Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Feifei...
Rob
And hello, I’m Rob.
Feifei
Err, Rob. What’s the smell? Are you cooking something?
Rob
Yes. It’s my favourite – roast beef. Yummy!
Feifei
Roast beef?! This isn’t really the time to be cooking.
Rob
Well, you said let’s do 『roast』 today – so I thought I』d make a start. Just got to do the roast potatoes now...
Feifei
Rob, stop I meant let’s do the word 『roast』.
Rob
Oh right. Well, this is a good example of roasting.
Feifei
No, Rob. It’s not the meaning I had in mind. 『Roasting』 is not just about cooking food in an oven. We can 『roast』 people by criticising them harshly. So, Rob, you were very foolish to start cooking something while we're presenting a programme!
Rob
Oh, am I being 『roasted』 now?
Feifei
You sure are, but you’re not alone. Here are some examples...
Examples
We had to roast the teacher after she was seen shopping when she was supposed to be off work with flu!
After my PowerPoint presentation froze during an important meeting, my boss gave me a roasting.
She was roasted by her friends after she posted pictures of herself on social media showing off her 『amazing』 suntan.
Feifei
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English and we’re talking about the word 『roast』, which means 『to criticise severely』. I’m sure you’re used to being roasted, Rob?
Rob
Well, if you mean I am hot and smell delicious, then I am very roasted!
Feifei
Excuse me?
Rob
Feifei, another meaning of 『roast』 is to tease someone in a light-hearted way or give a funny comeback when someone tries to humiliate you.
Feifei
Oh, ha ha! But hold on, Rob, I can smell something else...
Rob
Oh no – I left the oven on and now the food is burning. Help!
Feifei
Rob, you are really stupid - and you can’t cook either.
Rob
That’s me roasted! Bye.
Feifei
Bye.