win or succeed but unexpectedly does so. Nowadays we use the expression a little more widely and, coming from Sue in this context, it is perhaps more of a compliment.

Sue means that, knowing Tim as she does,  she wouldn’t have expected him to come up with such an idea - she didn’t believe that he had skills in this area. She’s impressed. We also use this to describe a situation when we find out something unexpected or surprising about someone. For example -

“Steve actually likes to paint in his spare time - he’s quite good and has won several prizes

Well he’s a dark horse - I would never have guessed it”

To finish off the conversation Sue uses an expression which is the title of this episode. 

Every dog has its day

Dogs are often used in idioms to describe people who are treated badly. In fact we say to “treat someone like a dog” - in other words very badly. 

“Every dog has its day” means that, even the lowest dogs, will one day have success in their lives . even if just for one day.

Perhaps Sue is referring to herself. Maybe this is the moment when she can leave her touchy-feely HR manager image behind her..

So once again lots of questions and very few answers, Follow the next episode to hear what Rebecca has to say.

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